CLEVELAND - The National Association for Athletics Compliance (NAAC) has announced its 2024 award winners presented by Spry: 

• Frank Kara Leadership Award – Doug Archie, Ohio State University                                                                            

• Rising Star Award – Robbie Trittschuh, University of Cincinnati; and Katie Meyer, California State University, Stanislaus 

• Emerging Leader Award – Tyler Wright, University of Pittsburgh  

• Small Office Award – Palm Beach Atlantic, Division II, Sunshine State Conference  

• Division II Excellence Award – Marcie Haduca Covell, Cal State East Bay 

The award winners will be recognized in person during the 2024 NAAC Convention taking place at the Mandalay Bay Resort Las Vegas, Nevada. 

"Congratulations to our incredible slate of NAAC Award Winners! We are looking forward to celebrating all of their accomplishments and recognizing the impact their dedication has had on our industry during the 2024 NAAC Convention," stated Membership and Awards Committee Chair and Assistant AD for Compliance at USF, Hannah Delph. "On behalf of the NAAC Board and Awards Committee, we would also like to thank the NAAC membership for putting forth incredible nominations for these deserving individuals." 

The Frank Kara Leadership Award is NAAC's premier award. It is the highest honor that may be bestowed upon compliance professionals. This award, given annually, is named in honor of the former University of Minnesota Director of Compliance Frank Kara, who was a leader in the compliance field and best known for hosting the inaugural NAAC Workshop in 2006. Sadly, Kara lost his battle with cancer at the age of 40.  

• In June 2006, Doug Archie started his tenure in the Buckeye state at The Ohio State University after previously spending time at the University of Utah, the NCAA and the University of North Dakota. In his capacity overseeing compliance, Archie is tasked with educating stakeholders within the athletics department and university community, including staff, boosters, coaches, and student-athletes, on NCAA and Big Ten regulations. He also oversees compliance monitoring systems pertaining to recruiting, certification, and eligibility. During his time at Ohio State, Archie has transformed the compliance office to one that others look to emulate across the country. While he does much of his work under the radar, Archie is a huge proponent of ensuring his staff is receiving the professional development they need to help advance their careers. His integrity and inclusivity for administrators in the industry is second to none and a testament to who he is as an individual. Archie earned his bachelor's degree from York University and his master's degree from Ohio University, while also obtaining his juris doctorate from the University of Toledo College of Law.   

The Rising Star Award recognizes young compliance professionals who are emerging leaders within the compliance profession. 

• Robbie Trittschuh, currently serves as the director of compliance at the University of Cincinnati (UC). Trittschuh's dedication, professionalism, passion and creativity is shown daily as his commitment to the student-athletes never waivers while overseeing compliance of baseball, men's golf, and track & field and cross country. In addition to working with the student-athletes, he also provides insight and encouragement to the intern and law extern program at UC. A graduate of UC, Trittschuh spent time in compliance at East Carolina University and the University of South Alabama. He earned his law degree from Northern Kentucky and is admitted to the Ohio State Bar. He is also an active member of NAAC, serving on committees and as a panelist for the NAAC Convention.  

• Katherine Meyer began her career as an admissions counselor in September 2014 at California Southern University, then in June 2017, transitioned to California State University Stanislaus in the same role. After two years, Meyer moved into the compliance coordinator role and has continued to excel, advancing into her current assistant director of compliance services role. After serving in her compliance role for a few months, COVID struck and shut down operations, which put Meyer in a spot of learning a new position and then serving as the point person with all the changing regulations, both nationally and on campus due to the pandemic. Throughout her time, Meyer has continued to serve, not only the student-athletes, but also her colleagues, serving as the administrator that continuously is finding ways to improve the workflow. She is currently working on a compliance training program, which will include a compliance manual to help the coaches and student-athletes. Meyer is a Stanislaus State graduate who grew up in Southern California. 

The Emerging Leader Award recognizes and celebrates compliance professionals with 6-10 years of experience who are considered to be emerging leaders within the compliance profession. 

• Since March 2022, Tyler Wright, has served as the Assistant Athletic Director at the University of Pittsburgh where he assists with the day-to-day operations of the compliance office. Prior to Pitt, Wright served in various full-time compliance roles at Texas Tech, Abilene Christian, and Florida Atlantic. Since 2014, he has been an active member of NAAC, presenting at conventions, participating in the ACE Mentor Program, serving as a liaison to the Legislative Committee, chairing the Communications Committee, and serving on the Board. Wright began his career as an intern in compliance at the University of Kansas where he completed his undergraduate degree in 2013. He earned a masters in 2015 while serving as a compliance graduate assistant at UTEP. 

The Small Compliance Office Award is awarded to one compliance office staff annually consisting of no more than 1-3 full or part-time compliance officers (including graduate assistants). This staff demonstrates an outstanding level of commitment and dedication to the industry by doing a lot with a little. 

• The Palm Beach Atlantic University compliance team of Wispeny Ellis and Nicole Thibodeau know the meaning of doing a lot with a little. The two-team office utilizes a variety of unique programming to help educate teams and coaches on the ins and outs of compliance on a monthly basis. Bi-monthly, the staff uses Kahoot! for trivia sessions, complete with rewards for winners. The interactive customized games utilized in educational sessions are complemented with more of a presentation style meeting leveraging Canva to provide a modern and visually aesthetic presentation. Adding a game segment into the meetings has evoked excitement amongst coaches and student-athletes for a more engaged atmosphere. During the 2023-24 academic year, the duo successfully submitted and received approval for all six waivers it submitted. Their continued work with the coaches to educate them on the pitfalls of academic risk and increase knowledge of NCAA rules along with the proactive approach in meeting with the student-athletes in advance with consistent check-ins has been a boost for the kids academic journeys.    

The Division II Excellence Award is a prestigious annual award given to a compliance professional who is a leader in the compliance field at the Division II level. 

• A passionate advocate for bettering the student-athlete experience, Marcie Haduca Covell has served as the assistant athletics director for compliance and student support services and SWA at Cal State East Bay since May 2021. Responsible for developing East Bay's comprehensive rules education program, Haduca Covell led the implementation of compliance software ARMS into the athletic department, and monitors initial and continuing eligibility, prepares and submits waiver requests to the NCAA and conference office and oversees Cal State East Bay's NLI program. She is also on the department's leadership team, oversees two academic advisors and has sport oversight responsibilities for women's basketball, women's water polo, men's and women's golf.  Determined to help improve college athletics across the country, Haduca Covell currently serves as the chair of the Division II Committee for Legislative Relief. A starting guard and team leading scorer in women's basketball at UC Santa Cruz, Haduca Covell earned a bachelor's degree in business management economics with a minor in earth sciences. She earned her master's in sport management from the University of San Francisco. Prior to her arrival at East Bay, she spent 17 years at Holy Names University, as the Associate Athletics Director for Compliance/SWA. She also worked as an Assistant Women's Basketball Coach. Haduca Covell and her husband Dave have one daughter, Sydney.  

About NAAC: NAAC serves as the professional and educational association of compliance administrators. For more information on NAAC, please visit www.naaccompliance.com. NAAC is administered by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), which is in its 59th year. For more information on NACDA, the 18 professional associations, and/or four foundations it manages, please visit www.nacda.com.