CLEVELAND - The Division II Athletics Directors Association (D2 ADA) has selected Jerry Hughes (University of Central Missouri) and Francis Reidy (Saint Leo University) as the 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award recipients. The Lifetime Achievement Award is given to athletics directors who have exemplified superior achievement during their career at the Division II level.
"The contributions of these two individuals to the Division II community are truly unparalleled," stated D2 ADA President Mike McFarland, director of athletics at Bloomsburg University. "Their decades of service, leadership, and influence within Division II and beyond are nothing short of inspiring."
Jerry Hughes (posthumous)
Jerry Hughes, who dedicated more than 40 years to laying the foundation for successes that included regional and national athletics championships, improved sports playing facilities, and the recruitment of thousands of outstanding student-athletes at the University of Central Missouri (UCM), passed away January 21, 2023, after a brief illness.
Hughes, who served as vice president for intercollegiate athletics, graduated from UCM in 1971 with a bachelor's degree in physical education, having lettered for the Mules golf team during his undergraduate studies, and he received his master's degree in secondary school administration in 1979. He joined the university that same year as a business placement director, became assistant athletics director in July 1981, and athletics director in January 1983. This launched a tenure as head of athletics that lasted four decades and enabled him to garner numerous awards exemplifying his far-reaching impact on collegiate sports.
Hughes' dedication to quality athletics teams resulted in many forms of recognition for the Mules and Jennies. Under his leadership, Central Missouri won 179 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) championships entering the fall 2022 semester, 10 national championships, had 50 other top four NCAA finishes, and made more than 300 NCAA postseason appearances. The Central Missouri athletics program also won the MIAA All-Sports Trophy each year from 1998-99 (the year of the award's inception) until the award was discontinued in 2002-03 and took home the first two MIAA Commissioner's Cups following the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons and again in 2019-20 and 2020-21. UCM finished second in the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup in 2010-11, the best finish in university and MIAA history after finishing third the previous two years.
Aside from his work at UCM, Hughes held multiple leadership positions for committees in Division II athletics. He served on the NCAA Executive Committee and as chairman of the Division II Championships Committee. He also served a term as NCAA Vice President for Division II and has been a member of the NCAA Council, making him the only person to twice hold the highest-ranking office available to athletics administrators in NCAA Division II. Other NCAA committees on which he served are the Membership Structure Committee, Administrative Committee, and Post-Season Football Subcommittee. He chaired the NCAA Division II Management Council and Membership Growth Project Team and was a member of the NCAA Budget and Finance Committee and NCAA Administrative Review Panel, as well as the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup Committee.
Hughes was the founder of the Las Vegas High Desert Classic, served as regional director of the Show-Me State Games, and was a member of the Governor's Council for Physical Fitness and Health. Hughes was also inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2005 and named a Missouri Sports Legend, the highest honor bestowed by the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.
A member of the NACDA Executive Committee from 1995-99, Hughes was recognized by the Association as Athletics Director of the Year (ADOY) in 1998-99, 2001-02, 2010-11 and 2015-16. In 2022, he was given the D2 CCA Award of Merit, reserved for individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the entire NCAA Division II membership and the Division II student-athlete experience. In 2024, he was inducted into the NACDA Hall of Fame.
Francis Reidy
Francis Reidy retired from his position as vice president and director of athletics at Saint Leo University after more than 35 years of service. Reidy, who led the Saint Leo Lions to win 30 Sunshine State Conference championships, earn two national championships, and make 125 NCAA Division II championship appearances, retired in August of 2023.
When Reidy became director of athletics in 1999, the Lions had gone nearly 30 years with no conference championship wins, and many sports were at the bottom of the Sunshine State Conference. But that all changed in 2005 when the men's soccer team won the conference championship, paving the way for more victories within the athletics program to follow.
In addition to winning several championships, the Lions placed in the Learfield Directors' Cup Top 10 for NCAA Division II three times, including an amazing second place finish in 2015-2016. The Lions also won the Mayor's Cup four times, recognizing the Lions as the best overall Sunshine State Conference program.
Reidy's contributions to intercollegiate athletics also include serving as president of the D2 ADA; the NCAA Championships Committee, with one year of service as chair; and the NCAA Men's Basketball Committee, which he also chaired for year. He also made valuable contributions to the Sunshine State Conference.
On top of his competitive success, Reidy has been the recipient of many industry awards. He was recognized three times as the Under Armour National Athletic Director of the Year and was honored as coach of the year two times by the Sunshine State Conference. He also remains in the Saint Leo record books for the work he accomplished in his first role at the university as men's soccer coach. Reidy is the all-time winningest coach in Saint Leo men's soccer history with 139 wins.
About D2 ADA: The D2 ADA is the first organization of its kind to provide educational and networking opportunities; enhancement of acceptable operating standards and ethics; and establishment of the overall prestige and understanding of the profession of Division II athletics directors. For more information about the D2 ADA, please visit www.div2ada.com. The D2 ADA is administered by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), which is in its 60th year. For more information on NACDA and the 19 professional associations that fall under its umbrella, please visit www.nacda.com.
