CLEVELAND – The Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association (DI-AAA ADA) is proud to announce Steve Potts former director of athletics at Pepperdine University, as the 2025 Gary Cunningham Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.

"I am so overwhelmed and humbled to even be considered for this incredible award," said Potts. "I wish to express my sincere thanks to DI-AAA ADA for this honor and for all they do for our unique member institutions. Any achievements and successes that may have been credited to me in my position as the director of athletics at Lipscomb University and Pepperdine University were the direct result of the talent, dedication and commitment of coaches, sta? members and student-athletes with whom I was blessed to associate."

Steve Potts (JD '82), who oversaw one of the nation's most successful Division I-AAA programs as Pepperdine's director of athletics, retired at the conclusion of the 2023–24 academic year after leading the Waves since January 2011.

A Nashville native, Potts earned his bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Tennessee-Martin in 1979 and went on to earn his juris doctor degree from the Pepperdine Caruso School of Law in 1982. Prior to his position as Pepperdine's AD, Potts spent 17 years at the university as an administrator and a professor and serving as the school's associate dean of administration and an assistant professor of law from 1990–99. In July 2008, Potts returned to Malibu as the senior associate AD after serving as the director of athletics at Lipscomb University from 2000 to 2008.

Under Potts' leadership, Pepperdine earned the I-AAA Athletic Director's Association All-Sports Award (given to the top-performing non-football school in Division I) three times (2011–12, 2021–22 and 2022–23), while finishing in the top three five additional times. Throughout Potts' tenure, the Waves won 69 conference regular-season or tournament titles (through the 2023-24 school year) and captured the 2021 NCAA men's golf national championship.

Potts brought beach volleyball to the university and the team captured the inaugural AVCA national championship in 2012, and again in 2014. In addition, men's golf won the 2021 national championship. Through his tenure, multiple teams experienced firsts, including but not limited to the following:

• 2014 – baseball advancing to a Super Regional for the first time; women's soccer advancing to the Sweet 16
• 2015 – men's basketball making its first postseason appearance since 2002
• 2018-19 – women's basketball winning 20 games for the first time since 2010 and won its first postseason game in the modern era.
• 2020-21 – men's basketball winning the College Basketball Invitational
• 2021 – women's soccer advancing to the Sweet 16; women's tennis advancing to national championship match
• 2022 & 2023 - women's swimming and diving team won back-to-back PCSC titles
• 2023-24 – women's tennis doubles advanced to NCAA Tournament final match; men's water polo captured first WCC regular-season title

Pepperdine's various facilities have also been upgraded under Potts' leadership, which has provided student-athletes and coaching staff exceptional opportunities to excel in their respective sports and increased the level of recognition of the Waves' great athletics history.

Prior to Pepperdine, Potts oversaw Lipscomb's transition from NAIA to NCAA Division I, successfully guiding the athletics department through four years of NCAA Division I provisional membership. In 2003, Lipscomb received active membership status and joined the Atlantic Sun Conference.

About Division I-AAA ADA: Now in its 24^th year, the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association's mission is to enhance initiatives common to its Division I-AAA membership (non-football institutions), in particular, aspects related to their flagship basketball programs. For more information on the Division I-AAA ADA, please visit www.div1aaa-ada.com. The Division I-AAA ADA is administered by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), which is in its 60^th year. For more information on NACDA and the 19 professional associations that fall under its umbrella, please visit www.nacda.com.