CLEVELAND – The NACDA Board of Directors has officially appointed Sean T. Frazier, Vice President/Director of Athletics and Recreation at Northern Illinois University (NIU), to serve as the Association's President for the 2025-26 academic year. Frazier has served as a NACDA Officer since 2023 and was previously a NACDA Executive Committee member from 2016-20. He also served as MOAA President from 2010-13.
 
Frazier replaces Past President Ross Bjork, Senior Vice President and Wolfe Foundation-Eugene Smith Endowed Athletics Director at The Ohio State University, whose tenure concluded after the 2025 NACDA & Affiliates Convention in Orlando earlier this summer.
 
"I am overwhelmed by the overall vote of confidence from NACDA – this is a full circle moment for me," said Frazier. "We have a lot of work to do, and it is going to take a lot of commitment from all of us. Especially during these times in college athletics, the practitioner's voice is extremely important. For me, and many of us, it's about the student-athlete experience, the leadership, the staff … the things that make our profession the greatest of all time. As my mentor Mr. Cleary once said to me – at the end of the day, this is not too hard, but you have to be consistent and true to yourself. I'm excited about the journey – I will not let you down."
 
"Especially in times of uncertainty and change, Sean has remained a steadfast and confident leader – on his campus, within his conference, and across intercollegiate athletics," said NACDA Chief Executive Officer Pat Manak. "His unwavering commitment to NACDA and its Affiliates over the course of his career, as well as his dedication and passion for developing the next wave of athletics administrators, will allow him to successfully guide the membership into this new era of our enterprise."
 
In his 13th year at the helm of the Northern Illinois University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, Frazier has guided the Huskies to historic milestones competitively, academically and socially, cemented his status as both a national and community leader and led successful fundraising efforts that have transformed the student-athlete experience at NIU.
 
With the NIU Convocation Center, the Huskie Marching Band, and most recently, NIU Recreation, added to the NIU Athletics family, Frazier's influence and forward-thinking leadership extends throughout the campus and community. His work to move not just Huskie Athletics, but Northern Illinois University as a whole, forward, led to his promotion to vice president/director of athletics and recreation in 2021.
 
The passage of Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) legislation at the state and NCAA levels, the expansion of the College Football Playoff (CFP) and shifting conference affiliations, added to the significant challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, have seen Frazier take the lead on a local, conference and national level, and continue to adapt to change while setting NIU firmly on a path forward now and for the future. In keeping with the changing landscape of college athletics, under Frazier's leadership, NIU has partnered with the Boneyard Victor E. Collective to increase NIL opportunities for Huskie student-athletes.
 
Most recently under Frazier's guidance, NIU accepted an invitation to join the Mountain West for football and the Horizon League for the majority of its Olympic sports beginning in 2026, in response to the ever-changing intercollegiate athletics landscape, seeking sustainability and continued academic and athletics success.
 
Frazier's record of success at NIU has led to national recognition. In 2021-22, he was named one of five finalists for the Athletics Director of the Year by Sports Business Journal and in 2023, he was recognized by Crain's Chicago Business. In May 2024, Frazier became a Hall of Famer as he was inducted into the Suffolk County Sports Hall of Fame on his native Long Island.
 
In 2021, Frazier joined the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) College Sports Sustainability Think Tank which convened leaders from across the collegiate, Olympic and Paralympic landscape. He has written numerous papers, presented on topics of diversity, leadership and hiring at national meetings and served on many NCAA committees.
 
In 2016 and again in 2022, NIU received the NCAA and MOAA Award for Diversity and Inclusion, which recognized and celebrated the initiatives, policies and practices of NIU in embracing diversity and inclusion. Under Frazier's tutelage, NIU became the only two-time recipient since the inception of the award. For Frazier, whose roots in the topic of racial relations and diversity run deep, the award was especially significant. In 2014, he was honored with the Distinguished Service Award for his leadership of MOAA.
 
A former football student-athlete at the University of Alabama, Frazier has 27 years of overall experience as a director of athletics at the NCAA Division I, II and III levels, as an administrator at two Division I universities, as a coach and as a student-athlete. Prior to NIU, Frazier spent six years in senior leadership roles at the University of Wisconsin (UW) and was promoted to deputy director of athletics in 2011. Prior to Wisconsin, Frazier served as director of athletics at Merrimack College in North Andover, Mass., was the director of athletics and recreation at Clarkson University in Potsdam, N.Y. and led the athletics and recreation department at Manhattanville College in Purchase, N.Y.
 
Frazier, together with 1^st Vice President Pennie Parker, Rollins College, and Secretary Christina Hundley, Paradise Valley CC, welcome two new faces as NACDA Officers for 2025-26 in 2^nd Vice President Whit Babcock, Virginia Tech, and 3^rd Vice President Reagan Rossi, College of Idaho.
 
Virginia Tech athletics started a new era when Babcock was formally named director of athletics on January 24, 2014. The native of Harrisonburg, Va., returned to the Commonwealth after making stops at Cincinnati, Missouri, West Virginia, Auburn and James Madison. More than a decade into his tenure with the Hokies, Babcock continues to make his mark on all facets of the athletics department, from academic and athletic achievements to fan engagement, facilities improvements, fundraising, defining championships and enhancing the overall student-athlete experience. Babcock has served on the NACDA Executive Committee since 2020. He was recognized as NACDA Athletics Director of the Year (ADOY) in 2017-18 and served as NAADD President in 2011-12.
 
"It's a privilege to serve as an Officer for NACDA and to work alongside so many outstanding leaders who are dedicated to advancing our profession," Babcock said. "This organization has played a vital role in my career, and I look forward to giving back and helping support the important work being done on behalf of student-athletes, coaches and institutions across the country."
 
Rossi started at The College of Idaho in 1995 as an assistant on the women's basketball coaching staff when the College reinstated the women's basketball program. She went on to pursue other coaching opportunities and returned in 2001 as the head women's basketball coach. During her time as the head coach she also assumed the role of Title IX coordinator, which she held for 11 years. She served as the associate AD for three years while coaching before moving into that position full time in 2014. In 2016, Rossi was promoted to athletics director and in 2021, she was elevated to vice president of athletics. Rossi has served on the NACDA Executive Committee since 2023. She was recognized as NACDA Athletics Director of the Year (ADOY) in 2022-23 and served as NAIA-ADA President this past year. She also serves on the Allstate NACDA Good Works Team Selection Committee.
 
"It's an honor to be chosen as NACDA's 3rd Vice President," said Rossi. "I am confident in our commitment to elevate the voice of college athletics, and shape the future of our profession through service, vision and an unwavering commitment to the student-athletes and their success. I feel blessed to be among an amazing group of leaders."
 
"Whit and Reagan have not only built successful careers in the AD chair, they have established themselves as role models in the industry that transcend their respective divisions," said Manak. "The standard of excellence they hold and level of service that they provide to their staff, student-athletes and institutional communities make them the perfect additions to the NACDA Officer ranks for the seasons ahead."
 
Joining the Officers, NACDA Executive Committee members selected to serve beginning in 2025-26 include Kanoe Bandy, Athletics Director at Taft College; Adrian Dowell, Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics at University of Nebraska Omaha; Nina King, Vice President, King-Compton Families Director of Athletics and Adjunct Professor of Business Administration at Duke University; and Kristen Schuth, Director of Athletics at Genesee Community College.
 
The administrators listed above join the following individuals on the NACDA Executive Committee – Jennifer Baker (Johns Hopkins); Keri Becker (Grand Valley State); Aaron Bouyea (Ithaca); Julie Cromer (Ohio); Jenn Fraser (NCAA); Sherryta Freeman (Lafayette); Brian Henderson (Patrick & Henry CC); Angel Mason (Berry); Nicki Moore (Cornell); Desireé Reed-Francois (Arizona); Matt Roberts (College of Charleston); Gene Taylor (Kansas State); Etienne Thomas (Winston-Salem State); Ashley Walyuchow (Houston Victoria); Drew Watson (Southeastern); and Natalie Winkelfoos (Oberlin).
 
About NACDA: Now in its 61st year, NACDA is the professional and educational Association for more than 24,000 college athletics administrators at more than 2,300 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. NACDA manages 19 professional associations and four foundations. In addition to virtual programming, NACDA hosts and/or has a presence at seven major professional development events in-person annually. The NACDA & Affiliates Convention is the largest gathering of collegiate athletics administrators in the country. For more information, visit www.nacda.com.