CLEVELAND – The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) announced the 28 winners of the NACDA AD of the Year Award (ADOY) today. The award spans seven divisions (NCAA FBS, FCS, Division I-AAA, II, III, NAIA/Other Four-Year Institutions and Junior College/Community Colleges). Winners will be recognized in conjunction with the 61st Annual NACDA & Affiliates Convention at Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas, Nev., at the beginning of the Association-Wide Featured Session on Tuesday, June 9, starting at 4 p.m.

The ADOY Award highlights the efforts of athletics directors at all levels for their commitment and positive contributions to student-athletes, campuses and their surrounding communities.
 
"NACDA is once again proud to recognize an impressive class of Athletics Directors of the Year who are strong, inspiring and innovative in the way they lead and serve others," said Pat Manak, NACDA Chief Executive Officer. "For an award that spans almost three decades, we continue to honor both rising stars and industry veterans who make an impact across an ever-changing industry."
 
The ADOY Award program is in its 28th year and has recognized a total of 633 deserving athletics directors to date.
 
Winners of the 2025-26 NACDA AD of the Year Awards are: 

All NACDA-member directors of athletics in the United States, Canada and Mexico who met the criteria were eligible for the award. Among the criteria were service as an AD for a minimum of five academic years; demonstration of commitment to higher education and student-athletes; continuous teamwork, loyalty and excellence; and the ability to inspire individuals or groups to high levels of accomplishments. Additionally, each AD's institution must have passed a compliance check through its appropriate governing body (i.e., NCAA, NAIA, etc.), in which the institution could not have been on probation or cited for a lack of institutional control during the tenure of the current athletics director.
 
Nominators were NACDA-member directors of athletics, institutional presidents and conference commissioners, as well as other respected intercollegiate athletics administrators. Special Divisional Selection Committees composed of current directors of athletics voted on nominees for the award. Additional history surrounding the ADOY award, including a list of past winners, can be found here.

Hotel and Convention registration for #NACDA26 is now live. Visit nacda.com/convention for more information.

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.