CLEVELAND -- The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) announced the Association's Hall of Fame Class of 2026. The list of inductees includes: Al Bean, University of Southern Maine; Jeff Bourne, James Madison University; Peggy Davis (posthumous), Virginia State University; Earl Edwards, UC San Diego; John Jackson, Dean College; John Parry  (posthumous), Brown University; Fran Reidy, Saint Leo University; and Kulwant Singh, De Anza College. The group of deserving individuals will be honored in conjunction with the 61^st Annual NACDA & Affiliates Convention at Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas, Nev., at the beginning of the Association-Wide Featured Session on Monday, June 8, starting at 4 p.m.

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

Al Bean, University of Southern Maine
After a nearly 50-year connection with the University of Southern Maine (USM), Al Bean announced his retirement as director of athletics in July 2024. Arriving at the university as a student-athlete in 1973 and enjoying a Hall of Fame career as part of the Huskies' baseball program, Bean went on to have an impactful and award-winning 45-year professional tenure with Southern Maine as assistant baseball coach, sports information director, assistant athletics director, and finally director of athletics in 1993 – a title he held for 31 years.

During his time leading the athletics department at his alma mater, Bean initiated an external review of USM's facilities and programs that resulted in the construction of a new field house, ice arena and soccer field, and led the way for more recent facility upgrades that included the completion of the USM Softball Stadium, Ed Flaherty Field, and Hannaford Field. He was instrumental in the formation of the USM Athletic Association, a support group that now includes over 500 members, and the creation of the Husky Hall of Fame.

Among the many memorable athletics highlights at USM are the baseball team's 1997 National Championship and five NCAA Division III World Series Appearances, hosting the 1998 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Final Four and the program's five NCAA Final Four appearances, individual national championships in track & field and the wrestling program's first national champion in 2017.

Bean served on numerous national committees, including a four-year term on the NCAA Division III Management Council, a two-year term as NADIIIAA President and the NACDA Executive Committee from 2010-14. His service also extended to the Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), Administrative Review Committee, the Association-Wide Committee on Playing and Practice Seasons, Sports Wagering Task Force, National Youth Sports Program, and he has chaired multiple sport committees.

In 2012-13 Bean was named NACDA Athletics Director of the Year (ADOY) and in 2021 he received the NADIIIAA Richard A. Rasmussen Lifetime Achievement Award.

Following his retirement from USM, Bean transitioned to his current role as commissioner of the Little East Conference (LEC). He has been instrumental in the league's growth from a six-institution, basketball-only conference to a multi-sport conference that offers 24 championships and is inclusive of nine primary member institutions and 22 affiliate programs with the addition of men's and women's ice hockey in 2025-26.

Bean received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Southern Maine, earning his bachelor's in education and history in 1977 and his master's in education in 1992. He was inducted into USM's Husky Hall of Fame in 1989 in recognition of his record-setting pitching career, and the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997. In 2012, he was among the 11-member inaugural LEC Hall of Fame class in recognition of his service as an administrator at Southern Maine.

Jeff Bourne, James Madison University
Following a 25-year run leading James Madison University's (JMU) intercollegiate athletics program, Jeff Bourne retired as director of athletics in the spring of 2024. At the time of his retirement, he was the seventh-longest serving Division I athletics director in the country at one school.

Bourne orchestrated JMU's rise from a diverse regional Division I athletics program to a profile firmly established as one of the nation's top departments for broad-based success, national achievement, academic excellence, student-athlete support and cultural strength. Over the course of Bourne's tenure, James Madison blossomed as one of the Colonial Athletic Association's (CAA) charter members with success across all 18 sport programs. As the department's portfolio spread wider, Bourne worked to steer the Dukes into FBS football and membership in the Sun Belt Conference in July 2022.

Bourne began his tenure as just the third full-time athletics director in school history on July 15, 1999, and months later, JMU captured its first Division I football conference championship. The Dukes proceeded to reach the playoffs in 14 of 23 FCS seasons under Bourne.

In 2016, Bourne assumed the leadership role among the CAA's council of athletics directors and also previously served as a member of the NCAA FCS Championship Selection Committee from 2010-13, chairing the Committee his last year. In May 2018, he was honored as one of five finalists nationwide for the Sports Business Journal Athletics Director of the Year Award.

Bourne was recognized as a NACDA Athletics Director of the Year (ADOY) in 2016-17 and 2023-24. On April 9, 2022, he was honored with the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Bridgewater College.

Bourne prioritized a full overhaul of the department's facility profile, pushing for each student-athlete to be able to maximize performance thanks to first-class competition and training venues. The work continued in Bourne's final year as the department embarked upon its next wave of master planning. In November 2020, the AUBC ushered JMU basketball into a new era with a 8,500-person arena featuring advanced technology and program support infrastructure. The renovation of the Convocation Center debuted a new competition venue for volleyball, vastly improved indoor training space for track and field and elevated the sports of men's and women's soccer, cross country, track and field, field hockey, lacrosse and volleyball into an enhanced environment of support services under one roof. Additional projects along the way improved Sentara Park by adding game day locker rooms (2022), expanded softball's Veterans Memorial Park to increase seating capacity and improve NCAA Regional hosting standards and added a game day team facility to the JMU Field Hockey Complex (2023).

A Salem, Virginia native, Bourne graduated from Bridgewater College with a degree in business administration and accounting in 1981. He completed his master's degree in education and sports management at Virginia Tech in 1994 and is also a 1994 graduate of the Sports Management Institute (SMI) Executive Program.

Peggy Davis, Virginia State University (posthumous)
Peggy Davis, Virginia State University's (VSU) associate vice president for athletics who led the institution's sports programs to numerous championships and accolades over nearly three decades, passed away October 16, 2024. She was a longtime fixture in NCAA Division II athletics.

Davis was hired to be VSU's head women's basketball coach in 1997. Seventeen years later, she became the school's athletics director. During her 27-year tenure, Davis guided VSU's athletics programs to 26 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Championship titles, 20 NCAA Division II tournament appearances, and saw the university's coaches earn 44 Coach of the Year honors.

She oversaw numerous athletics facility improvements on the campus to include the $84 million Multipurpose Center which opened in February 2016 and renovations to Rogers Stadium, VSU's football and track facility.

In 2020, under Davis' leadership, VSU received the NCAA Division II Award of Excellence. She was honored the following year with MOAA's Distinguished Service Award for her work advancing diversity and inclusion in college athletics. She served as MOAA President from 2017-19, guiding the Association to increased membership and providing additional programming and professional development opportunities.

Davis made history as the first woman to serve as interim commissioner of the CIAA and went on to earn CIAA Athletics Director of the Year accolades seven times. In 2010-11, she was recognized by NACDA as an Athletics Director of the Year (ADOY).

She was inducted into the VSU Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Howard Payne University Hall of Fame in 1996, her alma mater where she was the school's first women's basketball All-American.

In December 2024, the CIAA Board of Directors selected Davis as the posthumous recipient of the 2025 Jimmy Jenkins Legacy Award, bestowed to an individual who has provided an environment that supports athletics and academic excellence through educational opportunities and community involvement; focused always on the personal growth, mental wellness and development of the student-athlete and its members.

Earl Edwards, UC San Diego
Earl Edwards became director of athletics at UC San Diego in March 2000. For the next 25 years, UC San Diego was consistently recognized on a national level for its academic and athletics achievements and, in just two decades, rose from NCAA Division III, to Division II, to Division I. Edwards retired from the chair and was appointed athletics director emeritus at UCSD in June 2025.

Under his guidance, the 24-sport program made a very successful transition from the NCAA Division II ranks to Division I. The Triton baseball team was the first to capture a Big West title in 2023. In 2025, both the men's and women's basketball programs won The Big West and competed in the NCAA Tournament in their first year with postseason eligibility – making UC San Diego the first institution in NCAA history to advance to both its men's and women's programs to March Madness in their first year eligible. Academically, UC San Diego's stellar graduation rate exceeded any other public Division I institution.

UC San Diego surpassed all expectations at the Division II level, capturing women's soccer national championships in both 2000 and 2001 and the softball national title in 2011. After moving to Division II for the 2000-01 academic year, UC San Diego ranked among the top seven programs in the country in the annual Learfield Directors' Cup standings on 12 different occasions. In 2004 and again in 2007, UC San Diego was the national runner up.

Edwards built several new facilities and enhanced others during his tenure, including a softball stadium, a baseball stadium and clubhouse and a strength and conditioning center. Triton Soccer Stadium was updated with permanent seating and a brand-new playing surface. In 2019, he oversaw a major renovation of LionTree Arena that included new seating areas, a 50'x15' video scoreboard and a modernized Skybox suite. Canyonview Aquatic Center received a new video scoreboard in 2024.

Edwards served as NAADD President in 2002-03. In 2021, the Association created the Earl Edwards Inclusive Development Program, an initiative designed to foster professional growth and create pathways for underrepresented groups within the athletics development profession, continuing Edwards' legacy of leadership and inclusion.

A two-time NACDA Athletics Director of the Year (ADOY) in 2006-07 and 2016-17, Edwards served on the NACDA Executive Committee from 2003-07 and was also a member of the MOAA Board of Directors. He was part of the Division II Management Council, the Division II Championships and Minority Opportunities and Interest Committee (MOIC), the Walter Byers Scholarship Committee and the Committee for Women's Athletics. In addition, Edwards was a member of the CCAA's Executive Council during the program's Division II era.

Prior to UC San Diego, Edwards served as athletics director at his alma mater, East Stroudsburg University, for seven years. He also garnered athletics administration experience at the University of Massachusetts, UC Davis, the University of Michigan and Drexel University. A 1972 graduate of East Stroudsburg, Edwards earned a bachelor's degree in physical education. He went on to receive a master's in sports administration from the University of Massachusetts in 1973.

John Jackson, Dean College
John Jackson served as athletics director at Dean College for nearly three decades, leading the athletics department from 1988-2016. During his tenure he built one of the largest varsity sports programs of all two-year institutions in New England and one of the few with a football team. Under Jackson's guidance, Dean fostered a quality athletics program characterized by competitive teams that garnered countless regional titles and upheld sound academic integrity.

Off campus, Jackson exemplified his commitment to service across the numerous posts he held throughout his career with NACDA, NATYCAA and the NJCAA. He was a NACDA Executive Committee member from 2002-06 and served as NATYCAA President for the 2002-03 academic year.

Jackson served the NJCAA in various roles as well, including Region XXI Women's Regional Director (1994-2001), Region XXI Men's Regional Director (2001-15), and served as chair for Standards and Ethics, Men's Lacrosse, Men's Soccer and Women's Soccer Committees.

A three-time NACDA Athletics Director of the Year (ADOY) recipient, Jackson was recognized in 2001-02, 2009-10 and 2013-14. In 2010, he received the NATYCAA L. William Miller Award, which recognizes a member of NATYCAA who demonstrates excellence in leadership, service and integrity in an athletics program at a two-year college or organization.

Jackson was inducted into the NATYCAA Hall of Fame in 2018. Prior to his career in administration, Jackson coached men's basketball and softball and was elected to the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.

A graduate of SUNY Cortland, Jackson tirelessly served the NJCAA mission of striving for athletics and academic excellence for all its members.

John Parry, Brown University (posthumous)
John Parry, a veteran athletics administrator for over three decades, passed away in August 2024. Parry served as athletics director at his alma mater, Brown University (1979-90), Butler University (1990-2006) and Cleveland State University (2010-17).

At Brown, Parry oversaw multiple capital projects, significantly improving the athletics facilities. He also spearheaded hosting college hockey's Frozen Four three times in Providence. He served as assistant athletics director before an 11-year run as director of athletics on College Hill.

While at Brown, Parry was one of the nine original Board of Directors of the Sports Foundation and was a driving force in the building of OMAC (1981) and Pizzitola Sports Center (1989). In the early days of his AD role, Parry was instrumental in supporting and upgrading women's sports, which had gained a tentative foothold in the mid-1970s. He also reinstated wrestling to varsity status in his first year. The 1980s saw Brown reach new heights in athletics under Parry's leadership.

Parry served two separate terms on the NCAA Lacrosse Selection Committee in the 1980s and 90s. He led a group that modernized the NCAA Tournament and created Final Four weekend, similar to other NCAA Championships, which still exist today.

During Parry's tenure at Butler, the department expanded its sports offerings, added and improved athletics facilities, and captured its first Horizon League James J. McCafferty Trophy for all-sports excellence in 1996-97. The Bulldogs repeated that honor in 1997-98, 1998-99, 2001-02 and 2002-03.

The Bulldogs captured 55 conference regular season/tournament championships over Parry's 16 years and made NCAA Tournament appearances in men's and women's basketball, football, men's soccer, volleyball, men's and women's cross country, lacrosse, men's tennis, men's and women's track and baseball.

Parry spent the final six years of his career at Cleveland State. He first served as interim athletics director in 2010 and was named to the permanent position in 2011. During his time at CSU, the university captured the McCafferty Trophy in 2012-13 which is awarded annually to the best athletics program in the Horizon League. In addition, he oversaw the development of the Medical Mutual Tennis Pavilion, which still serves as the home court for the men's and women's tennis programs as well as a multi-use tennis facility for the Greater Cleveland Community. Parry also successfully launched the Vikings' men's lacrosse program in 2017.

Parry served on the NACDA Executive Committee from 1999-2003 and was recognized as a NACDA Athletics Director of the Year (ADOY) in 2002-03.

Fran Reidy, Saint Leo University
After more than 35 years of service, Fran Reidy retired as vice president and director of athletics from Saint Leo University in August 2023. Reidy led Saint Leo to win 30 Sunshine State Conference championships, earn two national championships, and make 125 NCAA Division II championship appearances during his tenure.

When Reidy became director of athletics in 1999, the Lions had gone nearly 30 years without a conference championship title, and many sports were at the bottom of the Sunshine State Conference standings. 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 a second-place finish in 2015-16. 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 D2 ADA President (2015-16); 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 by NACDA three times as Athletics Director of the Year (ADOY) in 2011-12, 2014-15, and 2017-18. In 2025, Reidy received the D2 ADA Lifetime Achievement Award, given to athletics directors who have exemplified superior achievement during their career at the Division II level.

Prior to his career in administration, Reidy coached men's soccer, and was honored as Coach of the Year twice by the Sunshine State Conference, and was inducted into its Hall of Fame in 2025. Reidy is the all-time winningest coach in Saint Leo men's soccer history with 139 wins.

Kulwant Singh, De Anza College
Kulwant Singh retired as athletics director at De Anza College in August 2021 after 17 years leading the athletics department, a tenure that followed a 17-year Hall of Fame soccer coaching career. Singh is a highly-regarded administrator not only in the California Community College Athletic Association (3C2A) but at the national level as well.

Under Singh's leadership, De Anza enjoyed unprecedented success in the highly-regarded Coast Conference, claiming the All-Sports Championship Trophy numerous times and staking claim as one of the premier community colleges in the Golden State.

Singh served as NATYCAA President in 2015-16 and was recognized as a NACDA Athletics Director of the Year (ADOY) that same year. He was a member of the NACDA Executive Committee from 2013-17 and in 2020 was named the NATYCAA L. William Miller Award recipient.

As a coach, Singh brought De Anza College soccer to the pinnacle of success on four occasions, capturing a women's title in 1993 and a men's banner in 1997. But it was what he accomplished in 1994 that cements his legacy in 3C2A soccer history. While serving as head coach of both the men's and women's teams, Singh led them both to state championships – on the same day.

That level of achievement helped define his 17-year coaching career – seven of them while simultaneously coaching both programs – that saw him win nearly 80 percent of his games with a 375-70-73 record. Fourteen of his players went on to earn All-America honors, more than 100 transferred with athletics scholarships to four-year schools, and two of his teams earned Scholar Team honors from the 3C2A. Additionally, Singh has another National Championship and Gold Medal with the National and Olympic Teams Program in Amateur Women's Soccer where 15 of those players went on to play professional soccer in the W-USA League. He was named Community College National Coach of the Year in 1993 and 1995.

Following his retirement as AD, Singh stepped into the role of commissioner at the Central Valley Conference, a position he still holds today. Singh also currently serves on the California Community College Athletics Association (3C2A) Board of Directors. The 3C2A is comprised of 112 member colleges with 28,000 student-athletes across California.

Singh has now been inducted into eight Halls of Fame.

About NACDA: Now in its 60th 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.