CLEVELAND – The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) announced the 28 winners of the Under Armour AD of the Year Award (ADOY) Wednesday, with Washington State University Director of Athletics Patrick Chun becoming the first Cougar athletic director to receive the honor.
 
"Pat has compiled an incredible list of accomplishments at WSU and done so with remarkable aplomb and leadership," said Washington State University President Kirk Schulz. "He has earned the admiration and trust of our student-athletes, coaches, faculty and staff, the Pullman community, and his peers in the Pac-12 and across the country in his brief time at WSU. He is most deserving of this tremendous recognition."
 
Chun has guided Washington State Athletics to great heights in his short time in Pullman. Despite seeing a changeover of 28 percent of the staff from the time he began, Chun has instituted programs to benefit student-athlete welfare, specifically mental health awareness. Under his leadership, Cougar programs have reached NCAA Championships in six sports, while student-athletes have collected 10 All-America certificates, 29 All-Conference and 161 Academic All-Conference selections, and three conference champions.
 
Additionally, his leadership has led to as revitalization of the annual giving program that set an all-time high in donations last fiscal year, and most importantly, seeing the academic performance of WSU student-athletes set program highs for GPA in back-to-back semesters.
 
"This is a tremendous honor and reflective of the great team we have assembled in our athletic department," said Chun. "We have a singular focus of serving our student-athletes and providing the best collegiate experience possible. In the 14 months at WSU, we have achieved record-setting performances in our academics and on-field performances, enhanced our student-athlete welfare programs, initiated a campus-wide mental health awareness campaign and saw our fundraising set program bests. We are extremely proud of our accomplishments over the past year and excited to continue Cougar Athletics' ascent in the years to come."
 
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 receive their awards during the James J. Corbett Awards Luncheon on Tuesday, June 11 at NACDA's 54th Annual Convention at the World Center Marriott Resort in Orlando, Florida.
 
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.
 
"The athletics directors who have been recognized as part of the Athletics Director of the Year Program continue to raise the bar as thought leaders and decision makers in college athletics," said Bob Vecchione, NACDA Chief Executive Officer. "In 2019, we are proud to honor the highest number of female athletics directors with this award in a given year — nine — since the ADOY program was initiated 21 years ago! This is a true testament to the positive changes happening across the landscape of college athletics."
 
Winners of the 2018-19 Under Armour AD of the Year Award at the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level are Chun, Jamie Pollard (Iowa State), Danny White (Central Florida) and Deborah Yow (North Carolina State).
 
Under Armour is now in its 11th year of sponsoring the award and over 248 different athletics directors have been honored with the award during that time.
 
"The Athletics Director of the Year Award acknowledges the positive impact top athletics directors across all levels have had at their respective institutions, and the leadership they provide to their student-athletes," said Suzanne Williams, Under Armour's director of collegiate sports marketing. "Under Armour is proud to partner with NACDA to honor those individuals who continue to excel and set the standard for leaders in college athletics."
 
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 within the last five years 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 and former directors of athletics, current and former commissioners and other key athletics administrators voted on nominees for the award. A complete listing of Selection Committee members can be found on NACDA's website at www.nacda.com.
 
About Under Armour, Inc.: Under Armour, Inc., headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland is a leading inventor, marketer and distributor of branded performance athletic apparel, footwear and accessories. Designed to make all athletes better, the brand's innovative products are sold worldwide to consumers with active lifestyles. The company's Connected Fitness™ platform powers the world's largest digitally connected health and fitness community. For further information, please visit about.underarmour.com.
 
About NACDA: NACDA, now in its 54th year, is the professional and educational Association for more than 15,700 college athletics administrators at more than 1,700 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. More than 6,500 athletics administrators annually attend NACDA & Affiliates Convention Week. Additionally, NACDA manages 17 professional associations and three foundations. For more information on NACDA, visit www.nacda.com.