CLEVELAND (August 28, 2023) – The NACDA Board of Directors has officially appointed Washington State University (WSU) Director of Athletics Patrick Chun to serve as the Association's President for the 2023-24 academic year. Chun has served as a NACDA Officer since 2021 and was previously a NACDA Executive Committee member from 2016-20.
 
Chun replaces Past President Rick Hart, Director of Athletics at Southern Methodist University (SMU), whose tenure concluded after the 2023 NACDA & Affiliates Convention in Orlando earlier this summer.
 
"It's an honor to serve as NACDA President for this year," said Chun. "For over half a century, NACDA has been at the forefront of providing educational opportunities to help in the development of athletics administrators across all divisions. I, like so many, have benefited in countless ways through membership in NACDA and its Affiliate Associations. I would like to thank NACDA CEO Pat Manak, the NACDA Board and membership for this humbling honor."
 
"Pat has been instrumental in the growth and development of NACDA as a member-driven Association over the course of his career," said NACDA Chief Executive Officer Pat Manak. "From his time on the senior staff at Ohio State, to the AD chair at Florida Atlantic University, and now at Washington State, he has made a significant positive impact as a leader in college athletics during a period when the industry has evolved in the face of unprecedented change. We know there are more great things on the road ahead for the NACDA Family with Pat as President."
 
Chun is entering his sixth year at WSU. He is the school's 14th director of athletics and the first Asian-American athletics director to lead a Power Five school. Chun was recognized at the 2019 NACDA & Affiliates Convention as an FBS Under Armour Athletics Director of the Year, the first WSU Athletics leader to receive that honor.
 
Since arriving in Pullman, Chun has overseen an incredible transformation of Cougar Athletics, both on and off the fields and courts of competition, including record-setting student-athlete academic achievements, unprecedented fundraising totals, transformative facility projects, and innovative student-welfare programming.
 
In the spring of 2023, Chun testified before the House Subcommittee on Innovation, Data, and Commerce, asking U.S. lawmakers to develop federal standards regarding student-athletes' opportunities for monetizing their name, image and likeness (NIL). Chun was one of six witnesses to testify in front of the subcommittee and the lone collegiate athletics director. WSU Athletics is also committed to diversity and inclusion efforts, working closely with WSU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and the Black Student-Athlete Association (BSAA) to increase education and programming. For the 2021-22 academic year, WSU's BSAA was named Organization of the Year at the inaugural Black Student-Athlete Summit Awards ceremony.
 
Prior to his time at WSU, Chun spent five-and-a-half years as the director of athletics at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) and the previous 15 years at his alma mater, The Ohio State University (OSU), in a multitude of roles from 1997 through 2012, culminating in his role as the executive associate athletics director. He also served on the NAADD Executive Committee from 2009-12.
 
Chun, together with 1^st Vice President Ross Bjork, Texas A&M University, 2^nd Vice President Heather Lyke, University of Pittsburgh, and Secretary Pennie Parker, Rollins College, welcome Northern Illinois University (NIU) Vice President and Director of Athletics and Recreation Sean T. Frazier as NACDA's 3^rd Vice President for 2023-24. Frazier has served as the AD at NIU since 2013 and was a member of the NACDA Executive Committee from 2016-20. Prior to his service with NACDA, Frazier served as MOAA President from 2010-13.
 
"NACDA has been at the forefront of my career development for decades," Frazier said. "The many colleagues, mentors, mentees, and leaders that I routinely interact with has shaped my personal and professional life. I am truly humbled to continue to serve in this new capacity and look forward to supporting what I believe is the premier college athletics association in the country."
 
"For many years, Sean has been an exemplary role model for young administrators and aspiring athletics directors," said Manak. "He has worked tirelessly as an advocate for diversity and inclusion in college athletics while enhancing the student-athlete experience and strengthening the pipeline of minorities in the industry. The NACDA membership will benefit from Sean's veteran insight and leadership as he moves into the 3^rd Vice President role."
 
Frazier is in his 11^th year at the helm of the NIU Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. 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.
 
The passage of 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 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 25 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.
 
Joining the Officers, NACDA Executive Committee members selected to serve beginning in 2023-24 include Keri Becker, director of athletics at Grand Valley State University; Derrick Gragg, Combe Family Vice President for Athletics and Recreation at Northwestern University; Brian Henderson, athletics director/assistant vice president of student engagement and inclusion at Patrick & Henry Community College; Scott Larson, director of athletics at Black Hills State University; Desiree Reed Francois, director of athletics at University of Missouri; Matt Roberts, director of athletics at College of Charleston; Reagan Rossi, vice president of athletics at College of Idaho; Ashley Walyuchow, athletics director at University of Houston Victoria; and Drew Watson, director of athletics at Southeastern University.
 
The administrators listed above join the following individuals on the NACDA Executive Committee – Anthony Azama (Washington St. Louis); Whit Babcock (Virginia Tech); Charlie Cobb (George State); Jenn Fraser (NCAA); Christina Hundley (Paradise Valley CC); Angel Mason (Berry); Ed McLaughlin (VCU); Nicki Moore (Cornell); Colin Preston (Cypress); Chrissi Rawak (Delaware); and Mike Snyder (Pacific Lutheran).
 
About NACDA: Now in its 59th year, NACDA is the professional and educational Association for more than 22,000 college athletics administrators at more than 2,200 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. NACDA manages 18 professional associations and four foundations. In addition to virtual programming, NACDA hosts five 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.