General Sports Turf Systems Regional Athletic Director of the Year winners

As part of our report on college athletics, Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal presents the 2004 General Sports Turf Systems Regional Athletic Director of the Year winners, listed below.

The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics administers the regional awards. Winners are chosen in each of four regions — Northeast, Southeast, Central and West — and in six categories — NCAA Division I-A, NCAA Division I-AA/I-AAA, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA and other four-year institutions, and junior and community colleges.

Each of the winners must have been nominated by a NACDA-member athletic director, school president or conference commissioner and must have served as an athletic director for a minimum of five consecutive academic years.

SportsBusiness Journal selected Texas Christian University’s Eric Hyman as the 2004 Athletic Director of the Year. Hyman was the Division I-A West region winner in the NACDA awards. SportsBusiness Journal considered regional winners and other athletic directors, and conducted independent research, in selecting the national winner.

ADOY: Division I-A

Andy Geiger
Ohio State University
Northeast Region
Conference: Big Ten
Career highlights: Oversees a program that has 36 varsity sports, more than 1,000 student athletes and a budget that exceeds $80 million; added three women’s sports — hockey, lacrosse and rowing; led effort to upgrade aging sports facilities.

Joan Cronan
University of Tennessee
Southeast Region
Conference: Southeastern
Career highlights: As director of women’s athletics, built a program that saw nine of 11 teams finish in the NCAA top 25 in 2003; Lady Vols teams had an overall winning percentage of .718 in 2003-04; a former coach in her 21st year at Tennessee.

Judy MacLeod
University of Tulsa
Central Region
Conference: Western Athletic
Career highlights: Recruited such well-known coaches as Tubby Smith, Steve Robinson, Bill Self and Buzz Peterson; instrumental in Tulsa becoming a member of Conference USA beginning with the 2005-06 season; established academic support program for student athletes.

ADOY: Division I-AA/I-AAA

Ron Petro
University of Rhode Island
Northeast Region
Conference: Atlantic 10
Career highlights: Supervised construction of a $54 million multipurpose arena; now guiding plans for a weight training facility, grandstands on the west side of Meade Stadium, and athletic training and academic centers; during 12-year tenure, nine Rhode Island teams have combined for 21 conference titles.

Jim Murphy
Davidson College
Southeast Region
Conference: Southern
Career highlights: In 2002-03, student athlete graduation rate of 97 percent was third highest in Division I (Davidson competes in Division II in football); involved in the design phase of a new soccer complex, baseball stadium and football stadium expansion project.

Bruce Rasmussen
Creighton University
Central Region
Conference: Missouri Valley
Career highlights: Oversaw the fund raising and construction of a new men’s and women’s soccer facility on campus, and men’s basketball team’s move to a 15,800-seat arena in downtown Omaha; winningest women’s basketball coach in Creighton history during 12 years in the post.

Dianne Murphy
University of Denver
West Region
Conference: Sun Belt
Career highlights: Created student athlete support program to meet academic needs and promote learning; Pioneers have won the Sun Belt Conference graduation rate award each of the four years it has been awarded, most recently in 2002-03 with a graduation rate of 70 percent.

ADOY: Division II

Clyde Doughty Jr.
New York Institute of Technology
Northeast Region
Conference: New York Collegiate Athletic
Career highlights: Has been at NYIT for 27 years, since the day he first attended a class at the Old Westbury campus; now manages 14 sports programs between two campuses (Central Islip and Old Westbury), as well as recreational and intramural programs.

Jane Meier
Northern Kentucky University
Southeast Region
Conference: Great Lakes Valley
Career highlights: Coached women’s volleyball, basketball and softball at the university before being named athletic director in 1988; now oversees 13 sports programs (six men’s, seven women’s), 230 student athletes and 35 staff members.

Larry Holstad
Winona State University
Central Region
Conference: Northern Sun Intercollegiate
Career highlights: In the last six years, Winona State has constructed women’s locker rooms, added lights for football, soccer, softball and baseball, reconstructed the baseball facility, installed football and baseball scoreboards, and added a new weight room.

Ron Prettyman
Cal State Dominguez Hills
West Region
Conference: California Collegiate Athletic Association
Career highlights: Expanded athletics program from eight sports to 11; coordinated acquisition of the Hughes Education and Athletics Center, which houses the athletics department and provides two classrooms and a computer lab for students.

ADOY: Division III

Chad Yowell
Wheaton College
Northeast Region
Conference: New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic
Career highlights: Added four sports teams to the women’s program and started a men’s program of nine sports following Wheaton’s transition to coeducation in 1987; in the last 15 years has tripled the size of the full-time coaching staff and quadrupled the departmental budget.

Lawrence Schiner
New Jersey City University
Southeast Region
Conference: New Jersey Athletic
Career highlights: Led development of the university’s athletic and fitness center and supervised development of the Thomas M. Gerrity Athletic Complex; instrumental in forming the New Jersey Athletic Conference and served as its first president.

Michael Mould
College Misericordia
Central Region
Conference: Pennsylvania Athletic
Career highlights: Guided the Cougars from NAIA to NCAA Division III; added 10 sports, a new indoor facility, outdoor field complex and outdoor tennis facility; college has won 18 PAC championships.

Bob King
Trinity University
West Region
Conference: Southern Collegiate Athletic
Career highlights: Since King joined Trinity 11 years ago, the university’s teams have won two Division III national championships, 91 SCAC championships and 10 of 11 SCAC President’s Trophy awards, presented to the school with the best overall sports teams in the conference.

ADOY: NAIA

Susan Hlavacek
Notre Dame College
Northeast Region
Conference: American Mideast
Career highlights: Since 2001, when Notre Dame became coeducational, has increased the program from having just four women’s teams to having eight women’s teams and seven men’s teams; oversaw expansion of the athletic center, a project that included new locker rooms, offices and modern exercise equipment.

Stan Harrison
Tennessee Wesleyan College
Southeast Region
Conference: Appalachian Athletic
Career highlights: Since becoming AD in 1996, has added three sports for women and two for men; department has a graduation rate of more than 80 percent since the beginning of Harrison’s tenure.

David Stair
Evangel University
Central Region
Conference: Heart of America
Career highlights: Coached women’s tennis team to two state championships (1980, 1981) and women’s basketball team to a No. 17 national ranking (1979-80) before becoming AD in 1982; instrumental in starting the Evangel Athletic Hall of Fame and the Athletics Directors Academic Top 10.

Greg Feris
Wayland Baptist University
West Region
Conference: Sooner Athletic
Career highlights: Initiated and administered the university’s move from independent status to the Sooner Athletic Conference; established varsity programs in volleyball, baseball, golf, women’s soccer and junior varsity basketball.

ADOY: JC/CC

Kevin McCarthy
State University of New York Cobleskill
Northeast Region
Conference: Mountain Valley
Career highlights: Also serves as men’s basketball coach; has more than 350 career wins to his credit; led a $7 million renovation of the university’s athletics facilities, which included a new basketball practice facility and new outdoor track and tennis complex.

Will Dunne
Daytona Beach Community College
Southeast Region
Conference: Florida Community College Athletic Association
Career highlights: During his tenure, beginning in 1988, 83 percent of student athletes have graduated while more than 97 percent have graduated and/or transferred to four-year institutions; developed the college’s Falcons In Action student athlete mentoring program.

John Spezia
Danville Area Community College
Central Region
Conference: Collegiate Conference of Central Illinois
Career highlights: Under his leadership, college has gone from no athletic scholarships to 12 and from no booster club to one that now has more than 100 members; coached men’s basketball team to 1991 NJCAA Division II national championship.

Bob Myers
Solano Community College
West Region
Conference: Bay Valley
Career highlights: Established a semester honor roll for student athletes; initiated the Solano College Athletic Hall of Fame; now overseeing and managing $20 million expansion and renovation at physical education and athletics facilities.