The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) announced the 28 winners of the Under Armour Athletic Director of the Year (ADOY) Award Tuesday, March 3,

University of North Georgia Athletic Director Lindsay Reeves

with University of North Georgia’s Lindsay Reeves named among the four NCAA Division II winners. 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 Tuesday, June 9, prior to the Featured Session during NACDA’s 55th Annual Convention at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas.

The ADOY is the second in the past four years for Reeves as she becomes only the second two-time recipient from Georgia. She is joined on this year’s list by Jim Johnson (Pittsburg State), Laura Liesman (Georgian Court) and Tim MacMurray (Texas A&M-Commerce).

Reeves is in her 20th year at the University of North Georgia and the 2019-20 season marks her tenth year as the Director of Athletics for the 13-sport intercollegiate program after investing five years as Associate Director of Athletics and Senior Woman Administrator. She is only the third athletic director in the history of UNG athletics and oversees 13 NCAA Division II sports, 50+ athletic department employees, nine facilities and over 225 student-athletes.

Reeves is the first female director of athletics at the University of North Georgia. She has led the development and implementation of a diversity action plan to ensure and promote diversity among the university’s student-athletes, staff and community. She is heralded as an advocate for all areas of athletic excellence, including team and student-athlete academic success and community engagement.

Under her leadership, UNG athletic programs have enjoyed prosperity on and off the playing fields and courts, highlighted by the UNG softball team being crowned 2015 NCAA Division II National Champions. She has mentored teams to championships on the conference, regional and national levels while emphasizing the total student-athlete development, culminating with the school’s first-ever PBC Commissioner’s Cup in 2017.

In addition to successes on the field of competition, the sports programs at UNG have championed the department’s mission of total student-athlete development by teaching them the core principles of competition, integrity, fair play, personal character, and good sportsmanship.

Reeves’ leadership reflects UNG’s strong commitment to the overall experience of our student-athletes and to the important roles of service, leadership and respect, and how these attributes contribute to their total experiences at North Georgia.

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 future of our industry continues to look bright with athletics leaders like these at the helm of departments across the country,” said Bob Vecchione, NACDA Chief Executive Officer. “Out of our 28 ADOY winners, 22 are receiving this honor for the first time in their careers. It is exciting and inspiring to see the new faces coming up through the ranks and earning well-deserved recognition for their efforts on their campuses.”

Under Armour is now in its 12th year of sponsoring the award and over 276 different athletics directors have been honored with the award during that time.

“The Athletics Director of the Year Award acknowledges the leadership and positive influence top athletics directors have had at their respective institutions across all levels,” said Brian Cummings, Under Armour’s vice president of North America sports marketing. “Under Armour is proud to partner with NACDA to honor those individuals who set the standard in guiding their student-athletes through the on-going journey to be better.”

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 consecutive 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 and former directors of athletics, current and former commissioners and other key athletics administrators voted on nominees for the award.