June 20, 2006

Colorado State Athletic Director Paul Kowalczyk was one of 29 winners of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) GeneralSports TURF Systems AD of the Year Award (ADOY). The announcement was made on Monday.

There are four geographic regions - northeast, southeast, central and west; while the membership is separated into seven categories - Division I-A; Division I-AA; Division I-AAA; Division II; Division III; NAIA; and Junior/Community Colleges. One winner was selected in each of the seven categories, along with a cross-divisional International winner for a total of 29 honorees. Winners will receive their awards during the James J. Corbett Awards Luncheon at NACDA's 41st Annual Convention at New Orleans Marriott and Sheraton New Orleans in New Orleans, Louisiana.

NACDA Executive Director Mike Cleary says the ADOY Award is essential because it highlights the efforts of athletics directors at all levels for their commitment and positive contributions to campuses and their surrounding communities.

"Our Honors and Awards Committee recognized a need for an award such as the AD of the Year," said Cleary, who oversaw implementation of the program to allow all NACDA Officers and Honors and Awards Committee members to participate in the awards process, should they be elected. "The program brings to light the exceptional jobs done by athletics directors across the country. These 29 winners exemplify that, providing us with a group of outstanding athletics directors who excel at their jobs."

Kowalczyk took the helm as athletics director at Southern Illinois University in 2000. He inherited a program with deteriorating facilities and underperforming revenue sports and turned it around in five short years. Kowalczyk has succeeded in increasing the budget through ticket sales and marketing opportunities. The men's basketball team has won five straight Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) championships and earned four straight bids to the NCAA tournament from 2002-05. The 2002 club advanced to the Sweet 16, which gained unprecedented national media exposure for SIU. This year's squad won the MVC. The softball team has also advanced to the NCAA tournament three consecutive years. SIU finished second in the 2004-05 MVC all-sports trophy race, their best showing in 10 years. In 2003, Kowalczyk created the Saluki Athletic Scholarship Fund which already exceeds a half million dollars. Additionally, the student-athlete population has earned better GPAs in the class room than the general student body. Last year, 51 student-athletes earned Academic All-Conference honors, while four were selected as Academic All-Americans. Kowalczyk earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from Kent State University. New Position. Kowalczyk was chosen as the athletics director at Colorado State University beginning with the 2006-07 year.

Winners of the 2005-06 GeneralSports TURF Systems AD of the Year Award are:

Division I-A

Laing Kennedy Kent State University Northeast

Jim Livengood University of Arizona West

Terry Don Phillips Clemson University Southeast

Kevin White University of Notre Dame Central

Division I-AA

Paul Kowalczyk Southern Illinois University Central

Francis McLaughlin Fordham University Northeast

Steve Sloan University of Tennessee Chattanooga Southeast

Larry Teis Texas State University West

Division I-AAA

Joni Comstock American University Southeast

Lynn Hickey University of Texas San Antonio West

Cheryl Levick Saint Louis University Central

Pat Meiser-McKnett University of Hartford Northeast

Division II

Bill Goldring Ashland University Northeast

Lynda Goodrich Western Washington University West

Dan Kenney University of North Carolina Pembroke Southeast

Michael Kovalchik Hillsdale College Central

Division III

Holly Gera Montclair State University Southeast

Leon Lunder Carleton College West

Larry Scheiderer Denison University Central

Don Tencher Rhode Island College Northeast

NAIA

Bob Burns John Brown University Central

Jim Dennison Walsh University Northeast

Steve Knight William Carey College Southeast

Joel Schuldheisz Concordia University West

Junior/Community College

Ron Case Gloucester County College Northeast

Gregg Wolfe Gulf Coast Community College Southeast

Sue Sinclair Illinois Central College Central

Joe Tubb South Plains College West

International

Bob Philip University of British Columbia

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. Special Selection Committees composed of current and former directors of athletics, present and past NCAA and NAIA presidents, 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 web site at www.nacda.com .

GENERAL SPORTS TURF SYSTEMS, headquartered in Rochester, Michigan, is the only synthetic turf company headquartered in the Midwest. The company develops, designs, constructs and services synthetic sports fields. Its primary markets are small to mid-size colleges, and high schools where multiple sports are being played on a single surface and, therefore, require enhanced durability. The company markets these products under its /GameDay Grass Xpe/ and /Fusion Turf/^TM brands, using the world's leading materials and components. The company also offers revenue generation services, lease/finance programs and other customer resources designed to make the process simple and smooth for owners.

NACDA, now in its 41^st year, is the professional and educational association for more than 6,100 collegiate athletics administrators at more than 1,600 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. More than 2,000 athletics administrators annually attend the NACDA Convention. Additionally, NACDA administers nine professional associations for the separate business units that report directly to the athletics director. For more information, please visit NACDA's web site at www.nacda.com .