Parker Earns NACDA Athletic Director of the Year Honors

CLEVELAND, Ohio (March 10, 2021) – Rollins Director of Athletics Pennie Parker has been named a National Athletic Director of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.
 
The full list of award recipients here.
 
Winners will be recognized leading up to and in conjunction with the 2021 NACDA & Affiliates Virtual Convention, July 27-28.

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.

"As we reflect upon all that has happened in our industry and in our world over the past year in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever to honor the dedication and passion that NACDA athletics directors have for their student-athletes, institutions and campus communities," said Bob Vecchione, NACDA Chief Executive Officer. "This year we certainly could recognize every AD in the country with this award. We applaud the efforts of the men and women across the country who have served as a source of inspiration and strength in leading their departments through this unprecedented time."
 
Since joining Rollins in 2002 and being named Director of Athletics in 2006, Pennie Parker has led the Tars in an era of unprecedented success.  She is charged with maintaining the department's stellar reputation both athletically and academically, while adhering to the Rollins mission of producing global citizens and responsible leaders.

In 2015, Parker was selected to serve on the NCAA Division II Management Council and was named chair of the NCAA Division II Management Council in 2018. Parker has also served on the Women Leaders in College Sports Board of Directors. Parker served as the Secretary for Women Leaders in College Sports from 2016-2017 and as the Treasurer from 2017-2018. Parker is currently serving on the NCAA Legislation Committee. Parker began service on the NACDA Executive Committee in the Summer of 2015 and she has recently been named secretary of NACDA. 

Parker was appointed to the Division II Athletic Director's Association (ADA) Board of Directors in 2011 and she served as the president of the association in 2016-17.  During her tenure on the board, she was the liaison to the DII NCAA mentoring program for many years.  Her passion for mentoring has continued throughout her career and she currently serves as the Division II liaison for the distinguished NCAA Pathway Program. 

Parker's efforts were recognized by her peers in 2013 and 2017 as she was named Under Armour Division II Athletics Director of the Year. In 2020, she was selected as the Nike Administrator of the Year by Women Leaders in College Sport.

Under Parker's leadership, Rollins has won three NCAA Division II National Championships, 22 Sunshine State Conference titles, 13 SSC Tournaments and five SSC Mayor's Cup All-Sport trophies. She has partnered with Advancement to create 7 endowed scholarships and secured funding to endow two head coaching positions.

Parker has continued to grow the Athletics Department's academic profile during her tenure. Rollins was honored with the Division II President's Awards for Academic Excellence in 2020 for the tenth straight season. The Tars Academic Success Rate has led the Sunshine State Conference since the NCAA began calculating ASR in 2006. Since the beginning of her career as athletic director at Rollins, student-athletes have posted a combined GPA above 3.0, two student-athletes have won the prestigious Elite 90 award and 8 student-athletes have been named valedictorian.  

"It is a privilege to be part of the Rollins family," said Parker. "I enjoy serving the student-athletes, coaches, faculty and staff, and continuing to enhance the tradition of academic and athletic success at the College."

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. A complete listing of Selection Committee members can be found on NACDA's website at www.nacda.com.

About NACDA: NACDA, now in its 56th year, 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. More than 6,500 athletics administrators annually attend NACDA & Affiliates Convention Week. Additionally, NACDA manages 17 professional associations and four foundations. For more information on NACDA, visit www.nacda.com.

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