INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – In honor of NCAA Division II's yearlong 50
th anniversary celebration, conferences around the country have nominated players, coaches, and administrators who have embraced and enhanced the experience of D-II athletics for the Golden Anniversary Award. The NCAA will choose one male and one female for the prestigious prize, and present the award at the 2024 convention in Phoenix. The Sunshine State Conference has selected Pennie Parker, Associate Vice President for Athletics, as the female nominee for the award.
During Parker's 21 years at Rollins, she has devoted her career to improving the Tar student-athlete experience, not only at Rollins, but in the Sunshine State Conference (SSC) and through service on several national committees. Her work on national committees impacted both D-II student-athletes and current and future athletics administration leaders.
SSC Release
Parker's introduction to Division II was in compliance and SAAC oversight during her first four years at Rollins. Those early years led to being named Director of Athletics in 2006, and in 2022, promotion to Associate Vice President of Athletics.
Parker's national influence on D-II began in 2015 when she was selected to serve on the NCAA Division II Management Council. She was named chair of the DII Management Council in 2018. As a board member for Women Leaders in College Sport, Parker represented DII as secretary (2016-17) and treasurer (2017-18). She just completed service on the NCAA Division II Legislation Committee after five years.
As the D-II representative for NACDA, she served as a member of the NACDA Executive Committee (summer 2015) and currently serves as the secretary of NACDA since 2021. Other DII service includes appointment to the Division II Athletic Director's Association (ADA) Board of Directors in 2011. She later served as president of the association in 2016-17.
During her tenure on the ADA board, she was the liaison to the D-II 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 has utilized the NCAA D-II Diversity Grant program twice to add an assistant coach for women's basketball, and most recently, with the hiring of Rollins' first sports psychologist this summer. Parker's athletic department consistently has student-athletes nominated and attending the NCAA Career in Sports Program, the NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Program, and the Apple Institute to name a few. Athletics staff are provided opportunities to attend professional organizations' conventions/conferences.
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.
During Parker's tenure, Rollins has been recognized with the Division II President's Awards for Academic Excellence for 12 consecutive years. The Tars' Academic Success Rate has led the SSC since the NCAA began calculating ASR in 2006. Additionally, two student-athletes have won the prestigious Elite 90 award, and 10 have been named valedictorian.
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.
