ORLANDO, Fla. - University at Albany Vice President for Athletic Administration and Director of Athletics Lee McElroy and University of Hartford Director of Athletics and Special Assistant to the President Patricia H. Meiser will be honored as the 2008-09 Under Armour Athletic Directors of the Year for the Football Championship Subdivision and Division I, respectively.
The awards, of which only 12 were bestowed at the Division I level, were announced Tuesday afternoon by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and will be presented at an awards luncheon as a part of the annual NACDA convention Saturday. America East is the only conference to have multiple athletic directors receive this honor in 2008-09.
McElroy, who is completing his ninth year of providing leadership for the school’s NCAA Division I 19-sports intercollegiate athletics program, oversaw a department which captured six America East Conference championships, plus won its second consecutive Northeast Conference football title in 2008-09.
Under McElroy’s guidance, the Great Danes have won 37 conference championships, two IC4A track & field crowns and made 15 NCAA appearances in men’s basketball, men’s lacrosse, softball, women’s volleyball, baseball and field hockey. UAlbany was awarded the Stuart P. Haskell Jr. Commissioner’s Cup as America East’s top athletic program in 2004-05 and has finished second in the Commissioner’s Cup standings for three consecutive years.
McElroy served as president of the NACDA in 2006-07.has been a member of NACDA Executive Committee, a chair of the Directors’ Cup Committee, has served as president of the America East Conference Executive Committee. He was honored with the 2004 General Robert R. Neyland Outstanding Athletic Director Award by the All-American Football Foundation.
In one of his first moves when appointed athletics director in July 2000, McElroy spearheaded a successful search for a broad-based athletic conference when the University accepted an invitation to join the America East Conference in the 2001-02 academic year. He has led the development of a master to plan to upgrade the institution’s athletics and recreational complex, including the recent construction of John Fallon Field, the home to UAlbany men’s and women’s lacrosse, and Alumni Turf Field, an adjacent area used for field hockey and as a multi-use recreational field for UAlbany students.
Meiser, who is in her 17th year at the University of Hartford, is one of only 22 female directors of athletics among the 329 institutions competing at the Division I level and has 37 years of experience in athletics administration. In May of 1999, she was named one of the nation's top 50 women's sports executives by Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal.
In her tenure, seven sports (women's basketball, men's soccer, women's soccer, men's golf, women's golf, men's tennis and women's volleyball) have won America East Conference championships and either reached NCAA Division I tournament or national postseason play. Women's basketball, in particular, has emerged with Meiser hiring of Jennifer Rizzotti. The Hawks have won four conference championships since the hiring of Rizzotti and most recently defeated nationally Syracuse University in the first round of the NCAA Tournament for the programs second victory in national post season play.
Most significantly, Hartford athletics embarked on a $10 million athletics capital campaign in April of 2003. The campaign, called Home Field Advantage, has funded the renovation of the existing soccer and lacrosse field, the relocation and construction of a softball field and the construction of a baseball field. The ground breaking for Home Field Advantage took place in April of 2005 and all five outdoor teams played have played on their new fields since the 2005-06 season. Most importantly the Hawks baseball team played its first game on campus for the first time in more than 20 years.
The Under Armour AD of the Year Awards (ADOY) program, now in its 11th year, recognizes athletics directors who have shown administrative excellence within the campus and/or college community for the current academic year. The award encompasses seven divisions - NCAA Divisions I, II, III, Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, NAIA and Junior/Community Colleges. This year 29 awards will be presented, four per division in the U.S. regions and one cross-divisional winner in the International region. Athletics directors may win the award once every three years.