June 25, 2012
Under Armour AD of the Year Award -- Complete Release
EVANSTON, Ill. -- The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) has named Northwestern's Jim Phillips the recipient of the 2011-12 Under Armour Central Region AD of the Year Award. Phillips, now in his fifth year as the Director of Athletics and Recreation at Northwestern, received the award in recognition of his commitment and positive contributions to the University and surrounding community.
NACDA presents the AD of the Year Award to winners in four geographic regions -- northeast, southeast, central and west -- representing seven levels of competition: Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Division I (formerly Division I-AAA), Division II, Division III, NAIA and Junior/Community Colleges.
Phillips and the additional 27 regional award recipients will be officially recognized for their achievements Wednesday at NACDA's 47th Annual Convention, occurring this week at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, Texas.
"We are extremely proud of the phenomenal year Northwestern Athletics enjoyed across the board in 2011-12 as we continue to reach new heights athletically, academically and socially," Phillips said. "I am honored and humbled to receive this award on behalf of all the student-athletes, coaches and staff at Northwestern who have made our success possible."
Phillips served as NACDA's 3rd Vice President in 2011-12 and will continue to climb the organization's ranks, eventually becoming the first Northwestern AD to hold the position of NACDA President in 2014-15.
Phillips oversaw a wealth of competitive success for NU throughout his fourth full year on the job, highlighted by a seventh NCAA championship in the last eight years for the women's lacrosse team, a sweep of the Big Ten regular season and tournament championships by the men's soccer program and a Big Ten regular season crown for the women's tennis team. Additionally, both the football and men's basketball teams appeared in postseason competition for a school-record fourth consecutive year.
Northwestern's 11 women's programs combined to finish an impressive 11th nationally in the Capital One Cup women's standings, up from 14th a year ago. In all, 12 of NU's 19 varsity programs advanced to postseason play this year.
The Wildcats excelled in the classroom as well, with a school-record 206 student-athletes garnering Academic All-Big Ten accolades and eight Northwestern teams earning perfect 1,000 scores in the recently released multi-year Academic Progress Rate (APR) data. For the second year in a row, Northwestern football led all FBS programs with its APR score of 995, tying for the best count in the country among all NCAA institutions sponsoring football.
Furthermore, Northwestern student-athletes made significant contributions to the Evanston and Chicagoland communities in 2011-12, logging more than 6,000 hours of community service. NU staff and coaches also made an impact, participating in community outreach across Evanston on June 8 as part of a new annual initiative implemented by Phillips.
From an external standpoint, the department continued to experience growth as a result of the wide-ranging marketing campaign instituted by Phillips in 2010, anchored by the tagline "Chicago's Big Ten Team." Aimed at increasing brand awareness and driving longterm ticket sales, the campaign takes a multifaceted approach to raising visibility through prominent outdoor signage, a consistent presence in television and radio programming and special events in the Chicagoland area.
"Before its inception, our Honors and Awards Committee recognized a need for an award such as the AD of the Year," said NACDA Executive Director Bob Vecchione. "The program brings to light the remarkable jobs done by athletics directors across the country. These 29 outstanding winners epitomize that, providing us with a group of exemplary athletics directors who excel on campus and in their communities."
Nominators for the award 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.
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