UND’s Faison named FCS AD of the Year
Honorees are selected by athletics directors at each level of college athletics
The National Association of College Directors of Athletics (NACDA) announced today that University of North Dakota Athletics Director Brian Faison has been chosen by his peers as a 2016-17 Under Armour Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors of the Year.
“On behalf of the Big Sky Conference, congratulations to North Dakota’s Brian Faison for his Athletics Director of the Year Award honor,” said Big Sky Conference Commissioner Andrea Williams. “Brian continues to be a great leader for the athletic department and the coaches, athletes and personnel he represents. This prestigious honor and recognition is much deserved and we are proud of Brian’s achievements.”
The Under Armour AD of the Year honorees are selected by athletics directors at each level of college athletics. Four athletics directors at each level are recognized. Under Armour is in its ninth year of sponsoring the awards.
“Once again, we are proud to honor the 28 directors of athletics, from all levels of NACDA’s membership, as the Under Armour Athletics Director of the Year Class of 2016-17,” said NACDA Executive Director Bob Vecchione. “This award was created by the leadership of NACDA in 1998 to honor those athletics directors who have done an outstanding job in the eyes of their peers. In the 19-year history of the program, we have honored in excess of 425 of the top athletics directors in the industry.”
UND Athletics enjoyed a successful 2016, capped off by the national championship won by the men’s hockey program. The football program won the 2016 Big Sky Conference regular season championship and appeared in the Division I FCS Playoffs for the first time. Also for the first time, UND volleyball advanced to the NCAA Division I Tournament after it won the Big Sky regular season and tournament championships. And to top it all off, UND’s Men’s and Women’s Basketball programs won Big Sky Conference championships, and are poised to make a run for the NCAA National Tournament.
UND is the first Big Sky Conference school to win four major sports championships in one year.
Record revenue was produced in 2015-16. Over $4,300,000 in ticket revenue and more than $2,880,000 was secured by the Champions Club, the annual giving organization for UND Athletics. Both of those areas have broken records each of the last five years.
