THE NORTH CAROLINA ATHLETIC DIRECTORS ASSOCIATION
The North Carolina Athletic Directors Association comprises athletic directors from across North Carolina. We have two annual meetings. Our state conference is scheduled two weeks before Easter alternating between the mountains and the coast of North Carolina. Our state conference provides an outstanding educational in-service program for education-based athletic administrators. The conference features professional speakers, an exhibit show with more than 60 exhibit booth spaces, and proven athletic administrators who willingly share their experience and expertise on educational topics and current issues.
The highlight of the state conference is the induction of our new class into the NCADA Hall of Fame, Roll of Honor, Lifetime Achievement Award, the Jerry McGee Award of Excellence, and AD of the Year are presented during the conference banquet. Some of the state’s best-known and most competent athletic administrators have received the honor of AD of the Year since its inception during the 1975-76 academic years. Bill Eutsler of Rockingham was the inaugural winner of the award, followed by Dave Harris of Charlotte-Mecklenburg. They are also both members of the NCADA Hall of Fame. We also recognize the “Best of Best” in North Carolina annually at our Awards Luncheon during the conference.
Our Summer Leadership Academy and NCHSAA/NCADA AD Breakfast are held at the Greensboro Coliseum, in conjunction with the North Carolina Coaches Association Clinic, on the third Tuesday of July.
A Board of Directors governs us, elected for four-year terms representing the eight athletic regions of the state, four at-large members, and affiliate members. The Executive Director, Roy Turner, handles the day-to-day operations of the association and membership. The office of secretary is voted on at the annual convention, with the President-Elect assuming the office of President for the coming year.
The Association was formed in 1970. The late Bob Jamieson of Greensboro, among others, helped to get the organization started. Jamieson, the driving force behind the origin of the North Carolina Coaches’ Association and its highly successful clinic and all-star games, saw the creation of such an association as a primary forum through which athletic directors could share their common concerns and problems while growing professionally.
The first organizational meeting was held in Sanford at the Palomino Hotel on November 22, 1970, with 28 athletic directors attending. From that modest start, the Association began to grow. In 1975 a rotation was developed so that staggered terms were arranged for Board members, providing some continuity from year to year.
Some of the best-known names in North Carolina athletics have served the Association. Paul Williamson of Durham was the first official President, with High Point’s Tony Simeon as the Vice-President.
1976 was the first year that spouses were included in the activities of the Association. Mary Arden Harris, the wife of Charlotte-Mecklenburg athletic director, Davie Harris, put together the special activities for that group. The spouses have been an important part of the conference ever since.
As the Association grew, it became apparent that only a limited number of sites could host something of this magnitude. In 1985, the Association Board of Directors voted to rotate the site, basically between an eastern venue and a western one.
With this continued growth and the regional and national caliber of the speakers, additional funding was needed. The 1984-85 year was the first year of NCADA corporate sponsorships and partnerships. Several companies and individuals (Friends of the Association) have been instrumental in the growth of the conference and the association.
In 1991, Jerry McGee was named the executive director of the NCADA and held that position until his retirement in December 2015. In 2007, the NCADA created an Award of Excellence to honor his legacy. To be presented to an individual for loyalty to the NCADA and for contributions to the profession which represent excellence in achievement. The Jerry McGee Endowed Scholarship was created in 2012 to honor his 20+ years of service as executive director of the NCADA. This award is unique because it honors both male and female student-athletes who have distinguished themselves by overcoming adversity and returned to excel beyond expectations in their interscholastic athletic sport(s).
The NCADA Hall of Fame was created in 1995 to honor Athletic Administrators who had exemplary careers in athletic administration before and after the formation of the National Certification Process in 1997. Selection to the NCADA Athletic Administrators Hall of Fame is a three-step process including nomination, rated by the Selection Committee, screened by the Executive Board, and the NCADA Board of Directors selects those individuals to be inducted. This honor is the highest an athletic administrator can receive from the NCADA for his/her contributions and accomplishments at the local, state, and national level. Further, this award sets a standard for athletic administrators to emulate.
The NCADA is a member of the NIAAA (National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association). In 1995 the NIAAA became a member of the National Certification Commission to stay abreast of information pertinent to the Certification Program on a national scope. On October 26, 2001, the NIAAA Certification Program was granted “full registration” by the National Certification Commission, recognizing the NIAAA Certification Program as one meeting the commission’s rigid standards of excellence. Since the inception of the Leadership Training Program, more than 450 North Carolina Athletic Administrators have achieved their national certification through the NIAAA and the National Certification Commission (Cognia). The NCADA is fortunate to have three athletic directors inducted into the NIAAA Hall of Fame. Several NCADA members have received national recognition from the NFHS (National Federation of High School Associations) and the NIAAA.
The NCADA continues to grow toward its goal of having every athletic director in the state a member. The pressures now brought to bear on education, and interscholastic athletics from several different areas make a strong athletic director association more important than ever. In many cases, the athletic director is the one that continues to provide stability for a school program when there are so many changes in personnel and administration. Professional growth and development, along with the sharing of ideas with colleagues from around the state, continue to be the mission of the Association.
