The NCAA Fellows Program was developed in 1997 by the Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee and the Committee on Women’s Athletics.   One of the guiding missions of the NCAA Fellows Program is to enhance career opportunities for women and people of color who seek to become athletics directors, which also further diversifies the NCAA membership.  The 2008-09 NCAA Race and Demographics Report show that ethnic minorities only hold seven percent (71 out of 1,018) of the total number of athletics directors positions in Division I, II and III (excluding the Historically Black Colleges and Universities).   There are a total of 205 female directors of athletics in all three divisions, which represents just 18.9 percent of the positions held.   

The Fellows Program provides specific professional experiences that enable the participants to develop their talent and abilities and mesh those skills with their professional aspirations.   Each NCAA Fellow is assigned an executive mentor that provides regular interaction and career guidance over the 18-month course of the program.  

“Each year, Fellows leave this leadership program with the overall skill set and preparedness to lead as athletic directors within the NCAA,” said Charlotte Westerhaus, NCAA vice president for diversity and inclusion.  “Some of the best athletic directors in the NCAA interacted with and assessed the Fellows’ readiness and they report that this group has everything needed to be successful.   The next step is the crux of the matter - key campus decisions, including NCAA presidents and chancellors need to give them serious consideration when they begin the process of hiring an athletics director."

The 11 graduates of the 2009-10 class who aspire to become athletics directors are:

• Lisa Campos, senior associate athletic director/senior woman administrator, Univeristy of Texas at El Paso

Executive Mentor:  Jim Phillips, director of athletics and recreation, Northwestern University

• Victoria Chun, senior associate athletics director/senior woman adminstrator, Colgate University   (***Selected as the 2010 Division I FCS National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators Administrator of the Year)

Executive Mentor:  Pat Lyons, director of athletics, Iona College

• Derek Horne, senior associate athletics director for external operations, Unviersity of Mississippi

Executive Mentor:  Bill Bradshaw, director of athletics, Temple University

• Kiki Jacobs, associate director of athletics/senior woman adminsitrator, Oberlin College 

Executive Mentor:  Bridget Belgiovine, director of athletics, Wellesley College

• Jim Sarra, deputy director of athletics, University of Texas at San Antonio

Executive Mentor:  Keith Tribble, director of athletics & executive vice president, University of Central Florida Athletics Association

• Tracy Scott, associate athletic director for athletic support services, Eastern Illinois University

Executive Mentor:   Floyd Kerr, director of athletics, Morgan State University

Executive Mentor:  Robert Vowels, vice president of educational affairs, NCAA

• Allison Tookes, associate athletic director /senior woman administrator, Wayne State University (Michigan)

Executive Mentor:   Jim Naumovich, commissioner, Great Lakes Valley Conference

• Linda  Van Drie-Andrzjewski, associate athletic director/senior woman administrator, Wilmington University (Delaware)

Executive Mentor:   Barb Schroeder, director of athletics, Regis University (retired)

• Marianne Vydra, associate athletic director/senior woman administrator, Oregon State University

Executive Mentor:   Tom Bowen, director of athletics, San Jose State University

• Carla Wilson, senior associate athletics director for business & finance/senior woman administrator, University of Missouri, Kansas City

Executive Mentor:  Bob Bowlsby, director of athletics, Stanford University

NCAA Fellows graduate from the program with a better understanding of the administrative decision-making process at the senior levels in athletics administration and gain insight as to the impact of intercollegiate athletics within the institution.   Participants attend the NCAA Convention, workshops, seminars and other Association-related meetings and participate in training sessions over the course of the program that include marketing, public and media relations, budgeting/fiscal management, leadership, human resource management, fundraising and strategic planning.   Fellows enter the program with the support of their athletics director and university president.

A total of 56 athletics administrators have completed the Fellows Program since its inception.   Of those who have completed the program, nearly 40% are currently in senior management, holding the title of senior associate athletics director or the equivalent at NCAA colleges and universities.   Several NCAA Fellows alumni are currently athletics directors at NCAA colleges and universities.   They include:  Marcella Zalot (Colby College); Floyd Kerr (Morgan State University); Tracey Ranieri (State University College at Oneonta); Wheeler Brown (North Carolina A&T); and Gerald Young (Carleton College).   Dell Robinson, commissioner of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, is also a Fellows alumnus.