May 12, 2008

Complete NACDA/NIT Release in PDF Format

Cleveland, Ohio - Ted Leland, former director of athletics at Dartmouth College, University of the Pacific and Stanford University, has been chosen as the recipient of the 27th NACDA/NIT Athletics Directors Award.

Leland has been involved in intercollegiate athletics for nearly 40 years. His journey began as a football coach at his alma mater, Pacific, before coaching stints at East Tennessee State University and Stanford. In 1979, Leland entered the world of athletics administration as the assistant athletics director at the University of Houston. He later moved to Northwestern University as the senior associate director of athletics and recreation.

Leland's first director of athletics position was at Dartmouth College in 1983, followed by Pacific in 1989. In 1991, he left UP to become The Jaquish & Kenninger Director of Athletics at Stanford University. In his 14 years at Stanford, Leland guided the Cardinal to 50 NCAA team championships and 173 conference championships, as well as 11 U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cups. Leland also oversaw a major increase in athletics fund raising, as the Cardinal took in over $270 million in private donations and underwent $185 million in athletics renovations.

Leland's accomplishments have earned him numerous awards, including induction into the University of the Pacific, Chabot College and Stanford University Athletics Halls of Fame. In 2000-01, he was named the Football Bowl Subdivision West Region AstroTurf Athletics Director of the Year. In 2005, the SportsBusiness Journal named him in the Top 10 "Most Influential" in college athletics and the U.S. Sports Academy presented him with the Carl Maddox Sports Management Award.

Leland is currently the Vice President for University Advancement at the University of the Pacific.

The NACDA/NIT Award is presented annually to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the sport of basketball and the National Invitation Tournament. The award was initiated in 1981-82 with James "Bud" Jack of the University of Utah as the inaugural recipient.

For a full listing of previous NACDA/NIT AD Award winners, please go to http://nacda.cstv.com/nacda/nacda-awards-nacdanit.html.

About the NIT: The NIT, LLC, under the umbrella of the NCAA, assumed control of the postseason NIT and the NIT Season Tip-Off Tournament in August 2005. The post season NIT was founded in 1938 by a group of New York City sportswriters, while the NIT Season Tip-Off (formerly known as the preseason NIT) started in 1985. An independent committee chooses the field for both events. Since the inception of the two tournaments, thousands of student-athletes have participated. Visit www.nit.org for more details on tournament history, selection committee and procedures.

About NACDA: NACDA, now in its 43rd year, is the professional and educational association for more than 6,100 college athletics administrators at more than 1,600 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. More than 2,000 athletics administrators annually attend the NACDA Convention. Additionally, NACDA administers 11 professional associations for the separate business units that report directly to the athletics director.