May 19, 2008

Cleveland, Ohio -The Division II Athletics Directors Association (DII ADA) has announced the formation of the DII ADA Academic Achievement Awards presented by WeatherPORT.

The DII ADA Academic Achievement Awards is a program that recognizes the academic accomplishments of student-athletes at the Division II level. In order for a student-athlete to receive an Academic Achievement Award, the athletics director of the Division II institution MUST BE a CURRENT dues paying member of the DII ADA.

Also, the student-athlete must:

• have a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale
• have attended a minimum of two years (four semesters) of college level work
• have been an active member of an intercollegiate team during his/her last academic year

All student-athletes meeting the above criteria are eligible for this award.

Institutions will be responsible for completing the nomination form with the institution, nominees' name, year and sport. The nomination form, an excel document, should be completed and returned to Jason Galaska (jgalaska@nacda.com) in the NACDA office by July 1.

Once the names have been received by the NACDA office, certificates will be mailed to the institution. The institution will then be responsible for personalizing the awards and presenting them to the student-athletes.

"As an association, we continue to look for ways to recognize student-athletes," said Dave Williams, DII ADA President and athletics director at Missouri Western State University. "We felt that the formation of the Academic Achievement Awards was another way to recognize these individuals at Division II institutions."

The 2007-08 DII Academic Achievement Awards presented by WeatherPORT, will be announced by the National office, no later than August 1, 2008.

About DII ADA: The DII ADA is the first organization of its kind to provide educational and networking opportunities; enhancement of acceptable operating standards and ethics; and establishment of the overall prestige and understanding of the profession of Division II athletics directors. For more information about the DII ADA, please visit www.nacda.com. The DII ADA is administered by NACDA. In its 43rd year, NACDA 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.