General | 6/29/2018 2:00:00 PM

2017-18 Athletic Directors of the Year (Full Release)

WASHINGTON, DC—Assistant Vice President/Director of Athletics Lenny Kaplan was honored as 2017-18 Division I-AAA Under Armour Athletics Director of the Year (ADOY) award recipient by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Friday afternoon at NACDA's 53rd Annual Convention at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center.

Kaplan, one of 28 winners announced, by NACDA, spans from seven divisions (NCAA FBS, FCS, Division I-AAA, II, III, NAIA/Other Four-Year Institutions and Junior College/Community Colleges).

The Athletics Director of the Year Award highlights the efforts of athletics directors at all levels for their commitment and positive contributions to student-athletes, campuses and their surrounding communities.

Under Armour is now in its 10th year of sponsoring the award and over 220 different Athletics Directors have been honored with the award during that time.
 
Since taking over as head of New Jersey Institute of Technology's division of physical education and athletics in August 2000, Kaplan has been instrumental in guiding the program's growth, first at the NCAA Division II level and, since late 2002, in its successful reclassification to NCAA Division I.
 
Kaplan's tenure at NJIT has seen growth in the institution and in its athletics program on multiple fronts.
 
NJIT announced plans in 2015 to build the new Wellness and Events Center, a $102 million on-campus facility, in which NJIT celebrated a ribbon cutting ceremony on November 10, 2018.  The 3,500-seat arena exemplifies the creation of transformable venues to meet the varied programmatic needs of each event. With all of the lower bowl seats in place, it is a dynamic Division I basketball and volleyball venue.
 
On July 1, 2015, NJIT accepted an opportunity to become the eighth full member of the multi-sport ASUN Conference for 14 Highlander teams.  The ASUN was the first multi-sport postseason-qualifying home at the Division I level for NJIT.
 
NJIT, is a long-time member of the EIVA, which is one of four automatic qualifying conferences in the sport of men's volleyball in Division I-II.  Kaplan was appointed a four-year term on the NCAA Division I Men's Volleyball Committee in 2016, where he will serve on a committee that is charged with oversight of the NCAA Volleyball Championship, including, but not limited to team selection, seeding, officials, offering guidance to the host institution as necessary, areas of sport growth and rules changes.
 
In September 2015, Kaplan was lauded at the annual Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Honors Luncheon as one of two named Administrator of the Year in Division I.
 
He has been a member of the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association (DI-AAA ADA) Executive Committee since 2012-13.  The Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association's mission is to enhance initiatives common to its Division I-AAA membership (the Division I institutions that do not sponsor football).
 
About Under Armour
Under Armour is a leading developer, marketer, and distributor of branded performance apparel, footwear, and accessories. The brand's moisture-wicking synthetic fabrications are engineered in many different designs and styles for wear in nearly every climate to provide a performance alternative to traditional natural fiber products. The Company's products are sold worldwide and worn by athletes at all levels, from youth to professional, on playing fields around the globe. The Under Armour global headquarters is in Baltimore, Maryland, with European headquarters in Amsterdam's Olympic Stadium, and additional offices in Denver, Hong Kong, Toronto, and Guangzhou,
China.

About NACDA
NACDA, now in its 53rd year, is the professional and educational Association for more than 15,700 college athletics administrators at more than 1,700 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico.  More than 6,500 athletics administrators annually attend NACDA Affiliates Convention Week.  Additionally, NACDA manages 17 professional associations and three foundations.