Jenn Bell of Converse Selected as Cushman & Wakefield AD of the Year
CLEVELAND - Jenn Bell of Converse has been selected as one of the 28 winners of the Cushman & Wakefield AD of the Year Award (ADOY).
The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) announced Bell’s honor on Monday, March 27, 2023. Bell is one of the four winners in NCAA Division II.
The award spans seven divisions (NCAA FBS, FCS, Division I-AAA, II, III, NAIA/Other Four-Year Institutions and Junior College/Community Colleges). Winners will be recognized in conjunction with the 58
th Annual NACDA & Affiliates Convention at the World Center Marriott Resort in Orlando, Florida., at the beginning of the Association-Wide Featured Session on Tuesday, June 13, starting at 4 p.m.
The ADOY Award highlights the efforts of Athletics Directors at all levels for their commitment and positive contributions to student-athletes, campuses and their surrounding communities.
"The Cushman & Wakefield Athletics Director of the Year Award has grown to become a universally recognized and respected honor for leaders in college athletics over the last two decades,” said Pat Manak, NACDA Chief Executive Officer. “This year we are proud to honor many seasoned veterans, as well as a few new faces, who have faithfully guided their departments through the steady waves of change the industry has overcome in the last few years. This deserving group of Athletics Directors are a source of inspiration not only for their peers, but for young administrators everywhere who are climbing the ladder to follow in their footsteps.”
Cushman & Wakefield is in its second year of sponsoring the award. The ADOY Award program is in its 25
th year and has recognized a total of 556 deserving athletics directors to date.
“Cushman & Wakefield is thrilled to welcome the 28 new recipients into the ADOY family,” said Craig Cassell, Executive Managing Director, Leader, Education Advisory Group and Co-Leader, Sports & Entertainment Group at Cushman & Wakefield. “We are humbled by the leadership and initiative the candidates demonstrated to achieve this designation. We are also inspired to emulate their actions and qualities and be a steward of the candidates’ commitment to student-athletes and the communities they serve. Cushman & Wakefield is proud to be a NACDA partner and honored to sponsor the ADOY award.”
Bell was originally nominated after receiving the honor from a vote among the current Directors of Athletics in Conference Carolinas.
“We were thrilled to learn that Jenn has officially received this well-deserved honor,” Conference Carolinas Commissioner Chris Colvin said. “We believe Conference Carolinas has some of the best Directors of Athletics and athletic departments in Division II and this honor further emphasizes our belief. Jenn is an integral part of everything we do in Conference Carolinas. She is always willing to go above and beyond and her efforts over the course of this academic year and during all of her time at Converse have been truly special. This is particularly noticeable in her efforts around Converse's addition of men's athletic teams over the last two years. Converse has thrived in adding more staff and sports and a huge reason for this is Jenn's efforts daily."
Jenn Bell entered her fifth year as the Director of Athletics during the 2022-23 academic year.
Under Bell's leadership, Converse Athletics has developed a winning culture - in the classroom, in the sports venue and in the community. Throughout the institution's recent model change, Bell led the department through a successful transition from a single-gender athletics program to a coed program by adding six male sports, esports and a spirit squad to the list of athletic programs offered at Converse. With these eight additions, Converse athletics now offers 21 athletic programs, which more than doubled the number of student-athletes within the department over the last couple of academic years. As the new programs have been added, more staff members have been brought on board and the department has nearly doubled in size with the addition of assistant coaches and additional administrators.
"I am truly humbled to be chosen as one of the Division II winners of the Cushman & Wakefield NACDA AD of the Year Award," Bell said. "Being selected as an award nominee by my conference peers was a huge honor, but being recognized as one of the four overall winners in our incredible division means so much to me personally and to our family here at Converse. While this is an individual award, the award recognizes what our entire Converse athletics community has accomplished throughout the last year. I am fortunate to be surrounded by colleagues who pursue excellence in every way possible, and it is my privilege to lead Converse athletics and serve our student-athletes, coaches and staff and University."
To learn much more about Converse and Bell, please visit
here. To see the official NACDA release and learn more about all of the winners, please visit
here.
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