CU AD George honored by NACDA
Bestowed an athletic director of the year award from his peers
After a stellar 2023-24 athletic year that included the exciting dawn of the Coach Prime era, a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances, and even a national championship, Rick George has been honored by his peers.
On Wednesday, Colorado’s athletic director was named the athletic director of the year by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA).
George is one of four honored in the Football Bowl Subdivision and one of 28 honored by NACDA throughout seven different divisions ranging from the FBS level to the junior college and community college level.
“NACDA is honored to continue the tradition of the Athletics Director of the Year Award and recognize a new class of individuals for 2023-24,” NACDA CEO Pat Manak said in a news release. “As an Association it is part of our mission to develop tomorrow’s leaders led by today’s decision makers, which is why it is so fitting that 21 of the 28 recipients of the ADOY award this year are first-time winners.”
Although CU football finished just 4-8 in the first season under head coach Deion Sanders, it still was a remarkable turnaround from the depths of the previous year’s 1-11 mark. And George’s choice of hire was a home run regardless of the record, given the dramatic increase in ticket sales, national TV appearances, and general excitement and interest surrounding the CU football program.
Both of CU’S basketball teams have reached the NCAA Tournament, as did the women’s soccer team this past fall. Earlier this month, the CU ski team won its 21st national championship, and the first since 2015, in the first season after George promoted longtime assistant and former CU individual national champion Jana Weinberger to the head coach position.
Per a release from CU, the criteria for the award includes service as an AD for a minimum of five academic years; demonstration of commitment to higher education and student-athletes; continuous teamwork, loyalty and excellence; and the ability to inspire individuals or groups to high levels of accomplishments. Additionally, each AD’S institution must have passed a compliance check through its appropriate governing body (i.e., NCAA, NAIA, etc.), in which the institution could not have been on probation or cited for a lack of institutional control during the tenure of the current athletics director.