STATE COLLEGE, Pa; June 11, 2003 - Tim Curley, Penn State Director of Athletics, has been selected the Division I-A Northeast Region AD of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA).
In his 10th year as the leader of the Nittany Lions' athletic department, Curley is one of four regional winners in Division I-A and among 25 regional honorees from the NCAA, NAIA and junior colleges. He and all regional winners will be honored Saturday, June 14 during the 38th Annual NACDA Convention in Orlando, Fla.
The other Division I-A winners are: Gene Smith, Arizona State (West); Rick Taylor, Northwestern (Central) and Ron Wellman, Wake Forest (Southeast).
A State College native, Curley has been a full-time member of the Penn State athletic staff since being named a graduate assistant football coach after earning his degree in 1976. His rise within Intercollegiate Athletics culminated on December 30, 1993 when he was named to succeed Jim Tarman as Athletics Director.
During his initial 9 1/2 years of leading the Lions' 29 varsity sport program, Curley has seen Penn State capture 10 NCAA Championships, along with 17 national semifinal (Final Four) appearances. Penn State also has won 20 Big Ten regular season championships and 10 conference tournament crowns under Curley's leadership, including four during 2002-03.
Twenty-two Lion programs have participated in their respective NCAA Championships this year, the second-highest total in school history.
In the initial nine years of the NACDA Directors' Cup all-sports survey, Penn State has earned six top 10 finishes and three top five showings. Penn State was third in the most recent survey, with the final standings determined following this week's NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships and the College World Series.
In the most recent comprehensive look at the 117 U.S. colleges and universities participating in Division I football and men's basketball, U.S. News and World Report selected Penn State as one of 10 Division I-A institutions for its College Sports Honor Roll in March 2002. Data on gender equity, number of varsity sports, graduation rates, sanctions, wins and losses were analyzed to determine the listing.
In September 1999, The Sporting News, the national sports weekly, took note of the Nittany and Lady Lion achievements and rated Penn State as the top athletic program in the country.
Academic performance by Penn State student-athletes continues to keep pace with achievements on the field under Curley's direction. The annual NCAA graduation rate report showed that 82 percent of the class that entered in 1995-96 graduated within six years. The Lions' superlative graduation rate was tied with Virginia for the highest rate among Division I public institutions and was eighth-best nationally among all Division I institutions. The national average for all institutions was 60 percent, according to the 2002 NCAA report.
During the Fall 2002 semester, a record 390 Penn State student-athletes earned a GPA of 3.0 or above, an impressive 53.8 percent of the 724 young men and women who were actively participating in Penn State's 29 varsity sports. A record 174 of the 390 student-athletes earned a 3.5 GPA or better to gain Dean's List recognition.
Nineteen of Penn State's 29 varsity programs earned a team GPA of 3.0 or higher during the semester.
A school record 230 Penn State student-athletes earned Academic All-Big Ten honors during the 2002-03 academic year. Penn State has led the league in Academic All-Big Ten honorees six of the past seven years
Curley also has overseen $145 million in athletic facilities expansion during his watch, including a 12,500-seat expansion of Beaver Stadium and the construction of football, basketball, tennis and indoor track facilities.
This spring, Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics announced it had raised more than $132 million during the Grand Destiny campaign, which began July 1, 1996 and ends June 30. The initial goal of the Athletics' campaign was $90 million, which was revised to $125 million behind Curley's passionate and determined leadership.
Curley also oversees the intramural and club sports program, which includes more than 50 teams and 4,000 participants in club sports and 20,000 participants in intramurals at Penn State's Commonwealth campuses.
Curley has served as Third Vice President of NACDA for the past year and is in rotation to serve as president of NACDA in 2005-06. He also has served as chair of the NCAA Postseason Bowl Certification Sub-Committee.