Bruce McCutcheon Named an Athletic Director of the Year

Bruce McCutcheon has been named one of 28 winners of the Under Armour Athletic Director of the Year award.

The award, which spans seven collegiate divisions, will be presented to McCutcheon Saturday during the James J. Corbett Awards Luncheon at the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) 48th Annual Convention in Orlando.

Now in his 12th year at the helm of Lafayette athletics, McCutcheon has orchestrated a far-reaching upgrade to athletics facilities, bolstered the coaching staffs and other personnel, played a key role in the development of a visual identity program, implemented a comprehensive leadership development program for student-athletes, and built upon Lafayette’s long-standing tradition of scholar-athlete excellence.

Early in his tenure, McCutcheon spearheaded the creation of an athletic facilities master plan, which resulted in a $23 million renovation of Fisher Stadium, the construction of a stadium for baseball, the renovation of the soccer stadium, and the construction of a new softball stadium.

Additionally, the track and field program relocated to Metzgar Fields Athletic Complex, where a new track opened for competition in 2009 and hosted the Patriot League Championships in 2011.

Also in 2011, McCutcheon introduced the Oaks Leadership Academy as a comprehensive program to develop, challenge, and support Lafayette student-athletes and coaches in their quest to become effective leaders in academics, athletics, and life. Lafayette’s scholar-athletes have excelled under McCutcheon’s watch, with graduation rates among the nation’s best, prestigious postgraduate scholarships awards, and Academic All-America and Patriot League academic honors.

Recently, McCutcheon led the effort to have Lafayette host the 150th meeting of college football’s most-played rivalry, Lafayette vs. Lehigh, at Yankee Stadium. McCutcheon also serves on the Football Championship Subdivision’s Athletic Directors Association Executive Committee and serves as chair of the Patriot League’s Committee on Athletic Administration.

All NACDA-member directors of athletics in the United States, Canada ,and Mexico who met the criteria were eligible for the award. Among the criteria were 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 in which the institution could not have been on probation or cited for a lack of institutional control within the last five years during the tenure of the current athletics director.

Nominators were NACDA-member directors of athletics, institutional presidents, and conference commissioners. Special selection committees composed of current and former directors of athletics, present and past NCAA and NAIA presidents, current and former commissioners, and other key athletics administrators voted on nominees for the award.