July 13, 2005

Cleveland, Ohio - Gary Cunningham, director of athletics at the University of California Santa Barbara was selected as the recipient of the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association (ADA).

The award was presented during the Division I-AAA ADA Meeting at the NACDA Convention in Lake Buena Vista, Florida in June. It is the highest award presented by the association.

"It is a great pleasure to announce Gary Cunningham as the first recipient of the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association Lifetime Achievement Award," says 2004-05 Division I-AAA ADA President Cheryl Levick, director of athletics at St. Louis University. "As an athlete, coach and athletics administrator, Gary has continually displayed excellent leadership, dedication and a commitment to making collegiate sports better. His kind, but effective leadership style makes him a friend to all and a wonderful role model for all student-athletes. He is very deserving of this award."

Cunningham's career in intercollegiate athletics has spanned 40 years. The former basketball player for legendary Coach John Wooden at UCLA, later served as his assistant coach. In that 10-year span (1965-75), the Bruins won 8 national and nine Pacific 8 championships. Cunningham was later named the head coach (1977-79) and posted a two-year mark of 50-8, winning two Pacific 8 championships.

Moving into administration, Cunningham served as the director of athletics at Western Oregon State College (1979-81), University of Wyoming (1981-86), Fresno State (1986-95) and UC Santa Barbara (1995-present.)

At UC Santa Barbara, Cunningham has been the driving force behind additions and improvement to the athletics department's facilities. He oversaw construction on a new facility, devoted exclusively to intercollegiate athletics, which houses all of the offices for coaches and athletics personnel, as well as a new weight room, training room and Hall of Fame. Previously, the department opened the Gino Filippin/Investec Athletic Strength Center, the first true intercollegiate athletics weight facility in UCSB history.

The recipient of numerous honors, Cunningham was chosen as NACDA's James J. Corbett Award winner in 2003, was inducted into UCLA's Hall of Fame in 2001, received the NACDA/NIT Athletics Director Award in 2000 and was named the NACDA Division I-AA/I-AAA Athletics Director of the Year in 1998-99. He received the All American Football Foundation General Robert N. Neyland Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998, the Merit Award for Distinguished Service by the University of Wyoming Trustees in 1986, was named one of the 200 outstanding athletes in Lost Angeles during the past 100 years by the mayor of Los Angeles in 1981 and was named the Pacific 8 and District 8 (West Coast) Basketball Coach of the Year in 1978-79. He also served as NACDA's president in 1988-89.

Now in its fourth year, the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association's mission is to enhance initiatives common to its Division I-AAA membership (the 90 Division I institutions that do not sponsor football), in particular, aspects related to their flagship basketball programs.

The Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association is administered by NACDA, which, now in its 41st year, is the professional and educational association for more than 6,100 athletics directors, associates, assistants and conference administrators at more than 1,600 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. Through its series of management seminars, clinics and workshops and publication of the bi-monthly magazine Athletics Administration, NACDA offers educational opportunities to its members. More than 2,000 athletics administrators annually attend the NACDA Convention. Additionally, NACDA operates the Sports Academy Directors' Cup program, which honors the all-sports champion in each of the NCAA Divisions -- I, II and III -- and the NAIA, for a total of four trophies.