Feb. 6, 2007

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Cleveland, Ohio - The National Association of Athletic Development Directors (NAADD) announced the formation of the NAADD Diversity Initiative Program at the recent National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Mid-Winter Meetings.

The Initiative will provide 25 minority and female collegiate athletics professionals with a $1,000 grant to attend the annual NAADD/NACDA Conventions.

The goal of the NAADD Diversity Initiative Program is to identify top-flight minority and female administrators who desire to excel in intercollegiate athletics development and fund raising. The Initiative seeks individuals who want to advance their athletics administration career, enhance professional ability to raise funds for their institution, and create valuable networking opportunities with numerous collegiate athletics administrators.

"NAADD is proud to launch the Diversity Initiative Program to support minority and female professionals in collegiate athletics fund raising," stated Ross Bjork, NAADD president and senior associate director of athletics, external relations at UCLA.

NAADD is partnering with the Minority Opportunities Athletic Association (MOAA) and historically black athletics conferences to showcase this opportunity for deserving professionals.

"As we have grown our organization, we found it necessary to give back to the profession of athletics fund raising. Our mission is to provide financial assistance to fund raising administrators who normally are unable to attend the NAADD convention so they may become better equipped in the fund raising environment and network with other athletics professionals," said Bjork. "The partnership with MOAA is a natural fit to initiate the Diversity Program."

NAADD will also provide the MOAA with a $5,000 stipend to help its operating costs in the first year of its long-term partnership with NACDA.

"This unsolicited gift will provide an opportunity for our members to network with professionals within the development and fund raising field of athletics," stated Stan Johnson, executive director of MOAA and president of Stan Johnson & Associates. "It shows the commitment NAADD has for changing athletics culture to be more inclusive of diversity."

NAADD and MOAA are both partners of NACDA. In its 42nd year, NACDA is the professional and educational association for more than 6,100 college athletics administrators at more than 1,600 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. More than 2,000 athletics administrators annually attend the NACDA Convention. Additionally, NACDA administers 10 professional associations for the separate business units that report directly to the athletics director.

-NAADD-