May 22, 2007
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Cleveland, Ohio --The Officers and Executive Committee of the National Association of Athletic Development Directors (NAADD) have selected their award recipients for the 2006-07 year.
Award recipients include William Graham of Bucknell University as the University Division Donor of the Year; Rex Klepper of Abilene Christian University as the College Division Donor of the Year; Bobby Purcell of North Carolina State University as the Fund Raiser of the Year; Pat Ogle of Fresno State as the Lifetime Achievement Award winner; and Arthur "Buster" Browning of the University of North Florida as the Volunteer of the Year. Additionally, Letitia Lyons of Old Dominion University received the NAADD Postgraduate Scholarship.
Lyons will receive a $2,000 grant to be used toward postgraduate studies. She was required to have a minimum GPA of 3.0, be a full-time senior and be planning to pursue a graduate degree in intercollegiate athletics administration with an emphasis on collegiate fund raising.
Award winners will be recognized at NAADD's 14th Annual Convention, June 7-10 at the World Center Marriott Resort in Orlando, Florida.
Below are brief biographical sketches of each honoree to follow.
University Division Donor of the Year -- William Graham, Bucknell University
William Graham is a former Bucknell varsity wrestler, team captain and a current member of Bucknell's Board of Trustees as well as a former member of the Bison Club Board of Directors. Graham has committed $7,702,925 in support of the university's intercollegiate athletics program which includes $7.6 million toward the restoration of the Bucknell wrestling program to varsity status, along with the enhancement of Bucknell women's varsity athletics. Thanks to Graham's donation, Bucknell became one of the first institutions to restore wrestling after it had been reclassified due to Title IX compliance. The wrestling team, consisting only of freshmen, set a school record for wins in a season with 12, and qualified three individual wrestlers for the NCAA Championships. Also, as a result of Graham's contribution, during the 2005-06 academic year, Bucknell's women's teams set Patriot League records for points earned and margin of victory on the way to their 12th All-Sports Trophy for women. Graham graduated from Bucknell in 1962 and since then has led The Graham Company to become one of the United State's largest insurance brokerage firms. He was honored by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) with its Meritorious Service Award in 2005. In addition to his generous contributions to Bucknell athletics, Graham has also donated an additional $85,000 to the university.
College Division Donor of the Year -- Rex Klepper, Abilene Christian University
Rex Klepper has been associated with Abilene Christian as a student-athlete, fan and financial donor for over 50 years. He graduated of then-Abilene Christian College in 1949 where he played football in 1947 and baseball in 1947 and 1948. He then received his master's in administration from ACC in 1957. Klepper and his late wife, Irene, have made contributions to the University since 1986. These contributions have gone toward the purchase of new practice goals for men's and women's basketball, an indoor hitting facility for baseball and softball, renovations in athletics training and other various projects. Klepper continues to make annual gifts to the operating budgets of the athletics department, baseball and women's basketball and while his financial support is remarkable, the personal support and encouragement that he offers to ACU coaches and student-athletes has also had a great impact. Klepper rarely misses an Abilene basketball or baseball game and at the age of 82, he continues to participate in the Abilene Christian baseball alumni game. Klepper was inducted into the ACU Sports Hall of Fame in 2004 for his lifetime of devotion to and support of ACU athletics, and an endowed scholarship fund for ACU student-athletes is named in honor of Rex and Irene Klepper.
University Division Fund Raiser of the Year - Bobby Purcell, North Carolina State University
Bobby Purcell joined the NC State athletics department in 1981 and was hired as executive director of the institution's Wolfpack Club 10 years later. Before his promotion, Purcell served as assistant director of the Wolfpack Club for four years. In this capacity, Purcell coordinated fund raising efforts in 49 North Carolina counties, directed the Courtesy Car Program and oversaw management of the Stroud Wolfpack Center. As executive director, Purcell has overseen the completion of many successful fund raising campaigns, such as the Wolfpack Pride Campaign, the Goal Line Drive Campaign, the Batter Up Campaign, and the Advantage Wolfpack Campaign. As a result of these fund raising efforts, Purcell has helped NC State to build a new basketball arena and practice facility as well as a new tennis facility, softball stadium and $23 million fieldhouse. These campaigns have also allowed for a $40 million press box and extra seating to be added to the football stadium. Most recently, as a result of Purcell's efforts, construction was completed on a $20 million football end zone expansion and a $22 million NC State residence hall, owned by the Wolfpack Club. Overall, the Wolfpack Club is currently involved with nearly $108 million in funding initiatives for NC State athletics. Purcell is a third generation NC State alumnus and former NAADD president.
Lifetime Achievement Award Winner - Pat Ogle, Fresno State
Pat Ogle graduated from Fresno State in 1965 and spent 17 years in television broadcasting with channels 47 and 24 as a sports editor, news anchor, reporter and producer. He was hired as the executive director of The Bulldog Foundation's (BDF) Annual Fund in 1982 and since then has directed a fund that has grown in donations from $600,000 to now over $4 million. With membership ticket benefits included, the BDF now administers annual memberships of $7.9 million. Since 1986, the BDF annual fund has been the number-one fund raising operation in the United States that exclusively uses volunteers, and in 2000, the BDF was honored with the Central California Excellence in Business Award for all non-profits. Ogle was recognized by Fresno State in 2006 with the Top Dog Alum award from the College of Arts & Humanities. In 1989, the National Conference for Athletic Fund Raisers named him Fund Raiser of the Year, and the following year, the California Valley Chapter of the National Society of Fund Raising Executives recognized him as Executive of the Year. Ogle was co-founder and director of the National Athletic Fund Raisers Workshop from 1990-1993 and in 1995 he was appointed to the NCAA `s Foundation's Development Advisory Council. He was charter president of NAADD in 1993, and in 1996 was honored by NAADD as the Fund Raiser of the Year. Ogle has been inducted into both the College of Sequoias Hall of Fame and the Fresno State Track and Field Hall of Fame, and in 2002, was recognized for his service and dedication to the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame where he has served as chair of the selection committee since 1985.
Volunteer of the Year - Arthur "Buster" Browning, University of North Florida
Dr. Arthur "Buster" Browning has been directly responsible for over $5 million of financial support for the University of North Florida athletics department and the university in general. Browning served three years as the president of the Osprey Club, UNF's official athletics booster organization, and is responsible for bringing a multitude of new members to the club's roster. In addition, Browning also was instrumental in securing a $2 million gift, the largest single gift in the history of UNF Athletics. In 1999, Browning, along with his friend, PGA Tour pro Billy Kratzert, founded the Kratzert-Browning UNF Golf Classic, which has grown to become the largest annual fund raiser for UNF athletics. This year's Classic netted over $81,000, with proceeds going directly to athletics scholarships and operational expenses. Browning also helped raise the funds necessary to build and equip the Dr. Arthur "Buster" Browning Athletic Training and Education Center, a $400,000 state-of-the-art athletics facility on the UNF campus dedicated in 2005. Buster is a 1969 graduate of Wake Forest University and received his M.D. from the Medical College of Georgia in 1974. He has been a general practitioner in the Jacksonville area since 1975. In addition to his volunteer efforts with UNF athletics, Browning has been the tournament physician for The PLAYERS Championship since 1982, has served as the physician to The President's Cup since 1997, and is on both the local and national boards of First Tee, having served as local board chairman from 2001-2003. He is also active with the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, Rotary International and the Lakewood Methodist Church.
Postgraduate Scholarship Winner - Letitia Lyons, Old Dominion University
Letitia Lyons is a biology major with a 3.3 GPA and has been the recipient of the Lady Monarch Academic Excellence Award, the John and Mary Alice Peterson Scholarship, the Donna Doyle Endowed Scholarship and the Connie and Marc Jacobson Women's Basketball Endowed Scholarship. Lyons has also been part of the dean's list as well as the Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars. She is a senior starter on the Lady Monarch's basketball team. She is a team captain for the second year in a row and has received the "Miss Defense" award the past two seasons. Lyons has worked in the sport management program at Old Dominion for over two years and after graduation, plans to pursue her master's degree through the Old Dominion Graduate Program in Sport Management. Lyons is also a member of Phi Eta Sigma, Omicron Delta Kappa and the Big Brother, Big Sister Program. She is a Minority Mentor for underclassmen minorities and previously, she volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House and the Rock-n-Roll Half Marathon. She was also a Monarch Mentor for international students and a Relay for Life volunteer. She participated in the Buddy Walk for down syndrome children and Race for the Cure.
About NAADD: NAADD is the first organization of its kind to provide educational and networking opportunities, enhancement of acceptable operating standards and ethics, and establishment of the overall prestige and understanding of the profession of athletics development and fund raising. For more information about NAADD, please visit www.naadd.com. NAADD is administered by 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.
