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Mary Ellen Leicht became the Executive Director for the National Junior College Athletics Association (NJCAA) on July 10, 2009. Her appointment made history as she became the first female to serve as Executive Director of the NJCAA. She also became the first female chief executive of any national intercollegiate athletics association in the United States. Leicht oversees all business and day-to-day operations of the second-largest intercollegiate athletics association in the country. The NJCAA is the only national governing body of intercollegiate athletics for two-year colleges and its current membership of 525 institutions is second only to the NCAA. A 20-year veteran of the NJCAA, Leicht stepped into the organization in 1989 serving as an eligibility administrator and was quickly promoted to Associate Executive Director. She has led many of the organization's most challenging initiatives, which have resulted in more efficient and effective regulations. She assisted with the development of a divisional competition structure for 28 different sports and was instrumental in the comprehensive overhaul of eligibility regulations. Leicht also directed the implementation of the association's current online eligibility and letter of intent program. She has championed improvements in equity of sports seasons, scholarships and contests as well as qualifying standards for NJCAA championship events. Under Leicht's direction the focus of the organization will continue to be on the student-athlete. Leicht was a four-year letter winner in basketball at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, receiving a B.B.A. in business administration. She went on to obtain an M.S. in sports administration from the University of New Mexico and spent a year with the High Country Athletic Conference before joining the NJCAA staff in 1989. She is an at large representative for the National Alliance of Two-Year College Athletics Association (NATYCAA). |
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