Kiki-Baker Barnes named Under Armour Athletics Director of the Year recipient

NEW ORLEANS (NACDA/DU) – Dillard University’s Director of Athletics Dr. Kiki Baker Barnes has been named a 2018-19 Under Armour Athletics Director of the Year recipient, the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) announced Wednesday.

Barnes joins Mike Hermann (Kansas Wesleyan University), Mike McCaffrey (University of Saint Francis) and Darin Wilson (Georgia Gwinnett College) as the honorees from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).

Barnes will be one of 28 winners that will receive their awards during the James J. Corbett Awards Luncheon on Tuesday, June 11 at NACDA’s 54th Annual Convention at the World Center Marriott Resort in Orlando, Florida.

The Athletic Director of the Year Award highlights the efforts of athletics directors at all levels for their commitment and positive contributions to student-athletes, campuses and their surrounding communities.

Twenty-one of the 28 individuals being honored in 2019 are first-time ADOY award winners.

Under Armour is now in its 11th year of sponsoring the award and over 248 different athletics directors have been honored with the award during that time.

Barnes assumed the leadership role in Dillard’s athletics department in 2006. She simultaneously held the position of head coach of the women’s basketball team until March 2013. Since taking the helm, Dillard’s athletic program has seen the establishment of new sports teams and the university’s first endowed athletics scholarship.

In 2009, Barnes was elected President of the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the first female and first African-American president of the GCAC. She currently serves as Chair of the NAIA Conduct and Ethics committee and First Vice President of the NAIA Athletic Directors Association Board of Directors. In addition, Barnes is Louisiana’s only female college athletic director.

A trailblazer as well, Dr. Barnes is the first African-American female president of the GCAC. In 2015, she received the prestigious “Administrator of the Year Award” presented by the Women Leaders in College Sports (formerly known as National Association of College Women Athletic Administrators – NACWAA).

In 2011, 2014 and 2015, her peers voted her GCAC Athletic Director of the Year and in 2018, she was honored during Black History Month by the New Orleans Pelicans. Most recently, Dr. Barnes was selected as one of New Orleans CityBusiness 50 “Women of the Year” honorees for 2018. Dr. Barnes also sits on the Minority Opportunities Athletic Association (MOAA) Board of Directors.

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 (i.e., NCAA, NAIA, etc.), in which the institution could not have been on probation or cited for a lack of institutional control during the tenure of the current athletics director.

Nominators were NACDA-member directors of athletics, institutional presidents and conference commissioners, as well as other respected intercollegiate athletics administrators. Special Divisional Selection Committees composed of current and former directors of athletics, current and former commissioners and other key athletics administrators voted on nominees for the award. A complete listing of Selection Committee members can be found on NACDA’s Web site at www.nacda.com.

About Under Armour (NYSE: UA)
Under Armour, Inc., headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland is a leading inventor, marketer and distributor of branded performance athletic apparel, footwear and accessories. Designed to make all athletes better, the brand’s innovative products are sold worldwide to consumers with active lifestyles. The company’s Connected Fitness™ platform powers the world’s largest digitally connected health and fitness community. For further information, please visit about.underarmour.com.

About NACDA
NACDA, now in its 54th year, is the professional and educational Association for more than 15,700 college athletics administrators at more than 1,700 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. More than 6,500 athletics administrators annually attend NACDA & Affiliates Convention Week. Additionally, NACDA manages 17 professional associations and three foundations. For more information on NACDA, visit www.nacda.com.

Winners of the 2018-19 Under Armour AD of the Year Awards are: