NEW ORLEANS, La. Kent State University Director of Athletics Laing Kennedy was named the 2005-06 GeneralSports TURF Systems Division I-A Northeast Region Athletics Director of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), the organization announced today (June 19). The award was presented during NACDAs 41st Annual Convention in New Orleans.

Beginning his 13th year at Kent State, Kennedy has led the Golden Flashes athletics program to unprecedented success in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and on the national level. He was previously honored as NACDAs Northeast Region Athletics Director of the Year in 2002.

"This award is a tribute to everyone associated with Kent State Intercollegiate Athletics," Kennedy said. "The student-athletes and coaches at Kent State perform at the highest level, and this award is a recognition of each of their achievements."

The Kent State womens athletic program has been awarded the Jacoby Cup for MAC womens all-sports excellence five times (1996, 1997, 1999, 2004 and 2005) in Kennedys tenure, while finishing either first or second each of the past 11 years. The Flashes mens teams have earned the Reese Trophy for mens all-sports success in the MAC three times in the past seven years (2000, 2002 and 2006).

Golden Flash teams have won 47 MAC championships an average of more than four per year and 15 MAC Tournament titles since Kennedys arrival in 1994. For the second straight year, Kent State teams won seven regular-season MAC championships in 2005-06. Highlighting the year was the mens basketball team winning 20 games and appearing in a national postseason tournament for the eighth straight season.

Under Kennedys guidance, Kent State teams have qualified for the NCAA Championships in their respective sports 30 times. Highlighting those national appearances are a ninth-place finish by the 2000 mens golf team, a 15th-place showing by the 2001 womens golf team and an Elite Eight appearance by the 2002 mens basketball team.

Kent State student-athletes have earned All-America honors 69 times since 1994, while 39 Golden Flashes have been voted their respective sports MAC Player/Athlete of the Year and 30 others have been selected as the MAC Freshman of the Year. In addition, more than 600 student-athletes have been named to MAC All-Academic Teams, 95 to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Teams and 20 to Academic All-America Teams.

In the 2000-01 academic year, KSU turned in a 57th-place finish in the United States Sports Academy Directors Cup standings, the highest finish in MAC history. Kent State has been the highest-ranking MAC program in the standings every year since 2001. This years standings will be complete following the College World Series.

Some of the off-the-field highlights of Kennedys tenure at Kent State have been the addition of two new sports (womens soccer and womens golf); the installation of lights, artificial turf and a new scoreboard/sound system at Dix Stadium; the completion of new softball and field hockey fields; the construction of a state-of-the-art academic resource center; and a new playing surface and improved facilities for baseball at Schoonover Stadium. Other improvements include the completion of a comprehensive gender equity study, the formation of the Athletic Development Council, the implementation of a systematic evaluation of sports programs, and the formation of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council.

Prior to coming to Kent State in 1994, Kennedy had spent the previous 11 years in a similar capacity at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. He not only headed Cornells Department of Intercollegiate Athletics but also was the head of the Physical Education and Intramurals Department. During his tenure, Cornell had nine national championship teams, 36 Ivy League championship teams and 102 All-Americans.

A native of Woodstock, Ontario, and a graduate of Woodstock Collegiate Institute, Kennedy earned a bachelors degree in animal science from Cornell in 1963. He was an All-America goaltender and team captain for Cornells ice hockey team, earning all-Ivy League honors three times and being named the universitys Outstanding Athlete as a senior.

Kennedy and his wife Saundra, have two children, Karyn and Kelly. Karyn and her husband Sean have two sons, Andrew and Campbell, and a daughter, Caroline.

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 ADs 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 within the last five years during the tenure of the current athletics director.

Nominators were NACDA-member directors of athletics, institutional presidents and conference commissioners. Special Selection Committees composed of current and former directors of athletics, present and past NCAA and NAIA presidents, current and former commissioners, and other key athletics administrators voted on nominees for the award.

There are four geographic regions - northeast, southeast, central and west; while the membership is separated into six categories - Division I-A, Division I-AA/I-AAA combined, Division II, Division III, NAIA/Other Four-Year Institutions combined, and Junior/Community Colleges.

NACDA Executive Director Mike Cleary says the ADOY Award is essential because it highlights the efforts of athletics directors at all levels for their commitment and positive contributions to campuses and their surrounding communities.

"Our Honors and Awards Committee recognized a need for an award such as the AD of the Year," said Cleary, who oversaw implementation of the program to allow all NACDA Officers and Honors and Awards Committee members to participate in the awards process, should they be elected. "The program brings to light the exceptional jobs done by athletics directors across the country. These 29 winners exemplify that, These 29 winners exemplify that, providing us with a group of outstanding athletics directors who excel at their jobs."

The other winners in Division I-A are Arizonas Jim Livengood (West), Terry Don Phillips of Clemson (Southeast) and Notre Dames Kevin White (Central).