CLEVELAND  – NACDA's Board of Directors announced that Washington State University (WSU) Director of Athletics Pat Chun will become the Association's 3rd Vice President following the 2021 Convention.
 
"As someone who has been a direct beneficiary of NACDA throughout my entire career, I am both humbled and honored to be named an Officer," said Chun. "The impact of NACDA on the development of practitioners in college athletics cannot be overstated. I look forward to working with friends and colleagues on the NACDA Executive Committee and staff."
 
"Pat has always been part of the NACDA family, from growing up in Northeast Ohio, to his time as an administrator at Ohio State, and his four years on the Executive Committee while AD at Florida Atlantic," said NACDA Chief Executive Officer, Bob Vecchione. "NACDA has been there every step of the way as Pat has grown in his career, and now as he moves into the 3rd Vice President role for the Association, we look forward to the expertise he will bring to our leadership and membership for the next several years."
 
Since arriving at Washington State in January 2018, Chun has overseen a transformation of Cougar athletics, on and off the field. From student-athlete academic achievement to record-setting fundraising, from transformative facility projects to innovative student-welfare programming, Chun has had an immediate impact on WSU. The most recent effort was unveiled earlier this month as Washington State and Gesa Credit Union announced a partnership to provide Gesa the naming rights to the playing surface at Martin Stadium, now named Gesa Field. The 10-year agreement is valued at a minimum $11 million, that will escalate as additional Gesa consumer-based incentives are reached.
 
Upon his hiring, Chun became the 14th individual to lead Cougar athletics in school history and the first Asian-American athletics director to lead a Power 5 school. He also had another first in 2019, being recognized by NACDA as Athletics Director of the Year (ADOY), the first Cougar athletics director to receive the honor.
 
Under Chun's leadership, WSU programs have reached NCAA Championships in six sports, while student-athletes have collected 33 All-America certificates, 95 All-Conference, 461 Academic All-Conference selections and five conference champions.
 
Chun has instituted programs to benefit student-athlete welfare, including improvements to mental health awareness, as well as a commitment to diversity and inclusion initiatives, while working closely with WSU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the Black Student-Athlete Association. WSU's commitment to mental health awareness, under initiatives led by Chun, resulted in WSU Athletics being awarded the Washington State Psychological Association's Public Citizen Award in 2018. Additional accomplishments for Chun include the development of UNLEASH, a strategic plan for the advancement of WSU athletics, while in July 2020, he began a four-year term on the prestigious NCAA Division I Council, a high-level group responsible for the day-to-day decision-making for Division I. Chun also serves on the NCAA Division I Strategic Vision and Planning Committee as well as the NCAA Division I Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports. Also in 2020, he was named co-chair for the newly formed Pac-12 ImPACt Leadership Council which serves as an advisory group for Social Justice & Anti-Racism within the conference.
 
Most importantly, the academic performance of WSU student-athletes has set or tied program highs for cumulative GPA in five of the last six semesters entering the spring of 2021, including a department record 3.35 semester GPA in the spring of 2020. WSU also posted its highest Graduation Success Rate ever in 2018-19.
 
Prior to WSU, Chun spent five and a half years leading the Florida Atlantic University (FAU) athletics department and the previous 15 years at The Ohio State University in a multitude of roles from 1997 through 2012, culminating as the executive associate athletics director.
 
About NACDA: NACDA, now in its 56th year, is the professional and educational Association for more than 22,000 college athletics administrators at more than 2,200 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 four foundations. For more information on NACDA, visit www.nacda.com.