CLEVELAND – For the second time since 2019, Iowa State Director of Athletics Jamie Pollard has been selected as one of 28 Cushman & Wakefield AD of the Year (ADOY) honorees by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA). Pollard was one of four 2023 winners from the Football Bowl Subdivision and will be honored in conjunction with the 58^th Annual NACDA & Affiliates Convention at the World Center Marriott Resort in Orlando, Fla., June 13.

“I am honored and humbled to accept this award on behalf of our entire athletics program,” said Pollard, the 20^th individual to earn multiple FBS AD of the Year honors in the award’s 25-year history. “The award is a great testament to the success our department has experienced as the result of the hard work performed by our coaches, staff and student-athletes. In my opinion, this award not only recognized the Athletics Director of the Year, but also acknowledges the Athletics Department of the Year!”

Pollard, Iowa State’s longest-tenured Director of Athletics and fourth-longest serving individual at their current Power Five institution, is in his 18^th year leading the Cyclones. His vision for ISU student-athlete’s academic and athletic success, coupled with an unbridled passion to execute that vision, continues to impact the campus and Ames communities, the Big 12 Conference and intercollegiate athletics.

Based upon the NCAA’s 2022 Division I metrics, Cyclone student-athletes continue to thrive academically under Pollard’s leadership. ISU led the Big 12 and set school-records for both its overall (95 percent) and female (99) Graduation Success Rates, while its male GSR (90) was a school-record.

Pollard, who inherited a department whose average Learfield Directors’ Cup finish had been 67^th with a high of 41^st in 1996-97, has methodically engineered a competitive program that has averaged a final Directors’ Cup placement of 48^th over his tenure while producing seven Top 50 finishes, including a school-record 34^th-place showing in 2009-10.

Landmark highlights of Pollard’s tenure include:

• In September 2022, he unveiled plans along with ISU President Dr. Wendy Wintersteen and ISU Research Park Director Rick Sanders to build the nation’s first-ever multi-use entertainment district in the center of a college campus, CYTown, between Jack Trice Stadium and Hilton Coliseum
• An investment of more than $320M in new construction and facility renovations impacting nearly all Cyclone student-athletes; the most-recent being the $90M Stark Performance Center.
• Secured the largest donation ever received by ISU Athletics – a $25 million gift from the Reiman family – that was the lead donation for the south end zone enclosure at Jack Trice Stadium.
• Assembled, arguably, the strongest coaching staff in ISU history.
• The Cyclones have won 21 of their 29 all-time Big 12 team titles on his watch.

The only individual to have ever served as President of NACDA, the I-A Athletics Director’s Association and CABMA, Pollard currently serves on the NCAA Men’s Basketball Committee.

The ADOY Award highlights the efforts of athletics directors at all levels for their commitment and positive contributions to student-athletes, campuses and their surrounding communities. The award spans seven divisions (NCAA FBS, FCS, Division I-AAA, II, III, NAIA/Other Four-Year Institutions and Junior College/Community Colleges) and honors four winners from each division annually.