Tucker Named NACDA Athletics Director of the Year
Cleveland, Ohio – Surry Athletic Director, Mark Tucker has been named as one of the recipients of the prestigious National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Athletic Directors of the Year (ADOY) Award for 2024-2025. Tucker's recognition highlights his exceptional leadership and contributions to student-athletes, his institution, and the broader community. "To be named one of the NACDA Athletics Directors of the Year is truly an incredible honor not only for myself, but also for our college," says Tucker. "This award is a testament of the support from my family along with those working to engage, inspire, promote, and encourage all of our students at Surry."
"NACDA is proud to usher in a new class of Athletics Director of the Year Award winners for 2024-2025 and recognize these servant leaders guiding their departments into a new age of intercollegiate athletics," said Pat Manak, NACDA Chief Executive Officer. "These individuals represent their institutions, conferences and the industry as a whole with a level of dedication and passion that shines through in their collective accomplishments."
The ADOY Award, now in its 27th year, celebrates administrative excellence across seven divisions: NCAA FBS, FCS, Division I-AAA, II, III, NAIA/Other Four-Year Institutions, and Junior/Community Colleges. Tucker is among four honorees in the Junior/Community College category. The award acknowledges athletic directors that demonstrate commitment to higher education, teamwork, loyalty, and excellence while inspiring their institutions to achieve high levels of accomplishment.
Tucker has served as Director of Athletics at Surry since 2005 helping lead the program to numerous Region and District championships along with National Tournament appearances. During this time period, Surry student-athletes have earned numerous NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) All-American honors along with being ranked among the top of Region 10 in All-Academic performers, NJCAA All-Academic recipients, and All-Academic teams. During the 2023-24 academic year, both baseball and softball teams earned All-Academic accolades while being nationally ranked in the top ten. In 2022-23, Surry's Michelle Thao became the first student-athlete from Region 10 to earn the prestigious Lea Plarski award since its inception over 30 years ago.
As a coach, Tucker has recorded over 500 wins while serving as head baseball coach over parts of 15 seasons with 24 former players moving on to professional baseball. In addition, he has served as women's golf coach, and interim volleyball coach. Tucker has also started and serves as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) advisor at Surry. During his tenure, Surry student-athletes have volunteered with numerous community service projects including Give a Kid a Christmas program, Operation Christmas Child, Special Olympics, Northern Regional Hospital Care Packages, Read Across America program, visiting area elementary schools to discuss sportsmanship, collected food donations for needy area residents, visited long-term residents in the hospital, helped elderly community members with needed yard work, and volunteered with youth sports practices. "Our Surry student-athletes have established a culture of helping others within our community by volunteering with numerous community service projects," added Tucker.
During the past eight years, Tucker has been an integral part of Region 10 leadership as the Men's Assistant Director (2017-2024) and currently as the Women's Director. Currently, he serves on several NJCAA committees including Division III Women's Basketball, Division III Softball, Championship Events, and Regional Realignment. From 2021-2024, Tucker served as the NJCAA National Chair of Division III Baseball. For the past two years, Tucker has served on the NATYCAA (National Alliance of Two-Year Athletic Administrators) Executive committee along with being a representative for District 2. He is also an active member of AD's for Christ, a non-profit organization that develops Christ-like leaders in college athletics through spiritual growth and fellowship.
Now in its 60th year, NACDA is the professional and educational Association for more than 24,000 college athletics administrators at more than 2,300 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. NACDA manages 19 professional associations and four foundations. The NACDA & Affiliates Convention is the largest gathering of collegiate athletics administrators in the country.
Tucker and his fellow award recipients will be honored at the 60th annual NACDA convention at the World Center Marriott Resort in Orlando, Florida. The ceremony will take place during the association-wide featured session on June 10, 2025. "I look forward to proudly representing Surry Community College in front of over 6,000 other college athletic administrators across our nation," added Tucker.
Tucker currently resides in Pilot Mountain with his wife, Wendy. He has two daughters, Avery and Hadly along with a two year old grandson, Greyson.
For the complete list of the 2024 NACDA Athletic Directors of the Year, visit www.nacda.com