Always Dreaming Scholarship

Another award in Frank’s honor but at the national level is the Frank Kara Leadership Award. The National Association for Athletics Compliance (NAAC) created this award to recognize athletics compliance officers who demonstrate outstanding leadership in their field.

The first winner of NAAC’s most prestigious honor in 2008 was Amy Folan, an associate athletics director for compliance at The University of Texas.

The National Association for Athletics Compliance (NAAC) has announced that NAAC incoming president and current 1st Vice President Kate Hickey, senior associate athletics director/senior woman administrator (SWA) at the Rutgers University has been named the recipient of the 2011 Frank Kara Leadership Award. Division 1A Athletic Directors’ Association Executive Director Dutch Baughman has been named the Organizational Leadership Award recipient. The award winners will be honored Thursday, June 16 during the NAAC Convention at the World Center Marriott Resort in Orlando, Fla.

“Both Kate and Dutch have been instrumental in helping NAAC garner a national voice on Division I compliance issues,” stated Awards Committee Chair Tricia Turley, associate athletics director for compliance and student services, Ohio University. “Their dedication to helping advance the compliance profession has been prominent during the past year as the Division I athletics directors have taken a special interest in our Association moving forward with our Reasonable Standards and making them a staple in the industry.”

The Frank Kara Leadership award is NAAC’s most prestigious annual award and is named in honor of former University of Minnesota Director of Compliance, Frank Kara. Recipients display exceptional leadership and unique vision for compliance initiatives, as well as demonstrating a commitment to furthering the compliance profession through being instrumental in the revitalization of NAAC—all of which describe 2011 recipient Kate Hickey.

Hickey has been pivotal in the rebirth of NAAC and the success the Association has attained over the past four years. Her vision and hard work came to fruition this fall when the first round Division I industry compliance standards were released. The industry standards, called “Reasonable Standards,” are intended to establish a model for all institutions to follow to monitor compliance with specific NCAA rules and provide education on those rules.

The foundation that Hickey helped build with the Reasonable Standards Committee will help define the compliance profession moving forward. The committee has continued her vision and will announce the second round of standards at the 2011 Convention.

Hickey began her career at North Carolina before moving on to positions at the Southern and Big East Conferences. At Rutgers, Hickey oversees the compliance program, nine Olympic sports, student services, student-athlete housing and the Division’s RU STRONG life skills program.