Bob Vecchione serves as the senior associate executive director of NACDA and has been with the organization for 16 years.
One of his primary responsibilities has been to orchestrate the growth of the Association, both internally and externally. During his tenure, NACDA has initiated a multitude of programs that provide value-added benefits to the ever increasing membership and has continually upgraded NACDA’s technological capabilities to better serve its membership.
Programs such as the U.S. Sports Academy Directors’ Cup, NCAA Football, the AstroTurf Athletics Director of the Year Award, the NACDA Daily Review, Homeland Security Educational Grant and the Wounded Warrior Project are examples of those value added membership benefits.
In an effort to better expand and adhere to NACDA’s education mission, 11 professional associations have been created and managed since 1992, each representing a specific business unit reporting directly to the director of athletics. The intercollegiate associations representing intercollegiate marketing, licensing, development, compliance, business managers and event manager (beginning in 2008) have flurished under NACDA’s management. In addition, individual athletics directors associations falling under the NACDA’s umbrella include the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Division I-AAA, Division II, the National Alliance of Two-Year College Athletic Administrators (NATYCAA) and The Minority Opportunities Athletic Association (MOAA). The Collegiate Event and Facility Management was added as NACDA’s 11th association in June 2008. NACDA’s move into association management can be directly attributed to an increase of 3,500 new members since 1992.
The Annual NACDA Convention has virtually tripled in revenue and stature since 1992 and has grown to become the premier annual meeting place for athletics administrators. The Convention attracts more than 2,700 administrators and over 200 corporate exhibitors. Additionally, Vecchione has created an all-inclusive sponsorship program that has grown to represent in excess of 25 corporations, providing more than $2 million in monies, goods and services.
Vecchione serves as chair of the NCAA Football Youth Initiatives Committee, the NCAA Football Marketing Subcommittee, is the statutory agent for each of the 11 associations NACDA manages and serves on the Board of Directors for Collegiate Directories and is on the Advisory Board for University of Southern Mississippi Center for Spectator Sports Security Management.
Prior to joining NACDA, Vecchione served for two years as an assistant athletics director/media relations for the men’s department at the University of Minnesota, where he was also the executive director of the 1992 Twin Cities Final Four Organizing Committee. He also had an 11-year career at National Car Rental and, during that time span, became one of the original NCAA corporate partners.
Vecchione attended Missouri Western State College on a baseball scholarship and recently was recognized by the College as their Silver Anniversary Award Recipient. This past year his 1975 team was inducted into the Missouri Western Hall of Fame. Vecchione and his wife, Mary, have a daughter Amy (24) and son, Bobby (21).
