CLEVELAND - Northeastern Director of Athletics and Recreation Jeff Konya earned National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Division I-AAA AD of the Year for the second time in the last four years, announced by NACDA on Wednesday. The award highlights the efforts of Athletic Directors at all levels for their commitment and positive contributions to student-athletes, campuses and their surrounding communities. Since the inception of this prestigious award 23 years ago, Konya is just one of four Athletic Directors to earn this distinction twice in a four-year span.

"Obviously I am humbled at being selected as NACDA I-AAA AD of the Year in 2020-21," said Konya. "This accomplishment is a reflection of the outstanding work ethic, attitude and passion exhibited by our student-athletes, coaches, fans and staff. It truly takes a village to be successful in Division I athletics and I hope our Northeastern Athletics family can share in this accomplishment and feel a sense of pride at what it represents. To that end, it is a pleasure to work at a progressive institution like Northeastern University, and I commend President Aoun and his senior leadership team, for helping to chart the path for our athletics prosperity. Go Huskies!"

Under Konya's leadership, Northeastern Athletics worked with the student-athletes to form the first-ever Black Athlete Caucus. NUBAC meets with Konya and the executive leadership team on a monthly basis, and represent the voice of and bring exposure to the Black Athletic community at Northeastern. Konya also serves on the first-ever College Hockey for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee.

The Huskies are in the midst of one of the most impressive runs for any DI-AAA property in collegiate athletics since Konya's arrival.  Northeastern registered a university-best 13th-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Director's Cup Standings in 2018 and followed that up with a 15th-place finish in 2019. Northeastern ice hockey programs continue to be nationally ranked, men's basketball earned its fourth CAA regular-season championship in 2020-21, men's cross country won its first-ever CAA title in 2021, and women's basketball made its first-ever appearance in the WNIT in 2019. The women's hockey team reached a program-best No. 1 ranking this season and are the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Women's Hockey Championship, March 15-21, capturing their fourth consecutive Hockey East Championship and winning an NCAA-best 52 games over the last two seasons.

In April 2020, Northeastern announced the Huskies will become the first New England area Division I institution to add Esports as a varsity program. In the first year of competition, the Huskies compete in four games, including Overwatch, League of Legends, Rocket League and Hearthstone. Northeastern joined the Esports Collegiate Conference (ESC) in October 2020, and the Hearthstone team reached No. 2 in the country.

NU student-athletes continue to produce in the classroom, attaining a program-best cumulative 3.61 grade point average in the spring 2020 and followed that up with a department record 3.417 GPA in the fall, earning their 26th consecutive semester of at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA. Northeastern led the CAA with an impressive 94 percent graduation rate and APR of 997, all at a top 50 university.

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