University of Toledo Athletic Director Mike O’Brien was named the Under Armour Northeast Region Athletics Director of the Year award for 2011-12 by the National Association of College Directors of Athletics.
“I would like to thank the NACDA awards committee for honoring me with this prestigious award,” said O’Brien. “I am truly humbled by this honor, as I acknowledge that something like this happens due to the efforts of a terrific staff, coaches and student-athletes. I see this as less of an individual honor for me, but rather a recognition of the accomplishments of our entire athletics program at UT.”
O’Brien presided over one of the finest seasons in UT history, which included a MAC championships in women’s cross country, women’s swimming and women’s soccer; 9-4 record in football that included a 42-41 victory over Air Force in the Military Bowl; MAC West co-championship for the women’s basketball team; first-ever MAC West Division title for the baseball team; Jacoby Trophy as the top women’s athletic program in the Mid-American Conference, the first time in the 30-year history of the trophy that UT took first place; and record grade point average of 3.266 in the 2012 spring semester for UT student-athletes, shattering the previous high mark of 3.167 set in the fall of 2011.
O’Brien has served as a member of the NCAA Division I Football Issues Committee, and chaired of the Mid-American Conference Athletic Director’s Committee. He is also the conference’s athletic director representative to the Bowl Championship Series.
A native of Iowa City, Iowa, O’Brien earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Missouri Valley College in 1975, and has master’s degrees in education from Wisconsin-River Falls in 1982 and in sports management from Western Illinois in 1986. Prior to his administrative career, O’Brien was an assistant basketball coach at three different schools from 1982-1986.
O’Brien and his wife Michelle have a son Jack, 10. The UT official will be recognized during NACDA’s 47th Annual Convention at the Hilton Anatole Hotel on Wednesday at the James J. Corbett Awards Luncheon in Dallas.
First Published June 25, 2012, 5:09 p.m.
