Suzanne Sanregret named AD of the Year by NACDA

Courtesy OF Michigan Tech Huskies

CLEVELAND – Michigan Tech’s Suzanne Sanregret has been named an NCAA Division II Athletics Director of the Year for 2020-21, announced Wednesday (Mar. 10) by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA).

Sanregret has held the position at her alma mater since 2005 and is one of four recipients of the award in NCAA Division II along with Tiffin’s Lonny Allen, Slippery Rock’s Paul Lueken, and Pennie Parker from Rollins College.

Sanregret is the first female athletic director at Michigan Tech and within the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, and the first woman to serve on the NCAA DII Men’s Basketball Regional Ranking Committee.

In 2019, Sanregret received Michigan Tech’s Diversity Award, an honor given to those in the campus community who demonstrate an exceptional commitment to fostering diversity and inclusion through recruitment, projects, on-and-off campus collaborations, and other activities that promote diversity in teaching, research, and service.

Sanregret has been instrumental in getting Michigan Tech student-athletes back to competition this season with great success amongst the Huskies. For the fifth time in school history, both basketball programs are in the NCAA Tournament. The women’s basketball, hockey and volleyball teams have been nationally ranked and Nordic skiing sent a full roster to the NCAA Championship for only the second time in school history.

Along with the 15 varsity sports under her, Sanregret also oversees the University’s Recreation Department and Michigan Tech’s Outdoor Adventure Program which have met the challenges of COVID-19 to continue operation for Michigan Tech students and the local community.

Grand Valley State Director of Athletics weighed in on Sanregret’s leadership through challenges over the past 12 months, “This year especially, I have deeply appreciated the leadership Suzanne has shown in our conference as we have navigated COVID-19. While we all struggled to keep up with the constant change and uncertainty on our own campuses, she stepped forward to lead our GLIAC COVID Task Force on top of her own busy plate. Suzanne is also part of the NCAA Championships Committee, the GLIAC Championships Committee, and is the AD liaison for GLIAC women’s basketball – all very active and busy committees. Yet, every Friday since May, she came to the athletic director call highly prepared, organized and gave our group a chance to keep moving forward. In a time of constant change, she gave me hope we could navigate the rough waters of 2020.”

Suzanne also takes the time to mentor young female professionals through the Athletic Directors Association mentoring program and on Michigan Tech’s campus.

Albany State University Associate Athletics Director Jacqueline Nicholson appreciates the knowledge passed on by Sanregreat, “Suzanne took me under her wing immediately as my mentor the day we first met in Indianapolis at the NCAA National Headquarters. The first day we met was my second week of serving as the Interim Director of Athletics at ASU, and it also was the day we were announcing the reduction of sports programs at the institution. She immediately jumped in and provided me with additional talking points and additional insight on things I should be prepared for as we were going through the reduction and while serving in the interim role.

“Suzanne was never more than a phone call away and was always willing to stop what she was doing to answer any questions I had throughout the mentor program. She checked in weekly and always made sure that I was on track both personally and professionally.”

Sanregret was named the 2009 Division II Central Region Athletic Director of the Year. She has served on the NCAA Division II Management Council, the NCAA Division II Men’s and Women’s Basketball Regional Ranking Committees, and the Division II Men’s Basketball National Committee. She has also been on the GLIAC Management Council, the WCHA Executive Committee and the board of directors for the D2 ADA.

Sanregret was instrumental in the addition of women’s soccer in 2010 and the addition of esports in 2019, making Tech the first public university in Michigan to launch it as a varsity sport.

Sanregret started in 1993 in the equipment room at Tech before advancing to business manager, compliance coordinator, and finally to assistant athletic director for business and NCAA compliance before being named AD.

Sanregret holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Michigan Tech and was inducted into the Michigan Tech Presidential Council of Alumnae in 2007. In March 2017, she completed her doctorate in higher education administration from the University of Phoenix.

Suzanne is married to John B. Sanregret, who is the Athletic Director at Houghton High School. They reside in Houghton, Michigan, with their son Bradley who attends Michigan Tech. Their other son Matthew graduated from Michigan Tech in 2019 and is living in Texas.

“As we reflect upon all that has happened in our industry and in our world over the past year in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever to honor the dedication and passion that NACDA athletics directors have for their student-athletes, institutions and campus communities,” said Bob Vecchione, NACDA Chief Executive Officer. “This year we certainly could recognize every AD in the country with this award. We applaud the efforts of the men and women across the country who have served as a source of inspiration and strength in leading their departments through this unprecedented time.”

All NACDA-member directors of athletics in the United States, Canada and Mexico who met the criteria were eligible for the award. Among the criteria were service as an AD for a minimum of five consecutive years; demonstration of commitment to higher education and student-athletes; continuous teamwork, loyalty and excellence; and the ability to inspire individuals or groups to high levels of accomplishments. Additionally, each AD’s institution must have passed a compliance check through its appropriate governing body (i.e., NCAA, NAIA, etc.), in which the institution could not have been on probation or cited for a lack of institutional control during the tenure of the current athletics director.

Nominators were NACDA-member directors of athletics, institutional presidents and conference commissioners, as well as other respected intercollegiate athletics administrators. Special Divisional Selection Committees composed of current and former directors of athletics, current and former commissioners and other key athletics administrators voted on nominees for the award. A complete listing of Selection Committee members can be found on NACDA’s website at www.nacda.com.

About NACDA: NACDA, now in its 56th year, is the professional and educational Association for more than 22,000 college athletics administrators at more than 2,200 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. More than 6,500 athletics administrators annually attend NACDA & Affiliates Convention Week. Additionally, NACDA manages 17 professional associations and four foundations. For more information on NACDA, visit www.nacda.com.