Southeast Missouri's Brady Barke was one of 28 winners of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Cushman & Wakefield AD of the Year Award (ADOY) Tuesday.
 
The award spans seven divisions (NCAA FBS, FCS, Division I-AAA, II, III, NAIA/Other Four-Year Institutions and Junior College/Community Colleges). Winners will be recognized in conjunction with the 57th Annual NACDA & Affiliates Convention at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas prior to the Featured Session on Tuesday, June 28 at 4 p.m.
 
The ADOY Award highlights the efforts of athletics directors at all levels for their commitment and positive contributions to student-athletes, campuses and their surrounding communities.
 
Barke is one of four recipients of the prestigious honor in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Northern Arizona's Mike Marlow, Jackson State's Ashley Robinson and Morgan State's Edward Scott are the others. Barke is just the second AD in the Ohio Valley Conference to win the award after Tennessee Tech's Mark Wilson claimed the honor in 2013.
 
"I'm truly honored and humbled to be recognized for what we have accomplished here at SEMO," said Barke. "This award is a testament to the work of our coaches, staff and student-athletes who have bought into our vision for what SEMO Athletics can become. I am fortunate to work alongside people who are committed to this institution and look forward to building upon our success. I'd also like to thank NACDA and congratulate the rest of the winners of this year's awards."
 
SEMO has reached unprecedented success under the leadership of Barke, who is in his sixth year in the AD chair. So far in 2021-22, teams have won three OVC titles with volleyball sweeping the league's regular-season and tournament crowns, and men's track & field winning the indoor championship. Since the start of the 2019 calendar year, the Redhawks have won 14 conference championships, most in the OVC. 
 
On September 24, 2021, the Southeast Missouri State University Board of Governors took bold action to begin the first phase of construction for a New Houck Field. The plan for a new multi-use complex at the Houck Field site includes a new stadium. Barke is heavily involved in the project which is progressing after demolition of the south grandstand.
 
In 2020-21, SEMO claimed its first-ever OVC Commissioner's Cup, the league's ultimate symbol of overall athletic excellence in Conference-sponsored championships.

While competing in the middle of a COVID-19 pandemic, the Redhawks won five OVC titles and one national championship. Women's tennis (regular-season), softball (regular-season), women's outdoor track & field and baseball (regular-season and tournament) all celebrated OVC championships, and gymnastics won the 2021 USA Gymnastics Women's Collegiate National Championship. The Redhawks were also the only OVC school that qualified for every conference championship event in 2020-21, the best season in SEMO's NCAA Division I history.
 
All that success came after the Redhawks were on track to win the OVC Commissioner's Cup the previous year. In 2019-20, SEMO was in first place following the winter championships before the remainder of the year was canceled and the honor was not awarded due to COVID.
 
Barke has built a culture that thrives on academics just as much as it does on competitive success. 

Academically, SEMO's Department of Athletics recorded a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher in every year during Barke's tenure as AD. Athletics achieved a 3.23 departmental GPA for the 2020-21 academic year. Fourteen of SEMO's 15 sports finished with a team GPA of 3.0 or higher that year. 

Before that, student-athletes overcame an enormous amount of adversity and disruption brought on by a global COVID-19 pandemic to close out the 2019-20 academic year with a Department of Athletics record 3.53 spring grade point average. That mark was the highest GPA of any semester for the Redhawks who had a total of 12 teams achieve a 3.21 or higher GPA in the spring term alone.

This 2021-22 campaign is SEMO's fourth year with Under Armour. Barke reached a multi-year agreement with the Baltimore-based global leader in performance footwear, apparel and equipment that made Under Armour the official outfitter of SEMO Athletics on July 1, 2018.

Barke also secured bids to host SEMO's first home football playoff games. Additionally, he helped the University reach a collaborative partnership with SoutheastHEALTH. Under the agreement, SoutheastHEALTH orthopedic and sports medicine physicians provide orthopedic, primary medical care, athletic training and physical therapy services, and invest in the University by providing diagnostic equipment and athletic training supplies, as well as scholarships for students.  

New state-of-the-art Formetco digital video scoreboards were installed at both Houck Field and the Southeast Softball Complex under Barke's leadership. A 4,000-square foot indoor baseball training facility was completed prior to the 2020 season. 

Barke hired Brad Korn as the Redhawks head men's basketball coach on Mar. 24, 2020, while navigating through the challenging times during the COVID-19 pandemic. Korn was the fourth head coach Barke hired as Director of Athletics.

During his first year in 2016-17, Barke introduced Andy Sawyers as the Redhawks head baseball coach and worked tirelessly on two major renovation projects.

Nearly a month after Sawyers was hired, Southeast Missouri State and the City of Cape Girardeau officially broke ground on Capaha Field. New synthetic turf, new fencing and a digital scoreboard in the outfield were added as part of the $1.8 million project that was completed before SEMO's season-opener.

Gymnastics Coach Ashley Lawson orchestrated a big turnaround in SEMO women's gymnastics that culminated with the program's first USA Gymnastics Women's Collegiate National Championship in 2021. Women's Tennis Coach Mary Beth Gunn was Barke's other hire. Gunn led SEMO to its first OVC regular-season title in program history. Sawyers, Lawson and Gunn all claimed Coach of the Year honors in 2021.

On Feb. 3, 2017, SEMO formally dedicated Holcomb Success Center. To honor the long-time service and philanthropy of Dr. John and Judy Holcomb, the University named the facility the Holcomb Success Center located in the Student Recreation Center-South. Indoor turf, weights, equipment and lifting platforms were added as part of the renovation at a cost of $500,000.
 
Barke helped secure the Holcombs gift, the largest single cash gift in SEMO Athletics history. This facility has enough space and equipment to handle SEMO's larger teams or multiple teams training at the same time. Other major improvements were made to the second floor of the building where athletic academic services are housed. This space provides student-athletes with places to study and features a computer lab with 30 work terminals and rooms for group meetings. Staff members assist student-athletes with life skills development, academic advising and academic progress toward degree requirements and NCAA eligibility. 

Additional renovations have been made to the nutrition area that serves as a fueling station for SEMO student-athletes at the Holcomb Success Center. 

Fundraising continues to increase under Barke's direction. The 2018-19 campaign marked the highest level of giving to the Redhawks Club general fund in 15 years. Barke also works with donors to establish endowed scholarships for student-athletes and summer school.

Improved branding is another area that has been a priority for Barke. Redhawk banners, S-E! M-O! billboards, Welcome to Redhawk Country and Redhawks yard signs are prominently displayed all over Cape Girardeau. On July 1, 2020, SEMO unveiled refreshed spirit marks, including a new primary logo, wordmark and variations for its 15 athletic programs. The new brand identity will allow SEMO's athletic teams to display consistent logos, lettering and numerals, and is independent of the existing University marks.

A year later on July 1, 2021, SEMO partnered with Affinity Licensing to manage its trademark licensing program. As part of the agreement, Affinity Licensing will act as the exclusive agency to manage the University's consumer products licensing relationships with manufacturers and retailers.

Barke helped develop the Redhawks Trivia Night & Auction, a sold out event that generated over $240,000 in net revenue over six years. In addition, he launched the Redhawks BRIDGE program which provides student-athletes with both leadership and life skills experiences through interactive programming that will prepare them to be successful in life after athletics.
 

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Cushman & Wakefield is in its first year sponsoring the award. The ADOY Award program is in its 24th year and has recognized a total of 535 deserving athletics directors to date.
 
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 academic 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: Now in its 57th year, NACDA 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. NACDA manages 17 professional associations and four foundations. In addition to virtual programming, NACDA hosts five major professional development events in-person annually. The NACDA & Affiliates Convention is the largest gathering of collegiate athletics administrators in the country. For more information, visit http://www.nacda.com/.
 

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 From NACDA Chief Executive Officer Bob Vecchione…
 
"As the intercollegiate athletics enterprise continues to evolve and institutions and their departments journey bravely into uncharted waters, we have a new wave of leaders who have answered the call. This year, 22 of our 28 Athletics Director of the Year honorees are being recognized with the award for the first time in their careers. Additionally, in the year that we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Title IX, we are proud that all four ADOY winners at the Division III level are women. Thank you to our new title sponsor Cushman & Wakefield, for helping the NACDA family applaud the efforts of these athletics directors across the country. We are looking forward to gathering together in person once again to celebrate their achievements during Convention this summer."
 

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2021-22 Cushman & Wakefield AD of the Year Award-Winners:
 
Football Bowl Subdivision
Mike Bohn, USC
Boo Corrigan, North Carolina State
John Currie, Wake Forest
Hunter Yurachek, Arkansas
 
Football Championship Subdivision
Brady Barke, Southeast Missouri
Mike Marlow, Northern Arizona
Ashley Robinson, Jackson State
Edward Scott, Morgan State
 
Division I-AAA
Jimmy Bass, North Carolina Wilmington
Shaney Fink, Seattle University
Mike Matoso, Saint Mary's College of California
Roderick Perry, IUPUI
 
Division II
Joseph Clinton, Dominican College (N.Y.)
Clyde Doughty, Bowie State
Andrew Gavin, Wisconsin-Parkside
Bren Stevens, Charleston (W. Va.)
 
Division III
Stevie Baker-Watson, DePauw
Amanda DeMartino, The College of New Jersey
Marybeth Lamb, Bridgewater State
Lori Runksmeier, Eastern Connecticut State
 
NAIA
Chad Briscoe, Grace College
Bill Popp, Reinhardt University
DJ Pulley, William Carey University
Kevin Steele, Ottawa University (Ariz.)
 
Junior/Community College
Dan Blair, Northern Essex CC
Ryan Knox, Heartland CC
Collin Pregliasco, Cosumnes River College
Mike Saddler, Colby CC