NIAAA Awards

Created to honor retired Athletic Administrators who had exemplary careers in athletic administration both prior to as well as after the formation of the NIAAA. Selection to the NIAAA Athletic Administrators Hall of Fame is a four step process including nomination, screened by the Hall of Fame Screening Committee, rated by the NIAAA Selection Committee and finally, the NIAAA Board of Directors selects those individuals to be inducted.

• Applicant must be retired by June 30th of the year in which nominated.
• A completed nomination form. i. Note: All information regarding the candidate must be entered into the response box beneath the requesting statement (numbers 1 through 6). Utilization of such statements such as “See attached pages” will be considered an incomplete nomination form and result in elimination from consideration by the screening committee until the entire form is completed correctly.
• Letters of Recommendation: A maximum of two (2) letters of recommendation can be included. Letters should focus on NIAAA involvement and contributions.
• Support Material: The total number of support material pages must not exceed four (4), as related to the candidates career in athletic administration.
• Photograph A 4” x 6” or 5” x 7” portrait style photograph

Current Year: 2026 (1/1/25 - 6/30/26)

The NIAAA State Award of Merit may be presented annually by each state to an individual who is an NIAAA member and is deemed by the state association to have performed meritorious service to the state. This recognition plaque is provided by the NIAAA.

Current Year: 2025 (10/2/25 - 10/1/26)

...presented to a limited number of individuals each year in recognition of their length of service, special accomplishments and contributions to athletic administration at the local, state and national levels. States may nominate NIAAA members or individuals from outside the field of athletic administration.

Current Year: 2025 (11/15/24 - 4/1/25, 2026 opens on 11/16/25)

Beginning in 2007, this award was established by the NIAAA Board of Directors at the recommendation of the Awards Committee. The award can be presented annually to a recipient who most possesses and has contributed to the vision of Professional Development; this is the legacy of Frank Kovaleski. Frank was instrumental in the creation of the Leadership Training Institute of the NIAAA. The Frank Kovaleski Professional Development Award nominees must be an NIAAA member who has made significant contributions and demonstrated excellence in the area of professional development at both the state and national levels.

Current Year: 2025 (11/15/24 - 4/30/25, 2026 opens on 11/16/25)

NFHS Citations are awarded to individuals whose contributions have impacted high school activity programs through their association with one of the following groups of professionals: state associations and NFHS staff, athletic directors, coaches, officials, music adjudicators and directors, and speech, debate and theatre directors.

Current Year: 2025 (11/15/24 - 4/1/25, 2026 opens on 11/16/25)

Current Year: 2025 (10/1/24 - 9/30/25, 2026 opens on 10/2/25)

Current Year: 2025 (6/30/24 - 6/30/25, 2026 opens on 7/1/25)

The National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association has developed a suggested set of measurement criteria that high school athletic administrators may use to assess the current status of their athletic program. For this purpose, ten assessment categories have been identified to recognize outstanding high school athletic programs at the exemplary level.

Current Year: 2025 (6/30/24 - 6/30/25, 2026 opens on 7/1/25)

In accordance with National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association’s (NIAAA) purpose to promote, facilitate, and increase the knowledge and understanding of the vital role of interscholastic athletics in the educational system, this scholarship program will foster and acknowledge the partnership between the NIAAA and secondary education. The scholarships will recognize the distinguished scholastic, leadership, and citizenship attributes of high school student athletes, and the importance of high school athletics in each student’s life.

Current Year: 2025 (8/31/24 - 5/27/25, 2026 opens on 9/1/25)

Each year at the July board meeting, the NIAAA Board of Directors may select one State Coordinator (either Certification or LTI) who has developed and implemented a new initiative for their state in the area of professional development. This initiative must be innovative, recognized nationally as a best practice and must have benefited the athletic administrators in a state, nationally or internationally.

The initiative could be the improvement/updating of a current professional development operational program or guideline that will enhance the Certification or LTI program within a state or nationally.

The State Coordinator (either certification or LTI) has demonstrated active engagement in the annual Fall State Coordinator Summit as an instructional leader within the program agenda and has offered successful practices/procedures which will benefit the operation of State Coordinators. Nominations may be submitted by individual NIAAA members or state athletic administrator association boards and must be received in the NIAAA office by July 1 for consideration.

This award does not have to be selected each year. Funding for this recognition comes from the Triple Legacy Memorial Fund established by the NIAAA Board of Directors for the express purpose of this recognition. Contributions to this fund should be sent to the NIAAA office.

At such time that the resources in the memorial fund have been exhausted, it shall be the discretion of the Board of Directors whether to continue to fund this recognition or discontinue the recognition

• The nominee selected should be a member in good standing with their state and the NIAAA.
• Nominee must be designated by a state athletic administrator association as an LTI or Certification coordinator in that state.
• The nominee's contribution to professional development should be detailed on the next page of this form.

Current Year: 2025 (1/1/25 - 6/30/25, 2026 opens on 1/1/26)