College of Idaho's Marty Holly, who just completed his 28th season as director of athletics, has been named the 2008-09 CCC AD of the Year.
C of I's Marty Holly Named 2008-09 CCC Athletic Director of Year
PORTLAND, Ore. – College of Idaho’s Marty Holly, who oversaw a year of impressive accomplishments both on and off the field play, has been voted the 2008-09 Cascade Collegiate Conference Athletic Director of the Year, CCC commissioner Dave Haglund announced Wednesday.
Under Holly’s leadership, the Yotes led the conference with 75 Academic All-CCC selections – including 46 who went on to earn national scholar-athlete recognition -- and finished second in the CCC’s all-sports ranking. C of I teams winning or sharing conference championships in 2008-09 included women’s cross country, volleyball, women’s basketball, and softball. All told, 11 Coyote teams earned national Top 25 rankings or received votes in national polls during the 2008-09 season, and every College of Idaho team finished in the top half of the CCC standings.
Nine Coyote teams advanced to NAIA postseason play this past year, including men’s and women’s cross country, volleyball, women’s basketball, softball, and men’s and women’s track and field. The volleyball team captured its third straight CCC title and made its third national tournament appearance in four years; the women’s basketball team posted its best record (29-5) in school history and advanced to the NAIA Tournament for the first time since 2001; softball made its second straight appearance in the NAIA World Series; and both cross country teams advanced to the national championships, with the women’s team recording a top 10 finish.
“I am deeply honored to receive this award from my peers – it is a reflection on the fine coaches and staff we have in our athletic department,” said Holly. “Despite the tough economic times we all have had this year, our teams, our coaches and our student-athletes have risen to the occasion and had one of the best seasons in school history.”
Holly, who was a leading fund-raiser at the College of Idaho this past year, was instrumental in securing a $250,000 naming rights agreement and a $300,000 contribution from the city of Caldwell for the construction of Wolfe Field, the first artificial surface baseball complex in the state of Idaho. The new ballpark opened in March.
Other Holly-led initiatives included the renovation of five campus tennis courts (and securing the naming rights for the Laura Moore Cunningham Center Court); the renovation of the basketball floor in the Albertson Activities Center; and the introduction of live video streaming of home men’s and women’s basketball games. Holly also oversaw a wide variety of department fund-raising efforts that netted more than $500,000 for C of I athletics.
C of I’s athletic teams were also extraordinarily active in a host of volunteer activities to support worthy causes in the local community, led by the C of I swim team which won the NAIA Team Champion of Character Award. Under Holly, the NAIA named College of Idaho a “Champions of Character” institution for the sixth consecutive year.
In addition to his C of I responsibilities, Holly also served as the chair of the CCC athletic directors and sat on the CCC ratings oversight committee.