KANSAS CITY, Mo. – College of Idaho’s Reagan Rossi was selected as the 2022 NAIA Athletics Director of the Year, announced Thursday by the NAIA Office. It is the second time C of I's AD has won the national award, Marty Holly previously won it.
“On behalf of the entire conference, we send our congratulations to Mrs. Reagan Rossi,” stated Cascade Collegiate Conference Commissioner Robert Cashell. “She has distinguished herself with her efforts in athletic administration and servant leadership. We are all so proud of her accomplishments and well-deserved recognition.”
Earlier this year, Rossi earned her third CCC Athletic Director of the Year award in four years and her second-straight honor. The award is the CCC’s top administrative honor selected by the conference’s athletic directors and the winner moves on to the national ballot.
Rossi is in her 22
nd year with the Coyotes and seventh at the helm of the department where she is the Vice President of Athletics.
In 2021-22, Rossi’s Coyotes made 10 NAIA National Championship appearances, including serving as a host for the NAIA Men’s Basketball Opening Round. The Yotes won three CCC regular-season championships and one tournament championship.
Rossi worked with her development team on the first-ever Athletics Give Day, “Clash of the Coyotes,” and the Go Purple Steak Feed had a record fundraising of over $200,000. She is currently working on fundraising for the JA Albertson Activities Center renovations and recently finalized fundraising and planning for the Buffington/Christian Hitting Facility for baseball and softball.
Under Rossi, Symms Field (where the Coyotes play softball) completed new lights and had new drainage and sprinkler system upgrades. She also oversaw new field goal netting at Simplot Stadium.
Academically, the Coyotes have seen 146 NAIA Scholar-Athletes named – which is the most in department history and the most on the West Coast. All 18 Coyote teams were named NAIA Scholar Teams, including Women’s Cross Country, which boasted the fifth-best team GPA in the NAIA with a 3.87.
In 2021-22, 156 Coyotes earned Academic All-Conference honors – 61 fall, 12 winter, 83 spring – and 18 picked up Academic All-District honors, with six going on to be named Academic All-Americans. The Coyote women’s volleyball team also picked up the AVCA Award.
The Coyotes instill the Champion of Character mentality and hosted the Canyon County Special Olympics event day, partnered with the Idaho Food Bank, WICAP, and City of Caldwell for Canyon County Food Drives.
Rossi serves as the Third Vice President on the ADA Board and is on the Ratings and is on the NAC Ratings and Postseason Selection Committee. She is the NAC Volleyball Liaison – Ratings Oversight and Selection Committee Chair, a member of NAIA RISE and the NAIA Opening Round Task Force, and is on the Schedule Creep Committee, the Women’s Basketball Selection Committee, Title IX Committee, Marathon Committee and the Conduct and Ethics Committee. She presented on mental health and wellness at the NAIA Convention.
Rossi will be formally presented the award at an awards luncheon and ceremony during the 2023 NAIA National Convention in New Orleans, which takes place March 30-April 3, 2023.