MORRISTOWN, NJ – Sept. 10 – Three of the pre-eminent collegiate athletics directors in the country were named to The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame Board of Directors, Chairman Jon F. Hanson announced today.
Bill Byrne, director of athletics at Texas A&M University, Joe Castiglione, AD at the University of Oklahoma, and Boston College AD Gene DeFilippo have each accepted a position on the NFF Board of Directors.
"The National Football Foundation's connection to colleges across the country remains strong," said Chairman Hanson. "By adding Bill, Joe and Gene to our board, we strengthen that connection and our commitment to ensuring that our nation's football programs continue to develop leaders in the classroom and community."
"If you were to name the best collegiate athletics directors across the country, these three would be at the top of any list." NFF President Bob Casciola said. "Their participation adds precious insight into the NFF's continuing role in college sports."
The trio joins several other leaders from world of athletics directors on the NFF Board, including retired University of Connecticut AD John L. Toner, Michael J. Cleary, the executive director of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), former director of athletics at Notre Dame and the University of Virginia Eugene F. Corrigan, University of Washington AD Barbara A. Hedges, Retired U.S. Naval Academy Director of Athletics Jack Lengyel, Rutgers University AD Robert E. Mulcahy III and University of Texas Director of Women's Athletics & Men and Women's Athletics External Services Christine A. Plonsky.
Bill Byrne
Bill Byrne loves new challenges, and he recently embarked on a new course after 10 years as athletics director of the University of Nebraska to take the helm as athletics director at Texas A&M University. At Nebraska, Byrne oversaw an athletic program that won all or parts of three national championships in football and two NCAA volleyball championships. The Cornhuskers also made consecutive trips to the College World Series in 2001 and 2002, the university's first trips to college baseball's national championship in school history.
But beyond success on the playing field, the Nebraska athletic department experienced tremendous growth under Bill Byrne's watchful eye. A noted fundraiser, he spearheaded a $36 million improvement project for Nebraska's Memorial Stadium, and he completed a deal to share a $30 million baseball and softball complex with the city of Lincoln. Byrne also increased the number of men's and women's varsity intercollegiate teams to 23 and established a balanced, stable financial budget that will serve NU athletics well into the future.
Byrne previously served as athletics director at the University of Oregon before landing at Nebraska. He served as president of the NACDA in 1991-1992 and was also chairman of the PAC-10 Conference Executive Committee. For his contribution to amateur sports and college football as an athletics director, Byrne was awarded The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame's John L. Toner award in 2002.
Joe Castiglione
No stranger to excellence in intercollegiate athletics, Joe Castiglione brings to The National Football Foundation an impressive record as a collegiate administrator. For the past five years, he has overseen the ascent of the University of Oklahoma's athletics into one of the top overall departments in the country. Under his watch, the Sooners have won a national championship in football and softball and two in men's gymnastics, while ascending into the top 20 in the annual Sears Directors' Cup standings. These results are a reflection of the broad-based success Oklahoma has enjoyed in men's and women's competition.
OU's athletic success has coincided with unprecedented scholar-athlete success in the classroom under Castiglione. More Sooners are achieving 3.0 and 4.0 grade point averages than at any other point in school history, and Big-12 Conference honor rolls and all-academic lists are loaded with Oklahoma scholar-athletes. As an indicator of Castiglione's success as AD, Oklahoma was given the 1998 Division 1-A Athletic Directors Association NCAA/CHAMPS Life Skills Program of Excellence Award.
Before going to Oklahoma, Castiglione spent the previous 18 years in the University of Missouri athletics department, serving as AD the last five. He also served as president of NACDA in 2002-2003 and was one of the founders of the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators.
Gene DeFilippo
Since becoming Boston College's athletics director in 1997, Gene DeFilippo has turned the Eagles' athletics program into one of the nation's elite. Recently named by US News as one of the top 20 well-rounded athletics programs in the country, Boston College has enjoyed tremendous success on and off the playing field the past six years.
During his tenure, DeFilippo has overseen a major overhaul of BC's athletic facilities, including new football practice facilities, renovations on Conte Forum, two new soccer fields and a host of improvements for Alumni Stadium. Fundraising has also experienced a major boost, as cash gifts received during the 2002-2003 academic year reached a record level of $9 million and combined with a $15 million gift from the Yawkey Foundation for a new varsity athletics center, totaled $24 million. DeFilippo's leadership has also placed BC among the top-6 schools in the NCAA for graduation rates.
DeFilippo headed the Villanova athletics department from 1993-1997, during which time he was named to the NCAA Division I Management Council. He earlier worked as the associate director of athletics at the University of Kentucky as well as director of athletics at South Carolina-Spartenburg. DeFilippo's administrative career began as the director of administrative services at Vanderbilt University in 1983 after serving as an assistant football coach for the Commodores the previous three years.
For the past four years, DeFilippo has served on The National Football Foundation Division I-A Honors Court, which is responsible for the selection of players and coaches for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.
NFF&CHF OFFICERS
Chairman of the Board Jon F. Hanson
Chairman, The Hampshire Companies; Former Chairman and CEO, New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority
Vice Chairman Ron Johnson
Owner and President of Rackson Corporation; Former MVP New York Giants; College Football Hall of Famer, University of Michigan
Vice Chairman John L. Toner
Retired AD, University of Connecticut; Former NCAA President
President Robert F. Casciola
Retired Princeton Head Football Coach; Former COO New Jersey Nets
Secretary/Treasurer George Weiss, Esq.
Attorney at Law; Chairman, Beechtree Capital Group (Merchant Banking)
NFF&CHF DIRECTORS
Clayton I. Bennett, President, Dorchester Capital
McKinley Boston, Jr., Education Consultant for the City of Minneapolis
Bill Byrne, Director of Athletics, Texas A&M University
William V. Campbell, Chairman, INTUIT, Inc.; Former Head Football Coach, Columbia University
Joe Castiglione, Director of Athletics, University of Oklahoma
Paul J. Choquette, Jr., Chairman & CEO, Gilbane Building Company
Michael J. Cleary, Executive Director, National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA)
Jeffrey Cooney, Executive Vice President, EUE Screen Gems Ltd.
Eugene F. Corrigan, Retired Commissioner, Atlantic Coast Conference; Former NCAA President; College Football Hall of Fame Honors Court Chairman
Thomas R. Curtin, Esq., Partner, Graham, Curtin & Sheridan
Gene DeFilippo, Director of Athletics, Boston College
Barbara Anne Dooley, Community Leader and Author
Michael C.J. Fallon, President, Fallon & Associates, LLC
Jack Ford, Television Host ABC/ESPN; Host of ESPN's Sports Reporters II
Barbara A. Hedges, Director of Athletics, University of Washington
Terry S. Jacobs, President and CEO, Regent Communications, Inc.
Jefferson W. Kirby, Managing Member, Broadfield Capital Management, LLC
Alexander S. Kroll, Chairman Emeritus, Young & Rubicam, Inc.; Former Chairman, Ad Council; College Football Hall of Famer, University of Rutgers
Willie Edward Lanier, Vice President, Wachovia; College Football Hall of Famer, Morgan State University
William P. Lawrence, Vice Admiral U.S. Navy (Ret.); Former Superintendent, U.S. Naval Academy
Jack Lengyel, Retired Director of Athletics, U.S. Naval Academy
Archie Manning, Consultant, Entergy Corporation; College Football Hall of Famer, University of Mississippi
Edward F. McGinley III, Senior Account Exec. Speer Leads and Kellogg
William G. Morton, Jr., Retired Chairman and CEO, Boston Stock Exchange
Robert E. Mulcahy III, Director of Athletics, Rutgers University; NFF & CHF Awards Committee Chairman;
Former President and CEO, New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority
Christine A. Plonsky, Director of Women's Athletics & Men and Women's Athletics External Services, University of Texas
Thomas C. Scott, President, Thomas C. Scott & Associates; Former Defensive Captain, NY Giants; College Football Hall of Famer, University of Virginia
Robert A. Simms, Founder, Chairman & CEO, Simms Capital Management, Inc.; Vice President, NFL Alumni Assoc. of NY; Board of Overseers, Rutgers University
George M. Steinbrenner III, Principal Owner, New York Yankees
Larry D. Striplin, Jr., Chairman and CEO, Nelson-Brantley Glass Contractors, Clearview Properties; Founder and Chairman Emeritus, Alabama Sports Hall of Fame
Grant Teaff, Executive Director, American Football Coaches Association (AFCA); College Football Hall of Fame Coach, Baylor University
Dennis E. Thomas, Commissioner, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Russell F. Warren, MD Orthopedic Surgeon, NY Giants and Islanders
Gene Washington, Director of Football Operations, National Football League
James W. Wilson, Jr., President and Chairman, Jim Wilson & Associates, Inc.
DIRECTORS EMERITUS
H. Jesse Arnelle, Esq., Retired Senior Partner, Arnelle & Hastie; Former Chairman, Penn State University Trustees
Richard W. Kazmaier, President and CEO, Kazmaier & Associates; Heisman Trophy Winner; College Football Hall of Famer, Princeton University
E. Douglas Kenna, Former Chairman of the Board, Carlisle Corp.; Partner in GL Ohstrom and Co. Investments; Board of Trustees, United States Military Academy
Donald R. Keough, Chairman of the Board, Allen & Co.; Retired President and COO of The Coca-Cola Company
F. M. Kirby, President, F. M. Kirby Foundation; Former Chairman and CEO, Alleghany Corporation
John F. McGillicuddy, Retired Chairman and CEO, Chemical Bank
Ambassador Joe M. Rodgers, Chairman, JMR Investment Group, Inc.
William A. Schreyer, Chairman Emeritus of Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.
Carl W. Smith, Chairman and President, AMVEST Corp.
Walter J. Zable, Chairman and CEO, Cubic Corporation
With 119 chapters and over 13,000 members nationwide, The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame, a non-profit educational organization, runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in America's young people. NFF programs include the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., Play It Smart, The NFF Center for Youth Development Through Sport at Springfield College (Mass.), the NFL-NFF Coaching Academy, and scholarships of nearly $1 million for College and High School Scholar-Athletes. Learn more at: www.footballfoundation.com or www.collegefootball.org.
