National Football Foundation

Since July 2011, Bob Vecchione has served as the Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), the professional and educational association for more than 22,000 college athletics administrators. He recently announced he will step down on Dec. 31 and transition into a Director Emeritus role. He has also been a member of the NFF Board of Trustees since 2013, and he is actively involved with the NFF Michael J. Cleary/Northeastern Ohio Chapter.
 
Only the second individual to serve as NACDA's Executive Director, following in the footsteps of 46-year leader Mike Cleary, Vecchione is in his 30th year of service to the organization. Prior to becoming NACDA's CEO, he was responsible for orchestrating the association's external growth and management, and the organization now boasts 18 professional associations, one affiliate and four foundations. Vecchione's tenure has seen the creation of many valuable programs, including the McLendon Minority Leadership Initiative (MLI), LEARFIELD Directors' Cup and Cushman & Wakefield Athletics Director of the Year Award.
 
The Annual NACDA & Affiliates Convention has tripled in revenue generation and grown to become the nation's premier gathering of athletics administrators under Vecchione's direction. The annual convention attracts more than 6,500 administrators representing 1,200 institutions and over 300 corporate exhibitors.
 
Prior to joining the NACDA staff, Vecchione was an assistant athletics director at the University of Minnesota, and he spent 11 years at National Car Rental, where he positioned the company as one of the NCAA's original corporate partners. He earned a baseball scholarship to Missouri Western State University and was presented with its 2014 Distinguished Alumni Award.
 
"Bob Vecchione has helped make NACDA one of the most powerful organizations in college athletics, giving support to thousands of athletics directors across the country," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "He has been a strong advocate for the game of football and the NFF during his tenure, sharing the news of all of the NFF's initiatives and programs with the NACDA membership. He has been a wonderful presence on our Board of Trustees, and we salute him for his retirement."