FAYETTEVILLE — The University of Arkansas’ Hunter Yurachek was named one of four athletics directors of the year for the Football Bowl Subdivision on Tuesday by his peers in the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA).
Yurachek will be formally recognized during NACDA’s annual convention in Las Vegas in June. Other recipients of this year’s award at the FBS level include John Currie of Wake Forest, Boo Corrigan of North Carolina State and Mike Bohn of Southern Cal.
Twenty-eight athletics directors from seven levels received the recognition from NACDA.
“While I am humbled to be recognized by my peers with this award, the success of our program is truly a tribute to our remarkable student-athletes, coaches and staff as well as the extraordinary support of our Razorback Foundation members and fans,” Yurachek said in a statement.
Yurachek’s win comes on the heels of bounce-back seasons for the Razorbacks’ two most profitable sports, football and men’s basketball, under coaches hired by Yurachek in 2019.
Nine other Arkansas sports won SEC championships during the 2020-21 academic year, and the Razorbacks won last year’s NCAA championship for women’s indoor track and field. Five sports have repeated as SEC champions.
Yurachek has also overseen long-term contract extensions for men’s basketball coach Eric Musselman, women’s basketball coach Mike Neighbors and baseball coach Dave Van Horn in the past year, as well as the completion of multiple building projects, including the $27 million Hunt Baseball Development Center and the $10 million O’Mara High Performance Track Center.
Yurachek was awarded for the success of the athletics program last month with a five-year contract extension that included a $400,000 annual pay raise to $1.25 million.
In addition to the NACDA award, Yurachek is one of five finalists for the Sports Business Journal AD of the year award that will be announced in May.
"Hunter is very deserving of this recognition,” UA interim chancellor Charles Robinson said in a statement. “During his five years as vice chancellor and director of athletics, Hunter has guided the Razorback program to new heights. Under Hunter’s leadership, our student-athletes have set new records, won NCAA titles and SEC championships and posted one of the most successful sports years in Razorback history."
Robinson and Yurachek also highlighted the academic achievements of the Razorbacks' athletes. Arkansas tied its highest score in the NCAA's latest Graduation Success Rate report that was released last year.
Yurachek is the second Arkansas athletics director to earn the annual NACDA award. Jeff Long was a recipient in 2013.
Former Arkansas athletics directors Frank Broyles, John Barnhill and George Cole are in the NACDA Hall of Fame, but were never recognized with an AD of the year award.