CLEVELAND - University of Arkansas - Fort Smith Assistant Vice Chancellor for Athletics-Recreation-Health and Wellness Curtis Janz was named as one of 28 winners of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) AD of the Year Award, the association announced Monday.

The award spans seven divisions (NCAA FBS, FCS, Division I-AAA, II, III, NAIA/Other Four-Year Institutions and Junior College/Community Colleges). Winners will be recognized in conjunction with the 61st Annual NACDA & Affiliates Convention at Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas, Nev., at the beginning of the Association-Wide Featured Session on Tuesday, June 9, starting at 4 p.m.

The ADOY Award highlights the efforts of athletics directors at all levels for their commitment and positive contributions to student-athletes, campuses and their surrounding communities.

"I'm highly honored to be receiving this award," Janz said. "This is not just an individual award. I am blessed to be surrounded by great athletic administration staff, coaches and student-athletes. It is an honor to lead these dedicated people every day."

Janz is in his 10th season as Director of Athletics at UAFS for the 2025-26 season.

During his first three seasons at UAFS, Janz led UAFS' transition from the Heartland Conference to the Lone Star Conference, which is now the largest NCAA Division II conference. Following five seasons in the LSC, Janz led the transition of UAFS to the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, which the Lions joined in July of 2024.

Janz has served on the NCAA II Strategic Planning and Finance Committee since June 2024 and was selected to chair the committee in September 2025.  He also serves on the basketball rules committee, regional rankings committees and numerous MIAA committees.

Additionally, Janz has introduced the Lions Impact Series, which brings in various speakers to talk to UAFS student-athletes about mental health, academics and numerous off-court topics to enhance the student-athlete's well-being and allow them to build camaraderie outside of their sport.

Under Janz's leadership, UAFS student-athletes have posted a cumulative GPA above 3.0 in 15 of the last 17 semesters.

The Wichita, Kan., native previously served eight years as director of athletics at Oklahoma Christian University, where he was inducted into the Oklahoma Christian Athletics Hall of Fame in November 2025.

All NACDA-member directors of athletics in the United States, Canada and Mexico who met the criteria were eligible for the award. Among the criteria were service as an AD for a minimum of five academic years; demonstration of commitment to higher education and student-athletes; continuous teamwork, loyalty and excellence; and the ability to inspire individuals or groups to high levels of accomplishments. Additionally, each AD's institution must have passed a compliance check through its appropriate governing body (i.e., NCAA, NAIA, etc.), in which the institution could not have been on probation or cited for a lack of institutional control during the tenure of the current athletics director.

The ADOY Award program is in its 28th year and has recognized a total of 633 deserving athletics directors to date.

For a complete list of award winners, visit nacda.com.

About NACDA: Now in its 61st year, NACDA is the professional and educational Association for more than 24,000 college athletics administrators at more than 2,300 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. NACDA manages 19 professional associations and four foundations. In addition to virtual programming, NACDA hosts and/or has a presence at seven major professional development events in-person annually. The NACDA & Affiliates Convention is the largest gathering of collegiate athletics administrators in the country. For more information, visit www.nacda.com.