CLEVELAND, Ohio — The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) announced its Hall of Fame class and former Eastern Washington University Associate Vice President/Athletic Director Lynn Hickey is among the 2024 inductees.
Hickey is one of eight new members to the Hall of Fame and the group will be honored at the 59th Annual NACDA Affiliates Convention at Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas, Nev. on June 10. The NACDA announced its 2024 earlier this month.
Hickey was hired in April of 2018 as the 14th athletic director in Eastern Washington history. While at Eastern, Hickey was key in leading the athletic department through the challenges of the pandemic. She helped the Eagles remain in the Big Sky as a Division I program, while hiring eight head coaches.
"Lynn is a pioneer in college athletics and made an impact at every university she was a part of." Associate Vice President and Athletics Director Tim Collins said. "Lynn's work at Eastern laid a foundation that allows us to continue to serve our student-athletes, our campus and our community."
"We are immensely proud of Lynn for her well-deserved induction into the NACDA Hall of Fame," Eastern Washington President Shari McMahan said. "From championing the transformative impact of Title IX on women's sports, to her success as an athletic director, she has left an indelible mark on collegiate athletics and countless student athletes throughout her successful career. At Eastern, Lynn elevated our athletics program and made a profound impact in our community that continues to inspire us all. Through her dedicated work and leadership, she has set a standard of excellence that will continue to guide and inspire future generations."
Under Hickey's direction, found success on the field and in the classroom. EWU football advanced to the national championship game in 2018. Men's basketball team won two Big Sky regular season titles (2019-20, 2022-23) and one tournament title (2021).
In the classroom, student-athletes also maintained a 3.0 GPA every quarter that Hickey was at Eastern.
Hickey chose to retire in April of 2024, at the end of her contract, citing a desire to be closer to her daughter and the rest of her family in the Texas-Oklahoma area.
Prior to leading Eastern, Hickey spent 18 years at the University of Texas-San Antonio, serving the same role. Hickey championed the Roadrunners move into the Football Bowl Division in 2010. The program started competition as an independent program in 2011 and then moved to the Western Athletic Conference for the 2012 season. In 2013, UTSA moved to Conference USA, with the football program playing its first ever bowl game in 2016, the Gildan New Mexico Bowl.
Hickey worked at Texas A&M as senior associate athletics director and senior women's sports administrator from 1994-2000. Before joining the administrative side, Hickey coached the Aggies' women's basketball team for 1984-94. Hickey was the head coach for Kansas State women's basketball from 1979-84.
Hickey already has history with the NACDA, earning the organization's Athletics Director of the Year in 2005-06. She also served as a member of the NACDA Executive Committee from 2015-17 and named NACWAA (now Women Leaders in Sports) Division I-AAA Administrator of the Year in 2005.
About NACDA
Now in its 59th year, NACDA is the professional and educational Association for more than 22,000 college athletics administrators at more than 2,200 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. NACDA manages 18 professional associations and four foundations. In addition to virtual programming, NACDA hosts six 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.
ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Eastern Washington University Athletics sponsors 14 intercollegiate sports, six for men and eight for women, both as learning opportunities for its most athletically talented students and as an enhancement to student and community life. Eastern is affiliated with Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is a member of the Big Sky Conference, an association of 10 regional schools with comparable enrollments and academic goals.
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