Fresno State Athletics
Bob Duncan to be Honored by National Athletics Directors Group
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June 6, 2003
FRESNO, Calif. - Longtime Fresno State supporter Bob Duncan ? a driving force in the growth of the university's athletics programs ? will be recognized on the national level next week by the National Association of Athletics Development Directors (NAADD).
Last night, the Bulldog Foundation honored Duncan locally.
On Sunday, June 15, Duncan will be presented the NAADD's "University Division Volunteer of the Year" award when it honors six individuals during its 10th Anniversary Workshop at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
"Duncan's 40 years of efforts have produced the single most significant contribution to the Fresno State athletics program by a community member," according to the organization's Web site.
NAAAD is administered by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), which serves as the professional and educational association for more than 6,100 college athletics directors, associates, assistants and conference commissioners at more than 1,600 institutions throughout the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Duncan was also recognized by the Bulldog Foundation at its annual Awards Banquet Thursday (June 5) at the University House, the university president's home.
In addition to announcing Duncan's national award locally, the Bulldog Foundation also announced the results of its most successful fund drive ever.
The drive fully funds all the Fresno State athletic 2003-2004 requests for scholarships and provides funds for recruiting.
A videotape that outlines the success of The Bulldog Foundation in funding nearly 17,000 scholarships to Fresno State student-athletes as well as the need to drive the Fresno State program to national prominence was shown for the first time.
NAADD's national honoring of Duncan in Florida next week recognizes his annual fund drive effort that places him in the Top Ten of all 300 volunteers; his co-chairing the community portion of the Save Mart Center fundraising; his service as a Bulldog Foundation trustee and officer for 31 years; and his personal giving.
A special tribute is planned for Duncan by NAADD, which is the first organization of its kind to provide educational and networking opportunities, enhancement of acceptable operating standards and ethics and establishment of the overall prestige and understanding of the profession of athletics development and fund raising.
Duncan co-chaired the fundraising drive for the $100 million Save Mart Center, the largest privately-financed project in the history of the California State University system. He secured more than $5 million in private gifts and shared responsibility for raising more than $90 million to fund the campus events center, which will seat 16,000 for basketball.
He also spearheaded the drive for an athletic training facility located at Bulldog Stadium that houses Fresno State's football and soccer offices, locker rooms, computer labs and team meeting room. The facility was named the Robert E. Duncan Building in his honor.
His efforts also helped fund the $5 million for the women's softball stadium, home to the 1998 NCAA championship-winning team. He is annually one of the top fund raisers in the Bulldog Foundation's spring fund drive and has served as the foundation's president three times.
Since 1980, he has co-chaired fund drives for the football stadium, field house and the University Business Center in Fresno State's Craig School of Business on campus.
A Fresno Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, Duncan has served on the CSU Board of Governors and the University Advisory Board.
In 1996, an honorary doctorate was conferred on Duncan by the CSU and Fresno State. The Duncan award is the second such national honor by NAAAD in recent years.
Two years ago, the national organization posthumously honored the late Lynn Eilefson, a Fresno State development director and a forefather of Bulldog Stadium, with the association's first Lifetime Achievement Award.
Other 2002-03 NAADD award recipients include Ralph Davis (University of Indianapolis) as the College Division Volunteer of the Year; Sandy Cupp (Radford University) as the University Division Donor of the Year; Helen Lutes (Mansfield University) as the College Division Donor of the Year; and Chris Wyrick of Vanderbilt University as the Fund Raiser of the Year.
Additionally, Joe Crass of the University of Memphis is the recipient of the NAADD Postgraduate Scholarship.