DePauw University's Athletics Director Recognized with National Honor

Greencastle, IN (07/26/2018) — DePauw's Associate Vice President for Campus Wellness and Theodore Katula Director of Athletics and Recreational Sports, has been selected as recipient of the 2018 Women Leaders in College Sports NCAA Division III Administrator of the Year Award.

The award will be presented at The Administrator of the Year Award Luncheon on Tuesday, October 16, at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis Hotel as part of the 2018 Women Leaders National Convention.

Baker-Watson supervises a staff of over 60 in an athletics program that supports 650 student-athletes and 23 sports. Upon arriving at DePauw in 2012, she completed a comprehensive brand redesign for athletics and worked collaboratively with others on campus to develop the DePauw University Athletics and Recreation Facilities Master Plan. In March 2013, DePauw broke ground on the first phase of improvements to the Lilly Center and the Athletics Campus, totaling over $26.5 million. She also successfully launched the Tiger Club, a fundraising affinity group for athletics, and annually secures an average of $125,000 from alumni, friends and family of DePauw Athletics.

In June 2015, Baker-Watson also assumed the role of Associate Vice President for Campus Wellness managing a portion of DePauw Health, a collaborative relationship between DePauw University and Hendricks Regional Health to provide health and wellness services to all students.

During her tenure, DePauw has earned the Dennis M. Collins North Coast Athletic Conference All-Sports Trophy three times and finished second the other four years. The 2017-18 academy year marked the 12th consecutive year DePauw placed in the top 65 of Division III in the Learfield Sports Directors Cup standings. Since 2012, seven DePauw student-athletes have been awarded NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships, while two individuals have been honored through the NCAA Woman of the Year program with Paige Gooch '14 earning Top 30 recognition and Maggie MacPhail '15 selected as one of just nine finalists from the three Divisions. Baker-Watson is currently a member of the NCAA Division III Management Council and will take over as its chair in January 2019. She also serves on the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects, Subcommittee for Legislative Relief and completed a three year term on the NADiiiAA Executive Board in June 2018. Beginning July 2018, she represents NCAA Division III on the NACDA Executive Committee. Baker-Watson holds memberships in NACDA, MOAA, NADiiiAA, and Women Leaders in College Sports, and has been a member of the local organizing committee for the Women's Leadership Symposium.

Women Leaders in College Sports is the premier leadership organization that develops, connects, and advances women working in college sports and beyond. Women Leaders takes a pro-active role in advancing women into positions of influence and powerfully shapes the landscape of women leaders.