Duke AD Nina King receives NCAA Division I FBS Nike Executive of the Year Award

Nina King took over as Duke's athletic director Sept. 1.
Nina King took over as Duke's athletic director Sept. 1.

The accomplishments keep piling up for vice president and director of athletics Nina King.

In addition to officially taking over as athletic director Sept. 1, King was named the NCAA Division I FBS Nike Executive of the Year Award recipient Thursday morning. The award is given out annually to women leaders in college athletics who have made significant contributions as a senior-level administrator of intercollegiate athletics.

Since being named to Sports Business Journal's "Forty Under 40" list in 2018, she has continued to take on more responsibilities, one being serving as chair of the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee since the 2020-21 season. 

Her tenure as athletic director is still young, but King is already a highly-respected figure across college athletics, and she is widely expected to have success at the helm of Duke athletics.

"Nina is so deserving of this as someone that's a pioneer in athletics administration," Duke women's basketball head coach Kara Lawson said in a video released on the Women Leaders X Twitter account. "From the first time that we talked face to face I knew this was somebody that I wanted to work with. She has a backbone. She challenges you. She's also unafraid to be challenged herself. And she has a modern vision of what it takes to lead a athletic department that has a lot of diversity, that has a lot of excellence, that has a lot of expectations. She's somebody that understands that."

Her predecessor, Kevin White congratulated her in the video as well, saying she possesses the four characteristics that all great leaders possess. 

"They're highly empathic—one—they're incredibly task-oriented—two—they're adaptable, flexible, situational—three—and lastly, they're passionate if not terribly intense. Nina, you're four-for-four," White said. 



Jake C. Piazza

Jake Piazza is a Trinity senior and was sports editor of The Chronicle's 117th volume.

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