MIAMI, Fla. (June 10, 2022) – Southeastern Director of Athletics
Drew Watson has been named the 2021-22 Sun Conference Athletic Director of the Year the league announced on Friday.
A five-time Sun Conference Athletic Director of the Year (2013-14, 2015-16, 2018-19, 2020-21, and 2021-22), Watson guided Southeastern to this year's Sun Conference Commissioner's Cup as the Fire scored 167.5 points, claiming the department's third straight honor. His five AD of the Year honors is the most in league history.
"I am humbled and blessed to be recognized with this honor by my peers and so grateful to Dr. Kent Ingle (SEU President) and Dr. Chris Owen (SEU Executive Vice President) for giving me the opportunity to serve in this capacity," Watson said. "I am thankful for the incredible athletic staff and student-athletes at Southeastern who work so hard to achieve excellence as a department. All glory to God."
"Drew has worked diligently along with his peers to set a standard of success and integrity in The Sun Conference, and it is great to see him recognized for his efforts with this honor," Sun Conference Commissioner
Dustin Wilke said. "This is also a reflection of the hard work and commitment of the entire team at Southeastern under Drew's leadership."
In 2021-22, SEU boasted conference championships in women's soccer (tournament), men's and women's indoor track & field, men's basketball (regular season), women's basketball (regular season and tournament), women's golf, men's and women's outdoor track & field, softball (regular season) and baseball (regular season and tournament).
On the national level, SEU recorded its best finish in the NAIA LEARFIELD Directors' Cup final standings, placing fifth in the 2021-22 final standings. The Fire scored a total of 742 points highlighted by 100 points for its baseball national championship. SEU had four other top-three finishes, nationally, in women's basketball, wrestling, softball, and men's outdoor track and field.
During his tenure as athletic director, the department has grown from nine programs and 150 student-athletes to 19 programs and over 430 student-athletes. Watson has overseen the development of men's and women's cross country (2012), football (2013), women's golf (2013), wrestling (2015), men's and women's track and field (2018), and beach volleyball (2019).
Watson currently serves on The Sun Conference Executive Committee, the NAIA Administrative Council, and the NAIA's Conduct and Ethics Committee. He is also First Vice President of the NAIA's Athletic Director's Association (ADA) and will elevate to President on July 1, 2022. Additionally, he served as chair of the NAIA task force on divisions in basketball, working for two years on the recommendation to unify the two divisions. The change was adopted in 2018 and went into its first year of implementation during the 2020-21 season.
