Eastern Connecticut State University Director of Athletics Lori Runksmeier was recently named vice president of the National Association of Division III Athletic Administrators (NADIIIAA). She was nominated for this position by her colleagues.

Runksmeier has been a member of the NADIIIAA organization for many years. “I believe the creation of NADIIIAA was very important. I believe in it because it addresses the specific challenges of DIII athletics,” said Runksmeier, who has spent the last three years of her 30-year career in athletic administration in her current position at Eastern. Runksmeier came to Eastern in the summer of 2015 after 16 years as Director of Athletics at Division III New England College.

Runksmeier will serve a two-year term as vice president for NADIIIAA before advancing to the position as association president. She is excited to have started this position.“Having this opportunity serve NADIIIAA is an honor. I look forward to working with NADIIIAA’s leadership to further support DIII athletic administrators,” she says.

In addition to Runksmeier’s appointment, Keri Alexander Luchowski was elected NADIIIAA president and Kiki Jacobs secretary and named as at-large executive committee members were Shana Levine, Michael Lynch, Pam Samuelson, Mike Snyder and Portia Hoeg. Luchowski is currently executive director of the North Coast Athletic Conference and Jacobs director of athletics at Roger Williams University.

As she sees it, Runksmeier will focus upon planning education sessions specifically catered to Division III athletics. The vice president position includes programming panels at the NCAA convention and the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) convention, which are held once a year. “Our relationship with NACDA has already proven beneficial, and I expect we will continue to strengthen those ties. I look forward to serving.”

One goal that Runksmeier hopes to achieve while she is serving is to increase membership in this organization. There are currently over 700 athletic administrators that are part of NADIIIAA and she strives to increase this number so more Division III voices can be heard nationwide.

In three years under Runksmeier, ten intercollegiate programs at Eastern have combined to win 17 Little East Conference regular-season and playoff titles or one-day championship events. Twice, Eastern has won the Commissioner’s Cup for conference athletic supremacy and twice has earned the Presidents’ Trophy for academic supremacy.  Runksmeier has also spearheaded recent fund-raising drives to name the softball field in memory of softball founder Clyde Washburne and the turf field in honor of lacrosse founder Rick McCarthy.

This past summer, two facilities are undergoing upgrades. Field Turf is being installed at the soccer, field hockey and lacrosse field  at the Mansfield Outdoor Complex – replacing the original material – and a new surface has been installed on the swimming pool deck and walls. 

NADIIIAA athletic administrators are from over 350 institutions and conferences competing at the NCAA Division III level. The association encourages the continued development of athletic programs focused on the student-athlete and based on sound educational principles and the Division III philosophy. NADIIIAA is administered by NACDA, which is in its 53^rd year.