ORLANDO, Fla. – Omaha Vice Chancellor / Director of Athletics Adrian Dowell has been appointed to the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Executive Committee.
NACDA is the largest association of collegiate athletics administrators and boasts a membership of more than 22,000 individuals and more than 2,200 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. Members include athletics directors, associate and assistant athletics directors, conference commissioners and affiliate individuals or corporations.
Dowell will represent NCAA Division I-AAA institutions (non-football subdivision) on the NACDA Executive Committee. Dowell also currently serves as an officer on the Division I-AAA Athletic Directors Association (I-AAA ADA) Executive Committee and has done so for each of the past three academic years. An active member of the DI-AAA ADA, Dowell served as the association's secretary for the 2024-25 academic year.
Omaha's vice chancellor / director of athletics since December 2021, Dowell becomes the first athletic director from an NCAA Division I institution in the state of Nebraska to serve on the NACDA Executive Committee.
One of the most dynamic and innovative athletic directors in the nation, Dowell has ushered in a golden era of athletics at UNO during his four-year tenure. Since the 2021-22 academic year, the Mavericks have competed in eight NCAA tournaments, won 11 conference titles and made 16 appearances in conference championship games.
The 2024-25 Omaha men's basketball team made history, winning the Summit League regular season and tournament titles for the first time in program history and earning a spot in the NCAA tournament for the first time in the Division I era.
Omaha softball has won three straight conference tournament titles and won a share of the Summit League Regular Season Championship for the first time in program history (2025). Omaha has won at least one NCAA Division I Softball Championship game in each of the program's three-consecutive tournament berths, including an appearance in the 2024 Columbia Regional final.
Omaha hockey advanced to the 2024 NCHC Frozen Faceoff championship game and earned an at-large berth to the NCAA tournament.
Six Omaha teams have finished the season in national polls since his arrival, including the hockey program, which has achieved a consistent presence in the top 20.
The Salem, Va. native has hired the head coaches for 10 of Omaha's sport programs. During his tenure, five Maverick coaches have received conference coach of the year awards. Since his arrival, UNO has not lost a sitting head coach to another institution.
Dowell was the driving force behind the transformative partnership with the NCAA and College World Series of Omaha, Inc. to name the University of Nebraska at Omaha as co-host of the NCAA Men's College World Series.
Since fiscal year 2022, Dowell has spearheaded over a 60 percent increase in department self-generated revenue (ticketing, development, sponsorships, licensing, naming rights, events and food and beverage commissions and event attendance has risen to new record heights. The Mavericks have also enjoyed consecutive years of attendance and ticketing revenue growth since fiscal year 2021, including the hockey program which has ranked in the top five nationally in attendance since the 2020-21 season, including the nation's largest attendance increase (2023).
Omaha Athletics has become an industry leader in innovative holistic support for student-athletes with Dowell at the helm, including: a new comprehensive medical and team physician partnership with OrthoNebraska; established and integrated sport psychology, mental health and sports nutrition support units; establishment of an integrated sports science unit partnership between the Department of Biomechanics and Athletics Sports Performance; a nutritional training table program for all female student-athletes and sport programs and an Athletic Training Ph.D. Sports Science Fellowship with UNO's School of Health and Kinesiology, including the Biomechanics department.
Under Dowell's leadership, Omaha Athletics also introduced a micro-credentialing program, Mav360, designed to holistically educate student-athletes to adhere with recent elevated NCAA Division I educational standards and integrated a name, image and likeness (NIL) educational and support program in partnership with the Omaha Bull Market Collective and Opendorse.
Academically, Omaha student-athletes have experienced unprecedented success, including a 3.45-plus GPA over three-consecutive academic years, reached a 94 percent Graduation Success Rate (GSR) and hold an Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 993. In 2024-25, Omaha student-athletes recorded 4,579 hours of community service, ranked eighth in all of Division I. Eight Omaha teams finished the 2024-25 academic year in the top 10 of their respective sports, according to the Helper Helper end-of-year report.
Additionally, Dowell serves as the chief executive of Baxter Arena and Maverick Park, multi-purpose facilities that were honored as the 2024 Omaha's Choice Awards Arena and Best Indoor Complex winners.
Earlier this year, Dowell was named Admiral in the Great Navy of the State of Nebraska, the state's highest civic honor, by Gov. Jim Pillen.
A former student-athlete, Dowell was captain of the Roanoke College men's basketball team and earned four letters for the Maroons.
Dowell, his wife Stephanie and their three children, Lauren Grace, Paige and Adrian III (Tripp), reside in Omaha.
About NACDA
Now in its 60th year, NACDA is the professional and educational Association for more than 23,000 college athletics administrators at more than 2,200 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. NACDA manages 18 professional associations and four foundations. In addition to virtual programming, NACDA hosts five major professional development events in-person annually. The NACDA & Affiliates Convention is the largest gathering of collegiate athletics administrators in the country. For more information, visit www.nacda.com.
About DI-AAA ADA
Now in its 24th year, the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association's mission is to enhance initiatives common to its Division I-AAA membership (non-football institutions), in particular, aspects related to their flagship basketball programs. For more information on the Division I-AAA ADA, please visit www.div1aaa-ada.com. The Division I-AAA ADA is administered by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), which is in its 60th year. For more information on NACDA and the 19 professional associations that fall under its umbrella, please visit www.nacda.com.
To learn more please visit Omaha Athletics website: https://omavs.com/news/2025/6/11/general-dowell-appointed-to-nacda-executive-committee.aspx
