Coyotes Reagan Rossi is The Cascade Conference AD of The Year

Reagan Rossi of the College of Idaho has been named the Cascade Collegiate Conference Athletic Director of the Year. The award is the CCC's top administrative honor selected by the conference's athletic directors.

A member of the C of I family for the past 18 years, and serving as the Director of Athletics the last three, Rossi oversaw a stellar year for Coyote athletics.

In facility development, Rossi began work on a master plan to upgrade the J.A. Albertson Activities Center and partnered with the City of Caldwell to develop new practice fields for soccer, lacrosse and football located near Simplot Stadium.  Additionally, Wolfe Field, home of the C of I baseball program, was completed with new seating and press box area.

Rossi, initiated a strategic planning process for athletics resulting in a mission, set of guiding principles and aggressive goals that can be measured to ensure student-athletes are provided the tools and support necessary to be successful academically and athletically. A strong department focus on academics resulted in a department record 127 U.S. Bank Academic All-Conference honorees and 62 NAIA or USCSA Scholar-Athletes.

Equally focused on staff, Rossi implemented quarterly all-staff meetings, as well as, individual meetings with all staff throughout the year. A department wide initiative was the development of mental health protocols for staff to ensure proper work/life balance.

C of I finished in fourth place in the CCC All-Sport Champion race earning a conference championship in men's cross-country. Men's basketball and men's track/field finished second in the league, while volleyball and softball placed third.  Overall participation in post-season competition resulting in an 11th-place finish in the prestigious Learfield-IMG Directors Cup standings, the sixth time in the last eight years that C of I has finished in the Top-20.

Rossi partnered with and supported the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) in the scheduling of a speaker series focusing on the overall development of the student-athlete. Topics included; Mental Health; Success; Health and Human Performance as a Student-Athlete and Success Beyond Graduation. Additionally, every team engaged in community service hours throughout the year. Of note, the men's basketball team helped build a new basketball court at a local orphanage and SAAC facilitated a department wide event hosting Special Olympians.

C of I hosted major CCC events this year including, a volleyball quarterfinal contest and the men's basketball tournament championship game that was broadcast on ROOT Sports.

Active in service to the conference and the NAIA, Rossi currently serves on the CCC rater oversight committee, as well as, the membership sub-committee. Rossi is an at-large member of the NAIA's National Administrative Council (NAC) and holds positions on various committees including; Title IX, marathon and opening round task force.

On campus and in the community, Rossi is also highly engaged. As C of I's Title IX Coordinator she oversees all aspects of Title IX reporting, investigation and compliance. She is also a member of the City of Caldwell's Business Improvement Board and Destination Caldwell.

Rossi will be put forth as the CCC nominee for the NAIA's Athletic Director of the Year award that will be announced in September.

It marks the fourth time a C of I athletic director has won the honor since the AD of the Year Award in the 25-year history of the accolade - as former athletic director, Marty Holly, won the distinction in 2002, 2009 and 2013.