INDIANAPOLIS – The NCAA announced 45 finalists from Division II conferences for the division's 50th Anniversary Gold Award, former University of Indianapolis administrator Dr. Sue Willey and current GLVC commissioner Jim Naumovich and selected to represent the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) for the prestigious award.

This award, which is part of the division's yearlong 50th anniversary celebration that launched Aug. 7 and will extend through the 2024 Division II Baseball Championship in June, will recognize two individuals (one individual who identifies as male and one who identifies as female) who have made a positive impact in Division II. 

GLVC administrators cast votes to select the Conference's two honorees (one who identifies as male and one who identifies as female). The NCAA Division II Management Council Identity Subcommittee will review these finalists and select the two overall winners, who will be recognized at the 2024 NCAA Convention in Phoenix.

Dr. Willey earned a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education from the University of Indianapolis in 1975. In 1977, Willey went on to earn her Master of Science in Physical Education Teaching and Coaching from Indiana University. In 1992 she earned her doctorate in Sports Administration and Higher Education from IU. She was an associate professor of health and physical education at UIndy and has taught in the Department of Kinesiology for nearly three decades, with a special teaching interest in sport ethics.

A 1993 inductee into the UIndy Athletics Hall of Fame, Dr. Willey earned an incredible 19 letters and 11 MVP awards in her four-year career. She was the "Female Athlete of the Year" from 1972-75. She began her coaching career at her alma mater after graduating cum laude from UIndy in 1975. The versatile Willey coached for 23 years at UIndy, directing 43 different teams in five sports. She was the GLVC Softball Coach of the Year in 1989, and her softball teams earned national academic honors in 1996 and 1997.

From 2002-06, Dr. Willey served on the highest NCAA Committee available to athletics administrators, the NCAA Division II Management Council, and served as chair of the Council in 2004. Her Management Council assignments included the DII Budget and Finance Committee, Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee, Management Council Identity Subcommittee, Championships Regionalization Task Force, Project Team to Review Issues Related to Diversity, and the Championships Eligibility Project Team.

Dr. Willey was selected as the 2005 Division II Administrator of the Year by Women Leaders in College Sports, formerly the National Association of Collegiate Woman Athletic Administrators. She was also selected as the 2004 Pathfinder Award winner, presented in recognition of her strong commitment to provide quality sports and leadership opportunities for girls and women in the state of Indiana. Willey served a four-year (2006-10) term on both the Women Leaders in College Sports Executive Board and the DII Nominating Committee and served a four-year stint on the NCAA Division II Membership Committee. In addition, from 2016-20 she was a part of the NCAA DII Championships Committee, including serving as chair of the committee from 2019-20. She is also a graduate of the Women Leaders in College Sports Institute for Athletic Executives. Willey was named 2009-10 and 2012-13 Under Armour Division II Athletics Director of the Year.

Dr. Willey has proudly forged a path for women in athletics from the moment she was hired in 1975. Seeing firsthand how the roles of women have changed in the industry during her career, she has remained at the forefront of the fight for equal opportunity in sports. She broke barriers when she became the University's first female director of athletics and one of the first women to be a member of the President's Cabinet. Willey established UIndy as one of the top overall athletics programs in Division II. In her tenure, the Greyhounds became regular qualifiers for the NCAA postseason play and a consistent threat for conference, regional and national championships.