KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Ball State director of athletics Beth Goetz was named the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) Nike Executive of the Year, chosen by Women Leaders in College Sports Tuesday.

The Executive of the Year Award, formerly known as the Administrator of the Year Award, is presented to Women Leaders in College Sports members for significant contributions made as a senior-level administrator of intercollegiate athletics. This award, recognizing administrative excellence, is presented annually to members in each NCAA division [Division I, FBS, FCS, Division II, Division III, NAIA/NJCAA or Conference/Organization]. The Administrator of the Year Award in each division is presented in years which an individual is deserving of such recognition, typically annually, and was created in 1991.

"I'm very proud of Beth for receiving this special honor," Ball State University President Geoffrey S. Mearns said. "She has instilled a culture of excellence from her first day on the job more than four years ago, and she has continued to raise the profile of Ball State athletics. Guided by her passion for intercollegiate athletics, Beth has led our student-athletes to success in both the classroom and competition. Beth is a strong leader who inspires all of us to excel."

Goetz becomes the second Ball State director of athletics to earn the honor after Andi Seger was awarded in 2002.

Since arriving in Muncie in May of 2018, Goetz has made a transformational impact on and off the field and provided a blueprint for the future of Ball State athletics.

In her time leading the department, the Cardinals have captured 10 MAC championships, including seven during the 2021-22 athletics campaign, the most since 1999-2000.

Goetz has also guided Ball State to its strong marks in the Reese and Jacoby Trophy standings, which honors the top men's and women's athletics programs in the Mid-American Conference, respectively. The Cardinals placed third among the league's 12 schools in the Reese Trophy standings for their best finish since taking second in 2013. In the battle for the Jacoby Trophy, Ball State finished fifth among the league's 12 schools for its first top-five finish in over a decade.

Recognized by Indianapolis Business Journal (IBJ) as one of the publication's 2021 Women of Influence, Goetz has led the Cardinals to heights never before reached in the classroom.

Ball State Athletics earned its highest-ever Academic Progress Rate (APR) with a score of 992 for the 2020-21 season, besting the previous mark of 991 accomplished following the 2018-19 year.

In addition, Ball State produced back-to-back years with a Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 90 percent, which was a record high for the Cardinals and 23 points higher from the numbers released in 2013-14. Ball State is one of only four schools in the MAC to record consecutive years of 90 percent GSR over the last two reports, joining Miami, Ohio and Toledo.

Among the first projects Goetz has tackled was the creation of a five-year strategic plan titled, Onward, which was created prior to 2019. The plan aims to foster an environment that breeds academic success, impactful student-athlete experience, competitive excellence, community engagement, a sense of spirit & tradition, a Cardinal Culture and financial responsibility while embracing Ball State's enduring values of Beneficence.

In addition to her role with the Cardinals, Goetz has been selected for national leadership duties. On July 29, 2021, the NCAA announced that Goetz was named vice chair of the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee for the 2021-22 academic year and will take over as chair in 2022-23.

Prior to arriving at Ball State, Goetz was the chief operating officer/senior woman administrator at the University of Connecticut from 2016-18. Before that, she was the deputy athletics director/senior woman administrator at the University of Minnesota from 2013-15 prior to serving as the interim director of athletics during the 2015-16 campaign.

Goetz is familiar with the state of Indiana as she was the associate athletic director at Butler University from 2008-13 following a 13-year stint at the University of Missouri-St. Louis where she was an assistant women's soccer coach (1996), head women's soccer coach (1997-2008) and assistant athletic director/senior woman administrator (2001-08). She was inducted into the UMSL Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.

In college, Goetz was an accomplished Division I student-athlete, playing soccer at Clemson University and earning All-America recognition at Brevard College (N.C.), where she was inducted into the college's Hall of Fame in 2017. Goetz earned an associate of arts from Brevard in 1994 and a bachelor of arts from Clemson in 1996. She received her master's degree from the University of Missouri-St. Louis in 2000.

2022 Women Leaders in College Sports Nike Executives of the Year
NCAA Division I FBS: Beth Goetz, Director of Athletics, Ball State University 
NCAA Division I FCS: Dr. Nicki Moore, Vice President and Director of Athletics, Colgate University
NCAA Division I: Rachelle Paul, Director of Athletics, Saint Peter's University
NCAA Division II: Dr. Bren Stevens, Vice President and Director of Athletics, University of Charleston
NCAA Division III: Dr. Angel Mason, Director of Athletics, Berry College
Association/Organization: Julie Roe Lach, Commissioner, Horizon League  
NAIA/NJCAA/CC: Tonia Walker, Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics, Bluefield University
Nell Jackson: Tiffany D. Tucker, Deputy Athletic Director and Senior Women's Administrator, University of North Carolina, Wilmington