The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Dodds inducted into 2016 NACDA Hall of Fame class
06.14.2016 | T-Association
Former Texas AD guided Men’s Athletics for 32 years and 14 team national championships.
DeLoss Dodds Photo Gallery Through the Years
DALLAS, Texas — DeLoss Dodds, who served The University of Texas as Men's Athletics Director for 32 years, was inducted into the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Hall of Fame on Tuesday. Dodds, one of seven inductees in the 2016 Hall of Fame class, received the award at the Learfield Directors' Cup Luncheon during NACDA's 51st Annual Convention.
During Dodds' tenure as the school's sixth athletics director, the Longhorns became a national name and men's athletics programs at UT enjoyed some of their most dynamic times. From the fall of 1981 to September 2013, the Longhorns claimed 14 team National Championships and 108 conference (Southwest and Big 12) titles in nine sports.
Dodds' goal from the beginning was state-of-the-art. To be the best, Texas needed the best.
Dodds and the Longhorns invested nearly $400 million to renovate or build facilities. Dodds, who oversaw a $163.3 million athletics budget at the time of his retirement, guided the creation of The Longhorn Foundation, the department's official fundraising leg. Before the Foundation started in 1986, approximately $250,000 was raised annually by various UT booster clubs. In just its first year, The Longhorn Foundation raised more than $1 million.
Dodds' vision for The Longhorn Foundation, which now boasts 14,000-plus donors, was to raise funds invested in student-athlete scholarships, academic services, sports medicine, facilities and other resources directed at student-athlete development.
In addition, his calm, thoughtful leadership pulled Texas through the unpredictable summer 2010 climate of conference realignment. UT emerged as the leading member of a reorganized Big 12 Conference. In January 2011, UT and ESPN announced the creation of Longhorn Network, the first sports network devoted to a single school.
Dodds has served as special assistant to the UT President since retiring in the fall of 2013.
The other NACDA Hall of Fame class of 2016 inductees include: Greg Feris (Wayland Baptist), Jane Meier (Northern Kentucky), Patricia Meiser (Hartford), Joy Solomen (Rowan), David Stair (Evangel) and John Volek (Sierra). NACDA is the professional and educational association for more than 15,700 college athletics administrators at more than 1,700 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. More than 5,500 athletics administrators annually attend NACDA & Affiliates Convention Week.