2003 Award Honoree

Andy Geiger
The Ohio State University
National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics

To honor his commitment to sportsmanship and a passion for honest, fair and respectful competition, Ohio State University athletics director Andy Geiger is the first CTSA award recipient named by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA).

Geiger, one of the most dynamic and respected leaders in college athletics, led a contingent of delegates from Columbus, Ohio, that presented their case at the Sportsmanship and Fan Behavior Summit in Dallas last February. The summit was organized by a coalition of university academic and intercollegiate athletics leaders, including Bowl Championship Series conference commissioners and NCAA Football, which consists of the American Football Coaches Association, the Collegiate Commissioners Association, NACDA and the NCAA. The coalition called for the meeting in December of 2002 after a college football season marred by several on-field, on-campus and community incidents after games.

Geiger and the leaders at Ohio State assembled an institutional task force in the wake of riots that occurred after the Ohio State-Michigan football game last November. The Ohio State case study since has spawned a collection of guidelines and best practices that conferences and institutions can use to develop their own policies. While not intended to be a cure-all, the best-practices document will help drive decisions at the local level.

Geiger, who is in his ninth year at Ohio State, oversees a program that has 36 varsity sports, more than 1,000 student-athletes and an annual operating budget of more than $79 million.

Under Geiger, Ohio State has added three varsity sports - women's rowing, lacrosse and ice hockey - at a time when most schools are dropping sports because of budget constraints. A "hands-on" administrator, Geiger attends as many practices and games as possible. He enjoys spending time with the student-athletes and coaches of all the sports, and is a favorite of the student-athletes because of his genuine concern for their well being, both in the classroom and on the athletic field.

A native of Syracuse, New York, Geiger graduated from Syracuse University in 1961 and was a member of the crew team as an undergraduate. He also was a member of the U.S. squad that captured a gold medal in the 1959 Pan Am Games. Geiger calls those years some of the most meaningful of his life.

Geiger and his wife, Eleanor, have two sons: Phillip and Gregory. Geiger's hobbies include golf and all music, especially jazz. He is a member of the Columbus Jazz-Arts Board and also hosts a two-hour weekly radio show called "Classic Jazz Masters." He also serves on the Board of Trustees of Easter Seals, COTA and the YMCA.