Director of Athletics & Recreation Crystal Gibson has been selected to join the National Association of Division III Athletic Administrators (NADIIIAA) Board of Directors as announced by the organization on Thursday, Aug.
18.Gibson, along with Dana Harmon, director of physical education, recreation & athletics at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and Matt Tanney, director of athletics at Wabash College, were voted on by the membership in the summer to begin at-large member tenures on the Board of Directors.
"I am beyond excited to take on this important leadership role within the NADIIIAA community. Enhancing the student-athlete experience, growing administrative professional development, and continuing education around key components of the DIII philosophy and experience continues to be a passion I am committed to seeing expand throughout the division," Gibson said.
NADIIIAA is comprised of athletics administrators from over 350 institutions and conferences competing at the NCAA Division III level. The Association encourages the continued development of athletics programs focused on the student-athlete and based on sound educational principles and the Division III philosophy. NADIIIAA is administered by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), which is in its 58th year.
The Randallstown, Md., native was named the director of athletics & recreation at St. Mary's College in June of 2020. In her position, Gibson is responsible for providing leadership and direction to ensure success in the athletics and recreation programs while supporting the mission, goals, and objectives of St. Mary's.
She is part of the 3.2 percent of Black or African American women in the role of athletics director in NCAA Division III as noted in the 2020-21 College Sport Racial and Gender Report Card. Gibson is looking to increase the percentage of ethnic minorities and women at all levels of collegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Board of Governors Committee to Promote Cultural Diversity and Equity (CPCDE), joining the CPCDE in October 2021 for a three-year term.
In her second year as AD at St. Mary's, Gibson helped the Seahawks usher in a new era as the newest member of the United East Conference. St. Mary's enjoyed one of its most successful years in school history, winning eight team conference championships in the United East (6 - men's cross country, women's cross country, men's lacrosse, women's lacrosse, men's tennis, and women's tennis), Atlantic East Conference (women's swimming), and the Mid Atlantic Rowing Conference (women's rowing). Additionally, the Seahawks finished as the runners-up in the 2021-22 United East Presidents' Cup in their inaugural season in the United East.
Before returning to St. Mary's, Gibson spent three years (2017-20) supporting 23 NCAA varsity teams and 600 student-athletes at Division III Susquehanna University (Selinsgrove, Pa.), serving as associate director of athletics (2017-19) and interim director of athletics (2019-20). In addition to those roles, she was the senior woman administrator, compliance coordinator, and gameday management supervisor.
