GNAC Sports

GNAC COMMISSIONER

Haglund

Dave Haglund (First Year)

Dave Haglund, who had been the commissioner of the Pacific Northwest-based Cascade Collegiate Conference since 2007, was appointed the new commissioner of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference effective Jan. 9, 2012.

Haglund, who is in his 31st year in intercollegiate athletics (mostly at the NCAA Division I level), replaced Richard R. Hannan, who was the GNAC's first commissioner and served for 10 1/2 years after being appointed in May, 2001.

“Dave brings a wealth of experience and a record of success in athletics administration to the position, including his previous work as a commissioner,” Dr. James L. Gaudino, Central Washington University president, who was a member of the selection committee, said when Haglund was appointed.

“I think I can speak for the whole committee when I say we're excited to see how he will build on the solid foundation that Richard [Hannan, the retiring commissioner] helped lay for the GNAC.”

“It is a tremendous honor to be selected as the commissioner of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference,” said Haglund. “The GNAC is widely considered one of the premier conferences in NCAA Division II, and I am humbled for the opportunity to assume a leadership role with such an outstanding association.

“I fully embrace the core values championed by Division II, and look forward to partnering with our campus leaders, student-athletes and GNAC staff in building on the outstanding accomplishments achieved under the guidance of outgoing commissioner Richard Hannan.”

During his tenure with the Cascade Collegiate Conference, Haglund was responsible for all aspects of conference operations, including media relations, marketing, sponsorships, officiating, scheduling, rules and regulations, finances and enforcement.

Haglund spearheaded efforts to successfully land six NAIA national championships for the conference, including four in men's and women's cross country, and two in men's golf. His leadership resulted in more the $350,000 in sponsorships and gift-in-kind contributions for national championships hosted by the conference office.

Haglund also raised the profile of the CCC through marketing, media relations and sponsorship efforts, including the use of social media platforms and the development of a weekly podcast highlighting accomplishments by CCC student-athletes, coaches and administrators.

Prior to taking over as the commissioner of the CCC, Haglund spent 10 years on the senior-management team at the University of Maryland. He led Maryland's media relations department when the Terps won the NCAA Division I men's basketball championship and played in a BCS bowl game, and he supervised 12 sports and four support units. He also oversaw ACC and NCAA championship events hosted by the university.

He also spent 17 seasons in the sports information department at Fresno State University, including the last three as the director coordinating all sports information and media relations efforts for a 20-sport varsity athletic program.

Haglund is a native of Portland and graduated from Oregon State University. He and his wife, Cindy, have two children, Samantha (18) and Matthew (15).

Past Commissioner: Richard Hannan (2001-12)

Hannan

Richard R. Hannan served as the GNAC's first commissioner beginning on July 1, 2001 serving in the position for 10 1/2 seasons.

Hannan helped develop the GNAC into one of the most successful and highly visible NCAA Division II conferences in the country.

During his tenure, GNAC teams earned 53 national Top 10 finishes in 13 different sports including national championships in men's soccer (Seattle University in 2004) and women's soccer (Seattle Pacific in 2008).

GNAC track and field and cross country programs accounted for 14 of the Top 10 finishes and GNAC basketball teams advanced to the national semifinals four times topped off by a second-place finish by Seattle Pacific University's women in 2005.

Three other GNAC teams were national runner-ups including Western Washington University's volleyball squad in 2007, Seattle Pacific's women soccer team in 2005 and the Falcons' women's cross country team in 2007.

Hannan also oversaw the increase of sponsored sports in the conference, which went from 12 to 16 with the addition of men's and women's indoor track and field in 2004 and men's and women's golf in 2007-08 and 2010-11, respectively.

The conference also went international under Hannan become the first NCAA conference to add a Canadian member with the addition of Simon Fraser University in the fall of 2010.

Football also saw growth under Hannan's leadership with the addition of provisional members Humboldt State University and Dixie State College in 2008 and the pending addition of Azusa Pacific University in the fall of 2012.

Among the Commissioner's other accomplishments was the development of a television package with Root Sports, in which the conference last year became one of the very few Division II leagues nationwide to have a Weekly Basketball Game-of-the-Week televised on a major cable network.

He also brought national recognition to the conference and the region by working with the NCAA and the Spokane Regional Sports Commission to bring the 2011 and 2013 Division II West Regional and National Division II Cross Country championships to Spokane

Hannan, who is a native of Spokane, earned a BA degree in social science in 1963 at Eastern Washington University. He coached basketball at Columbia Basin College for seven years (1967-74) before serving as the athletic director and head basketball coach at Lewis-Clark State between 1974 and 1989.

He later served as the athletic director at Weber State College and at Southwest Texas State University prior to returning to Lewiston as LCSC's interim athletic director before being selected as the first commissioner of the GNAC.