CLEVELAND – The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) announced the Association's Hall of Fame Class of 2026. The list of inductees includes: Al Bean, University of Southern Maine; Jeff Bourne, James Madison University; Peggy Davis, Virginia State University; Earl Edwards, UC San Diego; John Jackson, Dean College; John Parry, Brown University; Fran Reidy, Saint Leo University; and Kulwant Singh, De Anza College. The group of deserving individuals will be honored in conjunction with the 61^st Annual NACDA & Affiliates Convention at Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas, Nev., at the beginning of the Association-Wide Featured Session on Monday, June 8, starting at 4 p.m.

Earl W. Edwards became director of athletics at UC San Diego in March 2000. For the next 25 years, UC San Diego was consistently recognized on a national level for its academic and athletics achievements and, in just two decades, rose from NCAA Division III, to Division II, to Division I. Edwards retired from the chair and was appointed athletics director emeritus at UC San Diego in June 2025.
 
Under his guidance, the 24-sport program made a very successful transition from the NCAA Division II ranks to Division I. The Triton baseball team was the first to capture a Big West title in 2023. In 2025, both the men's and women's basketball programs won The Big West and competed in the NCAA Tournament in their first year with postseason eligibility – making UC San Diego the first institution in NCAA history to advance to both its men's and women's programs to March Madness in their first year eligible. Academically, UC San Diego's stellar graduation rate exceeded any other public Division I institution.

UC San Diego surpassed all expectations at the Division II level, capturing women's soccer national championships in both 2000 and 2001 and the softball national title in 2011. After moving to Division II for the 2000-01 academic year, UC San Diego ranked among the top seven programs in the country in the annual Learfield Directors' Cup standings on 12 different occasions. In 2004 and again in 2007, UC San Diego was the national runner up.
 
Edwards built several new facilities and enhanced others during his tenure, including a softball stadium, a baseball stadium and clubhouse and a strength and conditioning center. Triton Soccer Stadium was updated with permanent seating and a brand-new playing surface. In 2019, he oversaw a major renovation of LionTree Arena that included new seating areas, a 50'x15' video scoreboard and a modernized Skybox suite. Canyonview Aquatic Center received a new video scoreboard in 2024.
 
Edwards served as NAADD President in 2002-03. In 2021, the Association created the Earl Edwards Inclusive Development Program, an initiative designed to foster professional growth and create pathways for underrepresented groups within the athletics development profession, continuing Edwards' legacy of leadership and inclusion.
 
A two-time NACDA Athletics Director of the Year (ADOY) in 2006-07 and 2016-17, Edwards served on the NACDA Executive Committee from 2003-07 and was also a member of the MOAA Board of Directors. He was part of the Division II Management Council, the Division II Championships and Minority Opportunities and Interest Committee (MOIC), the Walter Byers Scholarship Committee and the Committee for Women's Athletics. In addition, Edwards was a member of the CCAA's Executive Council during the program's Division II era.
 
Prior to UC San Diego, Edwards served as athletics director at his alma mater, East Stroudsburg University, for seven years. He also garnered athletics administration experience at the University of Massachusetts, UC Davis, the University of Michigan and Drexel University. A 1972 graduate of East Stroudsburg, Edwards earned a bachelor's degree in physical education. He went on to receive a master's in sports administration from the University of Massachusetts in 1973.

About NACDA
Now in its 61st year, NACDA is the professional and educational Association for more than 24,000 college athletics administrators at more than 2,300 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. NACDA manages 19 professional associations and four foundations. In addition, NACDA hosts and/or has a presence at seven major professional development events in-person annually. The NACDA & Affiliates Convention is the largest gathering of collegiate athletics administrators in the country. For more information, visit www.nacda.com.

About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program has begun a new era as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 24-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 39 have garnered prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in NCAA Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.