WARRENSBURG, Mo. – Former longtime University of Central Missouri Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics, the late Jerry Hughes, has been selected as one of two Division II Athletics Directors Association (D2 ADA) Lifetime Achievement Award recipients for 2025, it was announced Thursday, April 10. The Lifetime Achievement Award is given to athletics directors who have exemplified superior achievement during their career at the Division II level.

Hughes, who dedicated more than 40 years to laying the foundation for successes that included regional and national athletics championships, improved sports playing facilities, and the recruitment of thousands of outstanding student-athletes at the University of Central Missouri (UCM), passed away January 21, 2023, after a brief illness.

Hughes, who served as vice president for intercollegiate athletics, graduated from UCM in 1971 with a bachelor's degree in physical education, having lettered for the Mules golf team during his undergraduate studies, and he received his master's degree in secondary school administration in 1979. He joined the university that same year as a business placement director, became assistant athletics director in July 1981, and athletics director in January 1983. This launched a tenure as head of athletics that lasted four decades and enabled him to garner numerous awards exemplifying his far-reaching impact on collegiate sports.

Hughes' dedication to quality athletics teams resulted in many forms of recognition for the Mules and Jennies. Under his leadership, Central Missouri won 179 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) championships, 10 national championships, had 50 other top four NCAA finishes, and made more than 300 NCAA postseason appearances. The Central Missouri athletics program also won the MIAA All-Sports Trophy each year from 1998-99 (the year of the award's inception) until the award was discontinued in 2002-03 and took home the first two MIAA Commissioner's Cups following the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons and again in 2019-20 and 2020-21. UCM finished second in the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup in 2010-11, the best finish in university and MIAA history after finishing third the previous two years.

Aside from his work at UCM, Hughes held multiple leadership positions for committees in Division II athletics. He served on the NCAA Executive Committee and as chairman of the Division II Championships Committee. He also served a term as NCAA Vice President for Division II and has been a member of the NCAA Council, making him the only person to twice hold the highest-ranking office available to athletics administrators in NCAA Division II. Other NCAA committees on which he served are the Membership Structure Committee, Administrative Committee, and Post-Season Football Subcommittee. He chaired the NCAA Division II Management Council and Membership Growth Project Team and was a member of the NCAA Budget and Finance Committee and NCAA Administrative Review Panel, as well as the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup Committee.

Hughes was the founder of the Las Vegas High Desert Classic, served as regional director of the Show-Me State Games, and was a member of the Governor's Council for Physical Fitness and Health. Hughes was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2005 and named a Missouri Sports Legend, the highest honor bestowed by the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.

A member of the NACDA Executive Committee from 1995-99, Hughes was recognized by the Association as Athletics Director of the Year (ADOY) in 1998-99, 2001-02, 2010-11 and 2015-16. In 2022, he was given the D2 CCA Award of Merit, reserved for individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the entire NCAA Division II membership and the Division II student-athlete experience. In 2024, he was posthumously inducted into the NACDA Hall of Fame, the MIAA Hall of Fame and the UCM Athletic Hall of Fame.

Saint Leo University's Francis Reidy was the other D2 ADA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient for 2025. Reidy served as vice president and director of athletics at Saint Leo for over 35 years before retiring in August of 2023.