CLEVELAND, OH - Former Denison University Director of Athletics and longtime Division III leader Nan Carney-DeBord has been selected as the 2026 recipient of the Dan Dutcher Meritorious Service Award, as announced by the Division III Commissioners Association.
 
The award is presented annually to an individual who has made significant and lasting contributions to Division III athletics through leadership, integrity, and service over the course of their career.
 
Carney-DeBord’s selection reflects nearly four decades of impact across college athletics as a coach, faculty member, administrator, conference leader, and national committee member.
 
Across a thirty-nine-year career, Carney-DeBord helped shape Division III both on and off the court. She served as Director of Athletics at Denison University for fourteen years, leading her alma mater to one of the most successful eras in program history. During her tenure, the Big Red captured nine NCAC All-Sports Championships, seventy-three conference titles, and seven NCAA Division III national championships.
 
She also guided significant program growth at Denison, including expanded coaching staffs, the addition of varsity programs, and major facility improvements highlighted by the $38 million renovation and expansion of the Mitchell Center.
 
Prior to her administrative career, Carney-DeBord built one of the most accomplished coaching résumés in Division III women’s basketball history at Ohio Wesleyan University. She recorded 433 career wins, earned seven Coach of the Year honors, and was named National Coach of the Year after leading the Battling Bishops to the NCAA semifinals.
 
Carney-DeBord was also instrumental in the founding of the North Coast Athletic Conference, one of the first conferences founded specifically to include and promote women’s sports as equal to men’s, to consider all sports equitably rather than tier them, to entrust the conference fully to the presidents, and to operate with mutual trust. All groundbreaking tenets in the early 1980s and values that continue to define the league today.
 
Beyond competitive success, she is widely respected for her mentorship and service throughout the profession. Carney-DeBord has served on NCAA, NCAC, Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), and National Association of Division III Athletics Administrators (NADIIIAA) committees and is known across college athletics as a trusted mentor who consistently advocates for and elevates others.
 
“Throughout her career, Nan has led with purpose and lifted others along the way, stated NCAC Executive Director Keri Alexander Luchowski. "As a coach, administrator, and conference leader, she set a standard for excellence and service that continues to resonate across Division III. Her selection for the Dan Dutcher Meritorious Service Award reflects a legacy that will endure.”
 
Carney-DeBord was unable to attend the award presentation at the NCAA Convention. The Division III Commissioners Association plans to formally present her with the honor this summer in Indianapolis.