The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) has named DMACC Athletics Director B.J. McGinn the NJCAA Athletic Director of the Year for 2021.
The NJCAA Athletic Director of the Year is awarded to an NJCAA Athletic Director who best exemplifies the overall purpose of leading their institution, athletic department, student-athletes, and community through positive initiatives and contributions.
Created in the spring of 2020, the NJCAA Athletic Director of the Year is part of the NJCAA Annual Awards that honor three distinct categories across the association - Athletic Director of the Year, Sports Information Director of the Year, and Athletic Trainer of the Year. These awards represent individuals who strive to create the optimal student-athlete experience on their campus while also performing duties that go far beyond the institutional level.
McGinn has served as the Director of Athletics at DMACC since 2016. During his tenure, McGinn has been responsible for numerous improvements to the Bears' athletic facilities including the recent addition of a brand-new athletic facility complete with an indoor training facility, golf facility, athletic training facility and weight room. The completion of this facility has enhanced the overall student-athlete experience at DMACC while providing an opportunity to host camps, clinics, and other events on the DMACC Boone campus.
During the 2020-21 academic year, the Bears had four teams qualify for NJCAA Division II National Tournaments. DMACC's softball team earned a No. 4 seed in the championship tournament held in Oxford, AL in May 2021, and ultimately placed among the top six teams. The Bears' men's basketball team won the 2021 NJCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship title in April, and the men's and women's golf teams finished seventh and 16th respectively in 2021 national championship competition.
In addition to ensuring eligibility standards are met for the Bears' nine athletic teams, McGinn has been instrumental in successfully completing many projects at Des Moines Area including implementing a new website through PrestoSports-www.dmaccbears.com, re-surfacing the gymnasium floor, remodeling the varsity women's locker room, hosting the first-ever Fall DMACC Athletics Banquet, and adding the sport of men's cross country.
McGinn started at DMACC in 2006 as an assistant men's basketball coach for the Hall of Fame Coach Orv Salmon. In the summer of 2009, McGinn was elevated to head men's basketball coach as Salmon assumed full-time Director of Athletics duties. Over a nine-year span, McGinn's basketball teams posted an overall record of 191-95 for a .670 winning percentage.
The DMACC men's basketball team qualified for the NJCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship in 2006-07, McGinn's first season with the team, and finished the season as the No. 5 team in NJACC Division II. McGinn directed the Bears to the NJCAA Region XI championship and the national tournament in 2013-14 and saw his team finish seventh in the final NJCAA Division II poll of the season. The Bears also won the Region XI title and qualified for the national championship in 2014-15, finishing fourth in tournament play and second in the NJCAA Division II national rankings.