Johns Hopkins University's Jennifer S. Baker has been selected as one of four NCAA Division III winners of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Athletic Director of the Year Award for 2023-24.
Image caption: Jennifer S. Baker
The Athletic Director of the Year Award spans seven divisions—NCAA FBS, FCS, Division I-AAA, II, III, NAIA, and junior colleges/community colleges. Winners will be recognized at the 59th annual NACDA & Affiliates Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada, on June 11.
Baker, who serves as the university's associate vice provost for student affairs and director of athletics and recreation, is in her seventh year at Johns Hopkins, including her fifth as athletics director. She leads an athletics program that sponsors 24 varsity sports and is one of the most successful in the nation annually.
In the four and a half years since Baker became athletics director, Johns Hopkins teams have won five national championships and 49 conference titles. Hopkins also claimed the program's first Learfield Directors' Cup title in 2022-23, an honor that recognizes the top athletics programs in the nation.
Individually, Blue Jays athletes have earned 15 national championships, 15 NCAA postgraduate scholarships, and 90 CoSIDA Academic All-America honors during Baker's tenure, despite the fact that her tenure includes three seasons cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic—spring and fall of 2020, and the winter of 2020-21.
In addition to the overall success enjoyed by JHU's teams under her guidance, Baker has also spearheaded the development of a new strategic plan that will guide the department through 2025. Among her many key initiatives at Johns Hopkins has been the launch of a leadership development program for Johns Hopkins student-athletes, Blue Jays LEAD, which debuted in 2017-18.
Baker has also positioned Johns Hopkins as an industry leader in supporting the holistic student-athlete experience, including leading an effort to create a mental health and performance position that provides support to more than 600 Hopkins student-athletes.
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