Dr. Jim Forkum named recipient of L. William Miller Award
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Dr. Jim Forkum, retired director of athletics at Santa Rosa Junior College, has been named the 2018 recipient of National Association of Two-Year College Athletic Administrator's (NATYCAA) L. William Miller Award.
Presented annually, the Miller Award recognizes a member of NATYCAA who demonstrates excellence in leadership, service and integrity in an athletics program at a two-year college or organization. Nominees must have been active in NATYCAA for a minimum of three years and also have a minimum of ten years of athletics administration experience at the junior/community college level.
Forkum has spent 48 years in education and athletics, including 33 as a basketball coach and 15 as an athletics director. During his last six years at Santa Rosa, he served as Dean of Kinesiology, Athletics and Dance.
Since retiring from Santa Rosa, he has played a major role in educating a new generation of athletics administrators as an instructor in Concordia University-Irvine's master's program in coaching and athletics administration. Forkum has also remained active in NATYCAA as one of the leading voices for retired athletics administrators, better known as Connections.
A NATYCAA (2012-13) Past-President, Forkum has represented the two-year colleges on NACDA's Executive Committee, and was selected as a 2013 Under Armour Athletics Director of the Year.
While at Santa Rosa, he also served as Chair of the California Community College Athletics Association's Management Council, President of the CCCAA's Big 8 Conference, and the Big 8 Conference Women's Softball Administrator and was a member of the Santa Rosa Tourism and Visitors Bureau and the Sonoma County Sports Commission, President of Calif CC Athletics Director's Association.
When nearing retirement at Santa Rosa, Forkum said his greatest reward during his time there was "being part of an outstanding athletics and educational program and working with so many motivated and successful students.
About the L. William Miller Award: While at the St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley, L. William "Bill" Miller developed the prototype program of Athletics and Physical Education on St. Louis Community College's three campuses that remained intact years following his retirement in 1994. The program has offered over 18 NJCAA-affiliated sports, 40 Physical Education courses, and enabled more than 2000 student-athletes to transfer to four-year programs. Bill served as Flo Valley's Head Track & Cross Country Coach (1966-1973) and Director of Athletics (1966-1994) and he assumed chairmanship of the Physical Education department for several years prior to retirement. Prior to joining the Flo Valley staff, Bill served as Athletics Director, Track & Field coach, swimming coach, and physical education/drivers education teacher at Beaumont and Northwest High Schools in St. Louis. He led teams to eight Missouri State Championships in Track & Cross Country competition.
In 1966, at age 38, Bill became the youngest inductee into the Greater St. Louis Coaches Hall of Fame. In 1974, he became a charter inductee into the Missouri Track and Field Hall of Fame. He has also been inducted into the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Hall of Fame, the National Association of Two Year Colleges Athletic Association Hall of Fame, the NJCAA Track and Field Hall of Fame, and the NJCAA Region 16 Hall of Fame.
About NATYCAA: Now in its 30th year, NATYCAA is the professional organization of two-year college athletics administrators and membership is open to all two-year institutions from throughout the country. NATYCAA is administered by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), which is in its 53rd year. For more information on NACDA and the 17 professional associations that fall under its umbrella, please visit www.nacda.com.
(Courtesy NATYCAA)