WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ABOUT DR. RICHARD DURAN

Dr. Richard Duran was named Vice President and Director of Athletics at Northern Arizona University on June 23, 2026, following unprecedented success leading the athletic department at University of the Incarnate Word (UIW). Serving under the leadership of NAU President José Luis Cruz Rivera, Duran will officially assume his role on July 16, 2026, pending approval from the Arizona Board of Regents.
 
Duran arrived at NAU following nine years at UIW. Duran departed UIW as Vice President of Athletics and served as Athletic Director since June 2020, when he became the youngest sitting Division I athletic director at that time. Prior to his appointment, Duran served as the interim athletic director during the 2019-20 season. He initially came to UIW in 2017 as deputy athletic director responsible for all external functions.
 
Under his leadership, UIW Athletics celebrated one team national championship and 20 team conference championships, including a department-record six during the 2021-22 academic year. UIW also earned the department’s highest finish and point total in the Learfield Directors’ Cup standings in 2024-25.
 
Additionally, UIW received the Southland Conference Academic Performance Award in 2025-26, recognizing its student-athletes’ achievements in the classroom. Following UIW’s Commissioner’s Cup wins for accomplishments on the field of play (2021-22, 2022-23) and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Serves Award for service in the community (2021-22, 2023-24, 2024-25), UIW became the first Southland Conference institution to collect all three league awards for successes in the classroom, community and competition.
 
The department’s honors validated Duran’s charge of creating Champions in the Three Cs (Classroom, Community, Competition) amongst 530 student-athletes across 25 programs. UIW student-athletes completed more than 57,000 hours of community service since his arrival in 2017 and compiled at least a 3.2 semester GPA throughout his tenure, including a record-breaking 3.48 semester GPA in Fall 2025. More than 840 student-athletes graduated during his tenure and 45 student-athletes earned Academic All-American honors.
 
Duran also oversaw the UIW football team’s growth into one of the premier programs in the FCS under his leadership, winning four Southland Conference titles and reaching the FCS Playoffs four times. The program produced Cameron Ward, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and enjoyed its most successful season in 2022, recording a school record 12 wins and earning the program’s first trip to the FCS Semifinals.
 
The student-athlete experience was further enhanced by Duran, as he was instrumental in working with the Mountain Sports Pacific Federation (MPSF) to create sports sponsorships for artistic swimming and men’s and women’s fencing, providing an NCAA-sponsored league for student-athletes to compete in. The men’s and women’s swimming & diving programs also transitioned to the MPSF in 2022-23, uniting all five programs in one league for the first time in program history.
 
Furthermore, Duran worked with the Ohio Valley Conference to establish men’s soccer as a sponsored sport, giving the UIW men’s soccer team a home starting with the 2023-24 season.
 
During Duran’s tenure, UIW Athletics raised more than $10 million and also set department records for annual fund, corporate partnerships and ticket sales. He renegotiated the department’s initial contract with Adidas for a 62% partnership increase, and completed an extension for an additional 43% increase prior to his departure. 
 
Collaboration with the city of San Antonio, Texas, was vital for Duran, ensuring that UIW Athletics had the opportunity to co-host the 2025 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Final Four and the entire 2021 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament during the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
While at UIW, Duran served as the Southland Conference’s representative on the NCAA FCS Playoff Selection Committee this past season. He also served on the NCAA FCS Regional Advisory Committee and NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel. Within the Southland Conference, he wrapped up his tenure as the president of Southland’s Advisory Council and athletic director chair.
 
Prior to his time in San Antonio, Texas, at UIW, Duran had stints at Cal State-LA, Louisiana Monroe, UC Riverside and the Big West Conference. Combined with his time as a football student-athlete at Whittier College, Duran has well-rounded experience across the intercollegiate athletics landscape in Division I (FBS, FCS, non-football), Division II, Division III and a conference office.
 
Duran, a Montebello, Calif. native, holds his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology with a concentration in sport management from Whittier College, where he was a four-year football letterwinner. He received his master’s degree in sport management from University of San Francisco and earned his doctor of education in educational leadership – higher education administration from Gwynedd Mercy University in 2025.