Mike Alden Position: Director of Athletics

Coming off the most successful season in school history, complete with Big 12 titles in Men's Basketball, Softball and Soccer and a second consecutive Big 12 North Division crown in Football, Mike Alden enters his 12th year as the Director of Athletics for the University of Missouri.

The 2008 NACDA Athletics Director of the Year has developed into one of the nation's most revered administrators during his time in Columbia. In 2009, Missouri became the first school in the history of the Big 12 Conference to compete in the title games for Football, Men's Basketball and Baseball in the same academic year and the Tigers' four Big 12 championships in 2008-09 were the most in school history.

The third-longest tenured Athletics Director in Mizzou history behind only Don Faurot and Chester Brewer, Alden took over an athletics department that barely ranked among the Top 100 of Division I athletics programs and now has Missouri poised to achieve its highest end-of-season ranking in the Learfield Sports Director's Cup Standings.

Alden has incorporated three core values into the mission of intercollegiate athletics at Missouri. The mission statement of "Preparing Champions for Life through Academic Integrity, Social Responsibility and Competitive Excellence" has guided Missouri in becoming one of America's most well-regarded athletics programs.

Since his arrival at Missouri, the school has routinely led the Big 12 Conference in graduation and Academic Progress Rates, while the overall health of MU's athletics programs is at an all-time high. The Tigers ranked as the nation's leader among BCS public institutions in Academic Progress Rate in 2008 and has consistently ranked in the Top 25 nationally, alongside the likes of Harvard, Yale and Stanford for overall APR success among all Division I programs. Mizzou has also led the Big 12 Conference in Academic Progress Rates each of the past four years.

Socially, Missouri student-athletes have seen tremendous growth under Alden's tenure, from coach and student-athlete involvement with Big Brothers-Big Sisters and the Central Missouri Humane Society, to local children's hospitals and Habitat for Humanity. Missouri Athletics not only makes an impact on the playing fields, but in the lives of the community it serves. In addition, Mizzou Athletics is heavily involved in the United Way and prides itself on having 100% involvement from its department each fall.

Athletically, it's hard to argue Mizzou's advancement on a national level. The Tigers saw 15-of-20 sports qualify for postseason competition during the 2008-09 academic year, highlighted by Big 12 championships in football, basketball, softball and soccer. More than half of those teams (eight) finished in the Top 25 of their respective sports, the most in school history. In fact, Mizzou has enjoyed 57 Top 25 team finishes at NCAA Championships under Alden's watch (an average of 5.2 per year). Prior to his arrival, the most Top 25 finishes for Missouri in a single season was just three.

Alden's legacy will transcend his program's consistent success in the classroom, socially and in competition. Upon his appointment as Director of Athletics in 1998, Missouri faced an uncertain future as it entered the Big 12 Conference era. Competing with an annual budget of just $13.7 million at the time of his arrival, Alden has grown Missouri's operating fortunes to a record $50 million and has added state-of-the art facilities and amenities at nearly every venue in the Sports Park at Mizzou. Overall, Alden has helped lead a record $163.2 million facility resurgence for MU athletics since his arrival just 11 years ago.

Highly-regarded by his peers, Alden's success at Missouri has earned him national notoriety amongst the NCAA hierarchy and garnered him the Athletics Director of the Year Award for the Central Region presented by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics in 2008. A member of numerous NCAA committees, including the NCAA Management Council, NCAA Championship/Competition Cabinet, NCAA Division I Leadership Council, Division I Athletics Directors Board of Directors, National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Executive Committee and NCAA Oversight and Monitoring Group, Alden has helped to drive policy that has not only shaped the current landscape of intercollegiate athletics, but has paved the way for the future growth of college sports as a whole.

Alden and his family have also been heavily involved in the Columbia community, working with local figures to help improve the lives area residents through their involvement in the United Way (Board of Directors), Commerce Bank Board of Directors, Salvation Army, Central Missouri Food Bank and as the host of the 15th annual MDA Golf Classic in 2009.

Alden holds strong ties to central Missouri. His family tree has been rooted on his family farm in Williamsburg, Mo., some 30 miles east of Columbia. His mother lives in Williamsburg, while his brother (John) is a physician in Lamar, Mo. (Barton County). Several relatives reside in and around Columbia and Kansas City, including his nephew (Michael) who will be a freshman at Mizzou this fall. His uncle, Jack, was a pipefitter in the building of the Hearnes Center and his cousin, Todd, was a pipefitter in the construction of both Mizzou Arena and the Devine Pavilion.

Alden and his wife, Roxanne (Rockie), have a son, Jake (14) who will enter the ninth grade at West Junior High School in Columbia.