Kellogg Community College Athletic Director Drew Fleming has been named the Michigan Community College Athletic Association Athletic Director of the Year.
The annual award is given to just one athletic director each year from the MCCAA’s two dozen member colleges, with the recipient selected via vote by the association’s leadership. Recipients are selected on the basis of “institutional athletic achievement, service to the MCCAA and helping the MCCAA progress forward in innovative ways,” according to the MCCAA.
The 2023-24 academic year, under Fleming’s leadership, was another banner year for KCC Athletics. All nine Bruin teams made the postseason, resulting in several team championships. Highlights include:
- The baseball team won the MCCAA Western Conference title, the NJCAA Regional Championship and took 10th in the nation at the National Junior College Athletic Association World Series.
- The women’s bowling team won the MCCAA Championship – the first state championship in program history – and placed seventh in the nation at the NJCAA Women’s Bowling Championship.
- The women’s soccer team won the NJCAA Region XII Championship for the first time in program history.
- The men’s cross-country team finished seventh in the nation at the NJCAA DIII National Championship.
- The men’s and women’s basketball teams finished the year with their best records since 2007, with both teams qualifying for the regional tournament. Additionally, the women’s basketball team earned a share of the conference title for the first time since 2007.
- The women’s volleyball team qualified for the NJCAA Region XII Great Lakes District Tournament for the first time since 2017.
For the year, the Bruins had a remarkable program-wide winning percentage of .720.
KCC Vice President for Student Affairs Terah Zaremba said Fleming’s recognition “is a direct reflection of his outstanding leadership.”
“We are incredibly proud of the success our student-athletes have achieved both in competition and in the classroom this year, which is a testament to Drew’s unwavering commitment to supporting their individual needs,” Zaremba said. “His dedication to our student-athletes and the Bruin community is truly top-notch, and I am deeply grateful for his invaluable contributions.”
In addition to his work at KCC, Fleming is an active and engaged member of the MCCAA, serving as a member of the MCCAA Executive Committee, Baseball Sports Chair, MCCAA Secretary and on several committees, including the Officials’ Compensation Committee.
According to the MCCAA, “The Kellogg Community College Athletic Department under Fleming’s leadership has been a model of success in the classroom, on the field of competition and in the community.”
MCCAA Executive Administrator Al Perry said in the MCCAA announcement that Fleming “is creating a balance of fervent competitiveness with a firm grounding in sportsmanship and strong academic achievement, while making postseason runs across the department. That is no small task.”
Additionally, Fleming’s “professional, thoughtful and student-athlete focused presence on the Executive Committee has been invaluable,” Perry noted.
Fleming, an Olivet native and 2011 graduate of KCC, took the helm of the Athletics Department in the summer of 2022 after several years of experience in various positions throughout the world of sports. As a Bruin, Fleming was himself a part of the KCC baseball teams that won a conference championship in 2010 and a regional championship in 2011, a year that ended with the Bruins finishing fourth in the nation at the NJCAA World Series.
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