Well into his second decade as the architect of the Penn State's Intercollegiate Athletics program, Tim Curley's dynamic and passionate leadership has been the driving force behind the Nittany Lions' tremendous level of athletic and academic achievement.

Named Director of Athletics on December 30, 1993, Curley celebrated 30 years as a member of the Nittany Lions' athletics staff this past year. A 1976 Penn State graduate, Curley has seen Nittany Lion squads capture 12 NCAA Championships, 46 Big Ten titles and numerous individual national and conference crowns during his 13 years directing Penn State's comprehensive and nationally-respected athletic program.

During the fall 2005 semester, Penn State won an unprecedented five Big Ten Championships -- in field hockey, football, men's soccer, women's soccer and women's volleyball -- becoming the first institution to win more than three titles in the fall season in the 110-year history of the Big Ten Conference. Nittany Lions teams compiled an incredible 49-1 record against Big Ten competition in the fall.

The women's swimming and diving team won its second consecutive conference title to give Penn State a school record six Big Ten Championships in 2005-06. The men's volleyball team won the EIVA title and played in the NCAA Championship match. Seventeen squads were represented in their respective NCAA Championships, with five teams finishing in the Top 10.

Include the 25 All-Americans and 49 first team All-Big Ten selections, another NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship winner and a student-athlete Graduation Success Rate of 87 percent and 2005-06 was as another triumphant year of Success With Honor for the Nittany Lions.

This past year also saw Curley serve as president of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA). He was the first Penn State Athletic Director to serve as president of NACDA, which is a professional and educational association for more than 6,100 athletic administrators at more than 1,600 institutions in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Curley was elected a NACDA officer in 2002.

As he surveys the athletic program he has been instrumental in assembling over the past 30 years, Tim Curley can't help but be proud of the athletic and academic accomplishments of Penn State's 750 student-athletes in 29 varsity sports:

- During a visit to the University Park campus, NCAA President Myles Brand stated, "Penn State is the poster child for doing it right in college sports."

- In the initial 13 years of the NACDA Directors' Cup all-sports survey, Penn State has finished in the top 25 every year, earning seven top 10 finishes and four top five placings. The Nittany Lions were No. 2 in the fall 2005 rankings and finished No. 15.

- In the most recent comprehensive look at the 117 colleges and universities participating in Division I football and men's basketball, U.S. News and World Report selected Penn State as one of 10 Division I-A institutions for its College Sports Honor Roll in 2002. Data on gender equity, number of varsity sports, graduation rates, sanctions, and wins and losses were analyzed to determine the listing.

- Penn State has captured 11 NCAA Championships in men's and women's volleyball; men's and women's fencing and men's gymnastics during Curley's tenure. Nittany and Lady Lion teams have made 21 NCAA "Final Four" appearances during his tenure.

- Penn State also has established itself as a force in the highly competitive Big Ten -- winning 50 regular-season or tournament titles in football, baseball, women's basketball, field hockey, men's gymnastics, men's soccer, women's soccer, men's and women's swimming and diving, women's track and field and women's volleyball. The Lions have won 20 Big Ten championships over the past four-plus years, including the school record six in 2005-06.

- The women's soccer team won its ninth consecutive Big Ten Championship in fall 2006, tied for the second-longest string of Big Ten women's titles in any sport, and won the conference tournament. The women's volleyball team won an unprecedented fourth consecutive outright Big Ten Championship in fall 2006. Both squads advanced to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals.

In November 2006, the NCAA reported that Penn State student-athletes earned a graduation rate of 83 percent for the entering class of 1999-2000, significantly above the 64 percent national average.

For the third time in the past five years, Penn State's student-athletes posted the highest graduation rate among all 119 Division I-A public institutions. The 83 percent federal rate is tied for the Nittany Lions' best performance in the 16-year history of the NCAA report, along with the entering classes of 1997-98 and 1989-90.

The four-year graduation rate average for University Park student-athletes was 81 percent, well above the national average of 63 percent for student-athletes. The four-year average was second highest in the Big Ten to Northwestern.

In the NCAA's new Graduation Success Rate compilation, Penn State student-athletes earned an 86 percent Graduation Success Rate, eight points higher than the national Division I-A average. Twenty-one of Penn State's 25 teams earned a GSR at or above the national average of 77 percent or higher (track and field and cross country count as one sport).

Eight Penn State squads earned a Graduation Success Rate of 100 percent and 19 teams had a GSR of 80 percent or better, according to the NCAA.

- The 2006 NCAA report also showed that Penn State's African-American student-athletes posted a 77 percent Graduation Success Rate, substantially higher than the 61 percent national average.

Of the Penn State student-athletes in the NCAA studies from 1990-91 through 1999-2000 who exhausted their eligibility, 95 percent left with their diplomas.

- During the fall 2005 semester, a record 199 Penn State student-athletes earned a 3.50 grade point average or higher to gain Dean's List recognition (minimum of 12 credits). A total of 435 student-athletes earned a GPA of 3.0 or above, just seven off the record of 442. The 435 total represented 59 percent of active student-athletes, one percent below the record 60 percent set in the Fall of 2003 and '04.

- During the 2005-06 academic year, 243 Penn State student-athletes earned Academic All-Big Ten honors, the third-highest total in the 12 years of the program. Over the past 12 years, Penn State leads all Big Ten institutions with 2,553 academic all-conference honorees.

- Six student-athletes earned CoSIDA Academic All-America accolades in fall 2006, giving Penn State 127 such selections all-time, with 84 in the last 13 years under Curley's leadership.

Curley was recognized for his efforts in helping Penn State maintain its stature as one of the nation's premier athletic programs in 2003 with his selection as the Northeast Athletic Director of the Year by NACDA. He was one of just four regional Division I-A honorees.

To continue to give the coaching staff and student-athletes the resources to succeed academically and athletically, Curley is guiding the most ambitious fund-raising and athletics facilities campaigns in the department's history. The initial goal is to raise $100 million for Intercollegiate Athletics by June, 2008.

In 2003, ICA announced that it had raised more than $134 million in the seven-year Grand Destiny Campaign, easily surpassing the initial and revised goals of $90 and $125 million, respectively, in private funding for Athletics.

The most recently completed capital project is a new baseball stadium for the Nittany Lions -- Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. The Penn State baseball team will share the state-of-the-art facility with a short season minor league team - the State College Spikes - owned by the Altoona Curve franchise. Curley played a significant role in developing the unique partnership with the Curve organization. The 5,406-seat stadium opened to rave reviews in June 2006.

This fall saw a new student fitness center and expanded and renovated wrestling practice, locker room and strength training facilities open in Rec Hall.

The 12,500-seat expansion and renovation of Beaver Stadium was completed in 2001, raising the capacity to 107,282. The project included private suite and club level seating previously unavailable and the construction of the magnificent Penn State All-Sports Museum to house Penn State's impressive collection of sports memorabilia.

Other facility projects completed in recent years include the construction of the Lasch Football Building, Ashenfelter Indoor Multi-Sport Facility and Sarni Tennis Center and renovations to the White Building, East Area Locker Room, Jeffrey Field and a new field hockey facility.

Curley also oversees the expansive intramural/club sport programs -- which included a fourth consecutive national championship in men's ice hockey in 2003 and the women's rugby national tile in 2004 -- on the University Park campus, as well as general recreational activities. He's charged as well with responsibility for the athletic and recreational programs at Penn State's Commonwealth Campuses.

It is a dizzying pace for Curley, who is a regular presence at athletic events, team banquets, alumni meetings and regional and national meetings of athletic administrators,

In 2004, Curley was appointed to a special NCAA task force that reviewed Division I recruiting bylaws and to the NCAA Division I Football Issues Committee, a group which he chaired. The NCAA Division I Football Issues Committee is charged with oversight of all issues pertaining to NCAA Division I-A and I-AA football.

Curley previously was a member of the NCAA Division I Championships/ Competition Cabinet and served as chair of the NCAA Postseason Bowl Certification Sub-Committee.

It is no exaggeration to say Tim Curley is someone who knows the Penn State athletic program from the ground up. A State College product, he grew up across the street from Old Beaver Field where some of his most memorable days as a youngster were spent there and in Rec Hall. He parked cars, sold game programs and served as a baseball batboy.

The top assistant to Athletic Director Jim Tarman, Curley was named Director of Athletics on December 30, 1993, when Tarman retired after 35 years as a Penn State athletic administrator.

Curley, 52, has been a full-time member of the athletic staff since he joined the department as a graduate assistant football coach. A product of State College Area High School where he played basketball and football for Jim Williams' undefeated 1971 team, Curley walked on as a football player only to have his career cut short by injuries. After earning his Bachelor's degree in health and physical education in 1976, he served a year as a graduate assistant coach while pursuing his Master's degree in counselor education.

Curley was named the Lions' first full-time football recruiting coordinator in 1978 and was instrumental in identifying and recruiting a number of members of the 1982 national championship team. In 1981, he was named assistant to the athletic director where he was involved with the day-to-day operations of the department.

Curley was active in the development of the Academic Support Center for Student-Athletes; the Penn State Sports Medicine Center; the Varsity "S" Club and the Football Letterman's Club during his tenure as assistant to the athletic director. He also was instrumental in putting in place Penn State's first NCAA compliance program and acted as the department's compliance coordinator for five years before surrendering those responsibilities when he was named Associate Athletic Director in 1992.

He is married to the former Melinda Harr of Washington, Pa., and has two children -- a daughter, Devon, and a son, Tanner. Curley was born on April 28, 1954.