Laurie Braden is named as the 2026 NIRSA Honor Award recipient

NIRSA is proud to announce that Laurie Braden, Executive Director of University Recreation at Louisiana State University, is the 2026 NIRSA Honor Award recipient. The Honor Award is NIRSA’s most prestigious distinction, recognizing members whose contributions have had significant breadth, impact, and enduring influence on the Association and the profession. 

Laurie will be celebrated in-person at the 2026 NIRSA + IDEA® World Conference and Expo, most notably during the Award Reception on Friday, April 10, where she will share remarks, reflecting on her work with NIRSA and in the field of campus recreation.

“Laurie brings spades of character, strength, and heart to a special class of NIRSA members,” says NIRSA Executive Director Pam Watts, CAE. “I’ve had the privilege of working closely with Laurie and with others who have worked closely with Laurie; she’s done so much to elevate this profession and her colleagues in the field. The Association is fortunate to count her among its highest echelon of leaders.”

A transformative impact through play

Laurie has built a career on getting things done. In her current role as LSU University Recreation Executive Director, she is responsible for the overall leadership of University Recreation, leads a team of 40 full-time staff members and 350 student employees, and oversees a multi-million-dollar annual operating budget.

“She’s a transformational leader who leads with authenticity and purpose…her legacy of service, mentorship, and visionary leadership makes her profoundly deserving of the NIRSA Honor Award,” says Billy Marcantel, Director of Recreation Operations at  Florida Gulf Coast University’s University Recreation & Wellness. 

Laurie’s Bachelor of Science degree in Recreation Administration was awarded by the University of Florida and she continued her education at North Carolina State University, where she added a Master of Science in Recreation Resource Management to her résumé. Learning and teaching inside and outside of the classroom would become a hallmark of Laurie’s professional career, and NIRSA would become an important organization in supporting her career growth. Now a lifetime member of NIRSA, Laurie first joined the Association as a student in the fall of 1988. 

She would take up professional membership just a few years later, in 1991, when she landed her first role out of grad school; Laurie spent the first five years of her career as the Recreation Sports and Aquatic Coordinator at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, located in the world’s largest medical center, the Texas Medical Center. Providing daily oversight for facility management, aquatic operations, and student services like intramural sports in Houston cultivated Laurie’s ongoing passion for play and movement and how they impact learning and health across our lifetimes.

In 1996 she took the next step in her career, making the cross-state move 500+ miles northwest to Lubbock and assuming the role of Associate Director of Facilities for Texas Tech University’s Recreational Sports Department. While at Texas Tech, she gained experience collaborating on capital projects, aiding in the development and design of a significant addition to Texas Tech’s Student Recreation Center, which served the Red Raiders community of roughly 25,000 students. 

By 1999, Laurie was ready for a change. She moved to Mount Pleasant, Michigan and  continued her growth as a leader in the field of campus recreation, now at Central Michigan University. She held Associate Director roles in both programs and facilities during her eight-year tenure there, further extending the breadth and depth of her responsibilities to cover fitness, intramural sports, club sports, youth and family programs, campus collaborations, and facility operations. Simultaneously, she entered into the non-profit sector, founding the organization SAGE (Sport Affects Girls’ Excellence), which she directed until 2007. The organization focused on providing resources for girls to attend summer sports camps where they could practice skills like teamwork, responsibility, goal setting, and leadership. 

From first mate to captain

Already a pioneer on many fronts, Laurie was set to lead by 2007. She moved back to NIRSA’s Region IV, settling in Brownsville, on the United States’ side of the Texas-Mexico border and taking up the role of Director of Campus Recreation at University of Texas-Brownsville.

In Brownsville, she left an indelible impact on the Scorpion community (now known as University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros): “Her guidance, mentorship, and genuine interest in my growth have left a permanent mark on my career,” says former colleague Agnelia Tiffany Hernandez, Intramural Coordinator Sports at UTRGV. “I am certain her impact reaches beyond just me,” Agnelia adds. In leading the effort to bring online the first ever REK Complex, Laurie’s impact on Brownsville continues to be felt today.

Laurie’s been actively engaged on each of her campuses in fostering relationships with student life, residential life, health service, athletics, and facility master planning committees; she would leverage all of that experience on the next rung of her career. In 2010, she assumed her current role of Executive Director of LSU, just four-hours east along the I-10 Highway from where she started her professional career in campus recreation.

Earning her (tiger) stripes

Even today’s AI tools would struggle to summarize into just a few paragraphs the impact that Laurie Braden has made in Baton Rouge and on the Tiger community since her arrival in 2010. “During Laurie’s 16 years at LSU, I have watched University Recreation at LSU evolve from a traditional campus facility into a nationally recognized, student-centered hub for wellness, leadership, and belonging, setting a standard for recreation programs in higher education,” says LSU’s Interim Senior Vice Chancellor & Provost, Dr. Troy Blanchard. 

To give you a sense of scale, the $2.1M operating budget she managed in 2010 represents just $4 of every $25 that she oversees today, and the facilities spaces footprint of 120,000 sq. ft. that she started with has since more than doubled (now at 268,000 sq. ft.) under her leadership and boasts industry-leading features including: 

• A leisure river that spells out LSU as a moving body of water
• A ⅓-mile indoor track spanning two floors 
• A 28 ft. indoor turf ramp capable of inclining at a 20% grade, where students can run “hills” inside
• A three-story outdoor ropes/challenge course that sports a 475-ft. aerial zipline passing over the outdoor pool area and sand volleyball courts

Laurie’s work has always placed a special focus on the value of play and being outdoors, and the impact those can have on students’ health and academic success. One unique LSU initiative, UREC on the Geaux, provides fun and relaxing activities (such as yoga, yard games, and outdoor cooking) for students across campus through the use of a mobile play bus. Throughout her career, Laurie has developed innovative programs and created inclusive learning experiences for students and emerging leaders. 

Laurie empowers students and faculty to see how interconnected their studies and the UREC are. By creating venues like the “Research in the Rec” initiative for scholars at all life stages to share their research and discoveries, Laurie creates spaces for collaborative learning and exploration: “Because of Laurie’s visionary commitment to learning and wellbeing, LSU’s UREC has become a laboratory for curricular experimentation,” says Chris Barrett, Associate Professor in LSU’s Department of English and Director of the College of Humanities & Social Sciences Humanities Center. “My classes love the opportunity to transform the UREC’s social staircase into a dynamic venue for sharing research with our whole campus community. As a faculty member who cares deeply about the success of my students and their flourishing, I am thrilled they have access to a space as intellectually exciting and as nourishing for their whole selves as this.”

“Her recognition as the 2026 NIRSA Honor Award Recipient reflects the sustained and meaningful impact she has had on LSU students and on the role of University Recreation in our campus community,” adds Dr. Blanchard.

At the core of Laurie’s campus contributions is a spirit of servant-leadership. She is authentic, courageous, and deeply committed to the growth of students, emerging leaders, and colleagues. From the staff training programs she facilitated at Texas Tech to her involvement with Disability Awareness Week at UT-Brownsville or to serving as a Move-in Day volunteer at Louisiana State University, Laurie has earned a reputation of showing up for her community.

A professional home in NIRSA

For 35 years, Laurie has been an active professional member of NIRSA. She will attest that her career grew hand-in-hand with her NIRSA volunteer leadership experiences. 

She’s been a regular presenter at NIRSA Conferences for decades and presented influential sessions at other industry conferences like AB Show, MIRSA, and the ERSL Conference to name just a few. And Laurie has advanced professional learning through presentations, teaching, and publications, inspiring others to lead with integrity and purpose. Her presentations at association events covered topics that are important, relevant, and influential.

Laurie has served on dozens of Association committees, work teams, task forces, commissions, and ad hoc work groups that have done monumental work to raise the profile of campus recreation. She served in the presidential track on the NIRSA Board of Directors from 2012-2015, culminating in her term as NIRSA President in 2015, and she has since served as Past President’s Representative on several leadership groups. 

She’s been the beneficiary of a NIRSA Foundation Scholarship as well as a longtime NIRSA Foundation donor from its early days. And her contributions have previously been celebrated through two separate NIRSA Outstanding Service Awards, the Region IV Award of Merit, and the NIRSA Foundation Leadership Award, among other accolades.

Fierce authenticity

But as much as she will tell you that NIRSA has been a professional home to her throughout her career, she can also share that sense of belonging hasn’t always been friction free or come without the cost of exposing a vulnerability or taking professional risks. 

“Laurie has continuously modeled—and challenged—the Association’s values of equity and community,” says Drake Belt, Associate Director, Facility and Safety Operations at the University of Arizona. “She has never shied away from being brave when it matters most…her courage has inspired countless professionals and students alike, and her legacy is evident in the more inclusive culture we see across our profession today,” adds Mary O’Mahoney, Executive Director, Well-being & Recreation at Illinois State University.

Her steadfast commitment to meaningful participation for all played no small part in one of the favorite traditions for the current generation of NIRSA Conference attendees: NIRSA’s LGBTQ & Allies Social. 

Laurie was still in her first-year as a professional when she attended the 1992 NIRSA Conference in Reno, NV, genesis of the first “Region 7” networking social. 

While this event has become a touchstone gathering for so many, its start and formative years were effectively germinated underground. And the fact that Laurie describes herself then as being “not flamboyant,” but “an openly out, gay woman,” should not belie the reality that many fellow professionals didn’t feel welcomed or in some cases even safe at officially programmed conference socials. It’s impossible to know how many gained heart from Laurie’s authenticity and took strength to persist in an environment where prevailing attitudes towards the gay and lesbian community mostly ranged between aloof and antagonistic. 

“Laurie’s actions always speak louder than words…her contributions will continue to impact countless students and professionals,” says Michael “Mick” Deluca, Associate Vice Chancellor, Campus Life at UCLA, Past President of NIRSA, and NIRSA Honor Award recipient. She’s been a lifelong advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusion, particularly for LGBTQ+ members of the profession. In 2010, Laurie founded the Frederick R. Braden Scholarship for Social Justice in Recreational Sports, providing opportunities and support for students and professionals from underrepresented communities. 

“Laurie’s contributions have been transformative… her greatest gift might be how she has influenced, mentored, and supported students and staff,” says Stan L. Shingles, retired Emeritus Assistant Vice President at Central Michigan University, Past President of NIRSA, and NIRSA Honor Award recipient. 

A legacy of service and heart

Laurie’s lasting impact on the institutions she has worked for, the individuals whose careers she has helped shape, and upon the diverse NIRSA community crystallized for the Honor Award Committee her selection. I can say that in my role as chair of the NIRSA Honor Award Committee, I had the unique privilege of reviewing with others the profound, generous, and incredibly valuable contributions Laurie Braden has made to NIRSA, and for each criterion examined by the committee, Laurie has hit a “home-run” in her career…maybe even a grand-slam!  

Beyond the contributions that can be conveyed through pen and paper, I have known Laurie for many years and can speak first-hand to her heart, passion, courage, keen inner compass, and commitment to doing the right thing for others, no matter the headwind. Laurie and I enjoy the unique distinction of serving as NIRSA’s first back-to-back women to serve as Association Presidents (2014 & 2015): It was still a time of big change and growing pains with NIRSA’s new governance structure. Laurie was the perfect leader to not just continue to “build the house” but to “create a home” for everyone, literally and figuratively.  

She’s been instrumental in cementing a new rhythm and heartbeat into NIRSA’s culture.  Laurie’s humanity, dignity, and honesty are a north star, and I will forever be grateful for her courageous and steady presence as a leader of our LGBTQ+ family…even transforming the lives for our allies to stand taller. BRAVO my dear friend and colleague for your indelible mark on our profession!

Félicitations

I invite all NIRSA members to join me in congratulating Laurie in person on Friday, April 10, at 8:30am in National Harbor or through email or social media channels like Linked-In, Facebook, or Instagram.