National Athletic Directors Conference & Exhibit Show 2026

Major event for athletic directors and administrators, featuring exhibits and professional development sessions.

National Athletic Directors Conference 2026

The National Athletic Directors Conference 2026 runs 11–15 December 2026 at Phoenix Convention Center, Phoenix, Arizona.

What it is

This is the 57th National Athletic Directors Conference & Exhibit Show (NADC), jointly sponsored by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) and the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA). It is a professional development conference for current and retired interscholastic athletic directors, combined with an exhibit show. The organisers describe it as the only conference and show exclusive to the interscholastic athletics market.

Programme

The schedule runs over five days:

• Workshops: six workshop sessions from Saturday to Tuesday, on topics such as Title IX, game-day risk management, coaching culture, mental health emergency action plans and practical uses of AI in athletic administration.
• LTI courses: five blocks of NIAAA LTI course sessions.
• "Talking and Trading" and "Give & Take": peer forums, the latter focused on AI.
• General sessions: an Opening General Session with scholarship awards, and a Closing General Session with performance psychologist Dr. Kevin Elko. Speaker Christine Cashen headlines the opening reception.
• NIAAA business: committee meetings, the Delegate Assembly, the Hall of Fame Banquet on Monday evening and the NIAAA Annual Meeting.
• Certification: a CAA & CIAA test study session and the CAA/CIAA exam on Tuesday.
• Sports Law Year-in-Review on the final day.

The exhibit show

The organisers cite more than 400 vendors. The exhibit hall opens on Sunday 13 December and again on Monday morning, with a passport program, door-prize drawings and an exhibit-show reception. Exhibitors are companies selling products and services to high school athletic departments, and the organisers pitch the hall to them as access to the people who make departments' purchasing decisions.

Planning notes

Family members of registered athletic administrators need a guest registration to enter any part of the conference; it covers the welcome reception, a guest breakfast, the exhibit hall and the general sessions. The conference moves each year: it is scheduled for the Kansas City Convention Center on 10–14 December 2027.