David Frazier, Rutherford athletic director to receive NFHS national honor

by | Dec 3, 2025

N.J. athletic director to receive national honor at Florida conference

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David Frazier, Rutherford AD
Rutherford athletic director David Frazier was appointed to a four-year team with the NFHS.

David Frazier, the longtime athletic director at Rutherford High School, will receive an NFHS Citation on Dec. 14 during a ceremony in Tampa, FL.

The award will be presented at the 56th National Athletic Directors Conference, which is sponsored jointly by the NFHS and the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association. Frazier is one of eight high school athletic directors nationwide selected for the honor.

The citations are presented each year to outstanding athletic directors in recognition of contributions to interscholastic athletics at the local, state and national levels. State associations nominate candidates, and the NFHS Board of Directors approves recipients.

“It’s an honor to be recognized by the NFHS,” Frazier said. “The work they do for the students in this country in sports and performing arts is second to none. It was an honor and privilege to serve on their board of directors for four years.

“To be recognized as a recipient of an NFHS Citation award is to me an extreme honor, and I’m humbled by it.”

Frazier has spent nearly 25 years leading the Rutherford athletic department while also working as a coach and teacher at the school. During his tenure, Rutherford has added varsity programs for boys and girls lacrosse, a dance team, and established a Captains Council.

The school has earned the state’s sportsmanship award five times under his leadership.

High School Softball: Rutherford vs. Bernards in the North 2, Group 2 Final on June 1, 2024
Rutherford Athletic Director David Frazier (right) delivers the hardware after his team defeated Bernards in the North 2, Group 2 high school softball sectional final on Saturday in Bernardsville. The Bulldogs bit the Mountaineers 2-0 to claim the trophy. 06/01/2024 Steve Hockstein | For NJ Advance MediaSteve Hockstein | For NJ Advance

He consistently ranks in the top 10 of NJ.com’s “Top Power Players in New Jersey High School Sports.”

Frazier has served as the president of the New Jersey Interscholastic Conference since 2010 and has been the conference’s swim chair for the same period.

His involvement with the NJSIAA includes serving on its Executive Committee from 2007-14, including a term as NJSIAA president in 2012-13. He currently chairs the NJSIAA Advisory Committee and serves on the NJSIAA Controversies Committee.

Frazier is president-elect of the Directors of Athletics Association of New Jersey and will assume the presidency next year. He previously served as the organization’s treasurer from 2023-24 and secretary from 2021-22. He currently chairs the DAANJ Sectional Award of Merit Selection Committee and serves on the Athletic Director of the Year Selection Committee and Strategic Plan Committee.

As a 23-year member of the NIAAA, Frazier has taught Leadership Training Courses 503 and 506 and completed 16 courses himself, earning his CMAA designation in 2019. He served as an at-large member on the NFHS board of directors from 2020 to ’24.

Frazier previously received the NIAAA Bruce D. Whitehead Distinguished Service Award in 2023 and the DAANJ Bob Hopek Professional Development Award in 2020.

“I hope that this award makes the athletes I serve, the coaches I work with in the borough of Rutherford, the Rutherford school system and most importantly my family and loved ones proud,” Frazier added.

Generative AI was used to draft this story, based on data provided by the NFHS. It was reviewed and edited by NJ.com.