Pavan Recognized by High School Alma Mater with Hall of Fame Selection

LEBANON, Tenn.--Cumberland University Vice President of Athletics and Vice President for Facilities and Service Ron Pavan will be inducted into the Chartiers-Houston School District Hall of Honor this September, recognizing a distinguished career spanning more than four decades in collegiate athletics administration.

Pavan is one of 10 individual inductees, along with the 1982 Chartiers-Houston Wrestling Team, who will be honored during a ceremony prior to the high school football game on Friday, September 11, at approximately 6:30 p.m. in Houston, Pennsylvania. A Hall of Honor dinner and celebration will follow on Saturday, September 12, at the DoubleTree on Racetrack Road.

Pavan is being inducted in the area of Athletics after building a career that has left a lasting impact on multiple institutions and countless student-athletes.

Now completing his 18th year as Vice President of Athletics at Cumberland University and his 41st year in collegiate athletics overall, Pavan has guided Cumberland through one of the most successful eras in school history. Since arriving in 2008, he has overseen the addition of 15 sports programs, expanded the athletic administration staff, enhanced student-athlete support services, and led numerous facility improvement projects across campus.

Under his leadership, Cumberland Athletics has captured 60 conference regular-season and tournament championships, produced 147 individual conference champions, won two team national championships, and claimed 19 individual national titles. The department has also maintained a departmental grade-point average above 3.0 for seven consecutive years while earning NAIA Five-Star Champions of Character recognition in six of the last seven academic years.

Pavan has spearheaded facility upgrades and fundraising for the athletic department. His leadership has helped deliver renovations and upgrades across campus, including a new weight room, athletic training facilities, tennis court improvements, softball and baseball enhancements, videoboards at football and basketball, turf projects at baseball and softball, continued efforts to modernize football facilities, and many more.

Prior to Cumberland, Pavan spent 14 years at Ohio Valley University, where he added seven varsity sports, established a booster club, and helped transition the institution from the NAIA to NCAA Division II. He also served nine years at Northeastern Christian Junior College in Villanova, Pennsylvania, coaching men's soccer, women's basketball, and softball while serving in several administrative and academic roles.

His contributions to collegiate athletics have earned numerous honors throughout his career. Ohio Valley University established the Ron Pavan Athletic Award in 2008, while Pavan was inducted into the Ohio Valley University Hall of Fame and named Wilson County Sports Person of the Year in 2016. He has also been selected as Mid-South Conference Athletic Director of the Year three times, receiving the award in 2017-18, 2019-20, and 2022-23. Most recently, Pavan was named the 2026 NACDA AD of the Year.

Pavan will be honored this upcoming week in Las Vegas by NACDA and this coming fall will enter his high school's Hall of Honor.

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