The North Carolina Athletic Directors Association (NCADA) is pleased to announce the 31st Class of the NCADA Hall of Fame. We congratulate Chad Duncan and Masanori Toguchi for being selected for induction into the 2025 NCADA Hall of Fame. It is a well-deserved and great honor. They will be inducted during the NCADA Conference Banquet at the Aloft Wilmington Coastline Center in Wilmington at 6:30 pm on Sunday, March 30th. 

Induction into the NCADA Hall of Fame recognizes achievement and excellence in athletic administration. Selection to the NCADA Hall of Fame is a four-step process, including nomination, screening by the Hall of Fame Screening Committee, and rating by the NCADA Executive Committee. Finally, the NCADA Board of Directors selects the individuals to be inducted. Two outstanding athletic administrators will join the one hundred and fourteen (114) previous inductees, bringing the total number of inductees to one hundred and sixteen (116). 

Here is a closer look at this year’s honorees:  

Chad Duncan, CMAA

Chad graduated from Capital University in 1995 with a degree in Secondary Education. He started coaching in 1992 at Bloom-Carroll in Ohio and began teaching there in 1995. He then moved to Liberty Union in Ohio in 1998 as a Teacher and Head Basketball Coach. In 1999, his career brought him to Wilmington, North Carolina, where Fred Lynch welcomed him as an Assistant Basketball Coach and Golf Coach at Laney. He then moved to Ashley High School when it opened in 2001 as the Head Boys’ Basketball Coach and Boys’ Golf Coach and later as an Assistant Athletic Director under Roy Turner, who took him under his wing and showed him the actual benefits of being involved in the NCADA and always wanting to learn in 2006. In 2008, Chad left the beach for Gastonia and Ashbrook to be their Athletic Director and later Head Boys’ Basketball Coach and Golf Coach. Ashbrook won two conference cups during his six-plus years there, and he also coached a state runner-up boys basketball team while earning numerous honors as coach of the year.

Since 2015, Chad has been the Director of Athletics for Gaston County Schools. In this role, he oversees athletics, driver education, and arts programs while collaborating with various departments and supporting Principals, Athletic Directors, and Teachers.

Chad earned his CAA in 2009 and his CMAA in 2013. He has taught numerous LTI classes with the best legal teaching faculty while also taking 27 classes. He has also mentored new athletic directors in the Mentorship Program and served as the Chair. He is a former member of the NCADA Board of Directors, representing Region 6, and served as President from 2022 to 2023. Additionally, he was selected for the NCHSAA Board of Directors in 2021 until the present.

Chad’s professional accolades include being named NCADA Region 6 Athletic Director of the Year in 2016, receiving the NIAAA State Award of Merit in 2022, the President’s Award in 2023, and the Rusty Lee Professional Development Award in 2024.

This honor is a tribute to everyone who helped Chad along the way—family, friends, mentors, and colleagues who believed in and guided him. Their contributions have been invaluable, whether through advice, support, or simply being there. This includes his family, who have shown incredible support for his endeavors. He is extremely lucky to have his wife, Jodelle, and children, Sidney, Trey, and Cade, as well as his son-in-law John and grandsons, Brooks and Banks. This also includes his parents, Wayne and Pat; their spouses, Jan and Fred; his brother, Mark; and sister, Lori; and their families; supportive grandparents and in-laws. This also includes his high school coaches, coaching staffs he coached with, the ADs, Superintendents, and coworkers he has worked with in Gaston and New Hanover County, the NCADA, and all of the fantastic ADs he has worked with around the state, the NCHSAA with Que Tucker and her staff, Joe Miller, and all of the friends his family has made along the way.

Masanori Toguchi Jr., CMAA

Masanori graduated from Wake Forest University in 2002 with a degree in Sociology with a minor in History. He earned his master’s in School Executive Leadership from Queens University in 2016.

Masanori began his career in education at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and Harding University High School as a special education teacher. At Harding, he coached both wrestling and football. In 2007, he became the Athletic Director at West Charlotte High School and, at that time, joined the NCADA. In 2010, he opened Hough High School in Cornelius, NC as the school’s first Athletic Director. He built a top-notch athletics program at Hough for 11 years. During his time at Hough, his involvement with the NCADA and athletics at the national level began to grow. Masanori earned his CAA in 2009 and his CMAA in 2018. In 2012, he started giving of his time and talents by becoming a part of the teaching faculty for the NCADA. With his time in the NCADA, Masanori served in many roles, including being the Region 6 representative in 2014. In 2017, he became the secretary of the NCADA and served two consecutive terms as the President of the NCADA in 2019 and 2020. He extended his leadership beyond the NCADA by becoming a board member of the NCHSAA in 2018 and served in that role for 3 years.

He joined the NIAAA in 2007 and, during his time, has taken 31 NIAAA Leadership Training courses and completed two NIAAA University Cohorts in Executive Leadership and Mentoring. In his first role at the national level, Masanori served as an NC delegate and has been a delegate 6 times. In 2018, he served on the 5th Strategic Planning Committee. He became a member of the certification committee in 2020. From there, he continued his involvement at the national level by becoming the Vice Chair of the certification committee in 2022. He has presented at the NIAAA conference for the past four years on evaluating coaches and has also presented the certification workshop. His article “What’s in the Letters of Certification?” was recently published in the Interscholastic Athletic Administration Magazine Winter 2024 edition.

Masanori has been recognized for his efforts in athletic administration at both the state and national levels by earning numerous awards, including the NCADA Region 6 Athletic Director of the Year Award, the NCADA President’s Award, the NCADA Leadership of Merit Award, and the Rusty Lee Professional Development Award. He has been recognized by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association by receiving the NCHSAA Charlie Adams Distinguished Service Award and the NCHSAA Dave Harris Athletic Director of the Year Award. At the national level, he has received the NIAAA Distinguished Service Award for North Carolina and the NIAAA State Award of Merit.

Masanori has been the Director of Athletics at Charlotte Country Day School for four years. He lives in Mount Holly, North Carolina, with his wife, Sharon, and their two daughters, Mia and Laila. 

NCADA Hall of Fame Banquet Information 

A special video presentation produced by Kohan Content will introduce each new inductee, who will receive a commemorative NCADA Hall of Fame ring and display case from Herff Jones in honor of the induction. The NCADA Hall of Fame is the highest honor bestowed upon an individual. We encourage former players, coaches, colleagues, and friends to share lasting memories. Please plan to join us in Wilmington as we celebrate the lifetime of achievement and the impact these individuals have had on our profession and their communities. 

If you would like to attend the NCADA Banquet on Monday, 3/30/25, at 6:30 pm, please visit the NCADA Website for more information and purchase tickets.