Intercollegiate athletics has become an essential part of America's fabric and is offered at over 3000 institutions of higher education. Athletic directors are essential to successful college athletic programs, and their roles and demands have changed and have become more vital to the overall university administration. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to examine athletic directors' perceptions of the role of courage and vision in leading their departments at National Collegiate Athletic Association universities and colleges. The data for this research were collected through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Forty-two athletic directors responded to an open-ended questionnaire, and of those, 20 were selected for interviews. Nine of the 20 athletic directors interviewed were from Division I, and 11 were from Division II. Thematic analysis was performed. Data analysis generated five themes for courage and five themes for vision. The five themes for courage were (a) do the right thing, (b) decision-making, (c) risk-taking, (d) character trait/skill, and (e) personnel barriers. The five themes for vision were (a) North Star, (b) shared vision, (c) communication, (d) alignment, and (e) personnel barriers. The study findings suggested that from the perspective of athletic directors, courage and vision are essential characteristics for leading their departments. The implications of the study are also discussed. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]