Collegiate Sports Associates Assists St. Johns with Director of Athletics Search

October 28, 2024 – Raleigh, NC-based Collegiate Sports Associates recently assisted in the recruitment of alumnus Ed Kull as the eighth vice president and director of athletics for St. John’s University. “Ed Kull has demonstrated a commitment to excellence on and off the field of competition,” said Rev. Brian J. Shanley, president of St. John’s University. “This is an important hire at a critical time in the shifting landscape of college athletics, and I am pleased to have Ed rejoin our team.”

“I am happy to welcome Ed back home to St. John’s,” said Joseph Oliva, senior vice president and chief operating officer. “We enjoyed a great working relationship in the past. Ed has the experience and drive to achieve athletic goals and objectives aligned with St. John’s mission and values, prioritizing the welfare of our student-athletes. His passion and love for St. John’s, together with his proven college athletic leadership, will help to transform our athletic department.”

Mr. Kull comes home to Queens following a stint as the athletic director at Fordham. Appointed as the department’s interim director in April of 2020 before taking over the full-time post in February of 2021, he took incredible steps to transform Fordham Athletics during his relatively brief tenure.

“To say this is the honor of my professional life would be an understatement,” said Mr. Kull. “As a kid from the neighborhood who got his start working as a graduate assistant in Carnesecca Arena, to be able to follow in the footsteps of Jack Kaiser as the athletic director at St. John’s is surreal. I understand the work that we have ahead of us will not be easy, but I wholeheartedly believe that we will commit every resource necessary to restore St. John’s to its natural place atop the collegiate athletic landscape.

“I’d like to thank Fordham president Tania Tetlow, the Fordham administration and the board of trustees for their support and belief in our department over the past several years,” continued Mr. Kull. “Having backing at the highest levels of a university is critical to success in athletics. It’s something that I enjoyed at Fordham and I’m excited to work with an equally enthusiastic and dedicated administration at St. John’s led by Father Shanley and Joe Oliva.”

Mr. Kull began his professional career at St. John’s in 2003 as a graduate assistant in external relations.  After rising to the position of associate athletic director for external relations, he left to oversee sports and entertainment marketing for the Glaceau and Coca-Cola companies. One of the first employees hired at Vitaminwater, he played a vital role in the company’s meteoric rise. In 2011, Mr. Kull returned to St. John’s to serve as chief of staff to the president overseeing athletics and institutional advancement before eventually rising to the role of acting vice president for athletics and institutional advancement.

St. John’s University fields 17 NCAA Division I teams in various sports while also providing intramural and club sports. The athletic director at St. John’s University oversees all aspects of the university’s NCAA Division I athletics program, including budget management, staff hiring, and compliance with NCAA regulations. This role involves strategic planning to enhance athletic performance, student-athlete development, and fan engagement, while fostering a culture of excellence both on and off the field.

Founded in 2008, Collegiate Sports Associates helps recruit talent for athletics programs at NCAA Division I universities and conferences across the U.S. The firm’s network of associates includes current and former Division I athletics directors and other senior university and conference officials, including commissioners, presidents, faculty athletics representatives, coaches, and associate athletics directors.

Collegiate Sports Associates Recruits Athletic Director for the University of Georgia 

CSA founder and president Todd Turner has over 30 years of experience in intercollegiate athletics, 21 of which were as the athletics director at four major Division I FBS/BCS institutions. By coupling Mr. Turner’s experience and thriving personal relationships throughout higher education with top-level professional consulting and search services, Collegiate Sports Associates has a reputation for delivering a unique level of service.

Today’s Athletic Directors

Athletic directors are playing an increasingly vital role at colleges and universities across the country. With the expansion of athletic departments and, for the larger schools, the infusion of big dollars for sports, more schools have turned to search firms when such positions become open. Too much is at stake, they feel, to go at it alone. What’s more, the AD job has come to demand greater business and management skills than the typical academic search.

“The AD today is the CEO of athletic operations at a college,” said John Lahey, current president at Quinnipiac University. “Thirty to 40 years ago, you were more likely to see former coaches and athletes promoted into those roles as a way of rewarding success or longevity, but now you need a business-person who is able to lead people, generate revenue and understand how the marketing and brand of athletics can impact the entire university.”

Bill Lennox, president at St. Leo University in Florida, said schools must make sure that the AD is a senior member of the entire university staff. “We moved the AD to the equivalent level of a vice president, so he sat in all of the meetings and in the decision-making process with the rest of the VPs of the university,” he said.

The modern AD position oversees finances, marketing, human resources, student-athlete wellness, media contracts, and of course overall performance – all while salaries head well into seven figures and beyond.

Related: Collegiate Sports Associates Assists Louisville with Athletic Director Search

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor  – Hunt Scanlon Media

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