KENT, OH – After an exhaustive search, Kent State University has found the man to replace Dr. Laing Kennedy as athletic director. Joel Nielsen was named the school’s 10th athletic director Thursday morning in a press conference at the Student Center on the KSU campus.
Nielsen, 47, comes to Kent State from the University of South Dakota, where he has been athletic director for the past six years and oversaw the school’s transition from Division II into Division I and the formation of the Great West Conference, as well as bringing the school next season into The Summit League.
“One of the (things) that attracted me to Kent State was that Laing Kennedy has been here and built this program up. Nielsen said. “It is going to be exciting to build upon what he has done here”
Kennedy has been athletic director at KSU since 1994 and will retire at the end of this academic year (June 30). Nielsen's deal, according to Friday's "Akron Beacon Journal," is a five-year contract with a base salary of $225,000 with incentives which are still pending. His first day will be May 15.
When asked about his impressions of Nielsen, KSU President Lester Lefton said “When I met Joel Nielsen a couple of weeks ago in my office. I had planned a 40-minute meeting. But he was there for over an hour and a half. As he walked out of my office, I said to myself ‘This is the guy. …This guy was made for Kent State”
Lefton indicated during the press conference that the university’s search committee received 70 applications, and the committee interviewed 10 to 15 people. From that group, the committee recommended six candidates to Lefton.
A native of Latimer, Iowa, Nielsen played football and baseball at Minnesota State University-Mankato. He received both his Bachelors Degree in Business Finance and a Masters Degree in Sports Administration from MSU. He was also a graduate assistant football coach with the Mavericks.
He began his career in athletic administration at Northern Illinois University in 1991, spending one year in DeKalb before moving onto Illinois State University, where he was assistant athletic director.
Nielsen left college athletics for one year to join the Hyatt Corporation as Sports Marketing Director before getting back into the collegiate realm at Wake Forest in 1993. He spent eight years with the Demon Deacons as associate athletic director in charge of administration and management of the school’s external relations.
His first job as athletic director came at Colorado College in 2001, spending two seasons with the Tigers, a school which has two Division I sports - mens hockey and women’s soccer.
From Colorado Springs, it was on to South Dakota in November, 2003. During his seven-year stint in Vermilion, he took the Coyotes from Division II into Division I. After securing membership in the Great West Football Conference in 2007, CC will join the Summit League in all sports except football in 2011.
“When I spoke to his (Nielsen’s) President at South Dakota, he said ‘I’ve been dreading this day for seven years. I know why you are calling, …and then he gave me the highest recommendation,” Lefton said.
According to Nielsen, the KSU job was made more attractive by the contributions of Kennedy. “When I talked to several of my colleagues, they said to follow Laing Kennedy would be something special. And it is very special to follow in his footsteps knowing he has put this department in a solid position,” Nielsen said.
During Kennedy’s tenure, KSU has become a power in Mid-American Conference athletics, winning numerous MAC titles and participating in NCAA championships tournaments.
One high profile sport that will continue to get attention is football, where the Flashes have posted mixed results. “We are not far away…We are going to get there quick,” Nielsen said.
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