LEC’s new AD discusses goals, path to Painesville

Kelley Kish, the new Director of Athletics at Lake Erie College, came to Painesville from Gainesville, Fla., with stops in Indianapolis and Fort Lauderdale along the way.

Born and raised in Gainesville, the home of the University of Florida, Kish is a Gator through and through. After earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees at UF, she began her professional career there in 2001 as coordinator of volleyball operations.

The 41-year-old Kish came to LEC from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, where she’d been associate director of athletics and senior woman administrator. Her professional credits include two years at University of Indianapolis, also as assistant director of athletics and senior woman administrator.

LEC, Nova Southeastern and Indianapolis are NCAA Division II programs.

As an administrator, she has served on rules and tournament committees for men’s and women’s basketball, women’s volleyball and soccer as well as , men’s and women’s cross country and track and field.

Kish is active in a range initiatives geared to creating opportunities for women as college sports administrators. They include the NCAA Pathway Program, the Women Leaders in College Sports’ Executive Institute and NCAA and Division II Athletic Directors Association Women and Minorities Mentoring Program.

She is a member of the National Association of Collegiate Director of Athletics and National Associate for Athletic Compliance Division II and Convention committees.

Kish was two days on the job at LEC when she sat for this interview at halftime of the men’s basketball game between the Storm and Point Park (Pa.) University. QUESTION » How much Gator gear is making the move from Gainesville to Painesville? ANSWER » (Laugh) A good amount, maybe one full suitcase. Q» Share your initial impressions of LEC and Painesville. A» I’m loving the campus and the people I’m fortunate enough to work with. It’s a place I can figure out, a town that centers around a university. Yes, there is a different scale between this school and the University of Florida. But being centered in higher education, in a place where that’s our calling, I love it. That’s what I grew up with.

On the campus here, I loved seeing the fall colors. We just didn’t have that where I lived previously. This is a place where you can tell students get the care from faculty and staff who know them and want to help them be successful. Students get a handson, liberal arts education. I loved walking around the campus, seeing events going on with athletes taking part as members of the student body. I knew it was a place I wanted to be. Q» With the understanding you just had your first day on the job, does the reality of being an athletic director of a college program measure up to the expectations you had before getting hired? A» The only thing I really cared about, having worked at Division I and Division II schools, I knew as an administrator over a full program I wanted to be Division II. I believed I could thrive in a place where student-athletes are given opportunities to succeed. Q» Did you find this job or did it find you? A» I’d say it was a combination. I was looking for a Division II job. Football was important to me. You don’t grow up in Gainesville, in the heart of SEC country, and not have football be a big part of your development and growth. Q» Speaking of football, the LEC football program has struggled mightily the last two seasons. This season, under first-year head coach Gerald Hazzard, the Storm finished 2-8. Your read on the football program and where it is headed? A» I believe in the program and Coach Hazzard. In the short time we’ve worked together, I like the direction we’re going in and the culture we’re going to build. He’ll have the support of the administration in building the program in the right way. That’s true of all of our coaches and programs. There’s a process of getting the right students in the right place in recruiting and all the other pieces coming together. Q» Is there still doubt in some quarters about women running college athletic programs that include football? A» In all 17 of our programs at Lake Erie College, the keys are developing relationships and putting student-athletes and coaches in positions to be successful. I grew up with football. There are models out there for football succeeding with a female athletic director. It all comes down to belief in the staff, and the students, then watching the elements come together on the field and off. That formula transcends any sport and institution. Q» Are you ready for that first Northeast Ohio winter? A» I worked two years in Indianapolis, so this won’t be my first winter (smile). But it will be my first lakeeffect snow. I busted back out the wardrobe from my Indy days.

Kish