Michael Kelly (athletic director)

Last updated
Michael Kelly
Current position
TitleAthletic Director
Team South Florida Bulls
Conference American Athletic Conference
Biographical details
Born (1970-07-20) July 20, 1970 (age 53)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Alma mater Wake Forest University
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1995-1998 Wake Forest University (Director of Athletics Facilities/Event Management)
1998-1999 Tampa Bay Final Four Organizing Committee (Executive Director)
1999-2001 Tampa Bay Super Bowl Host Committee (President)
2001-2002 University of South Florida (Associate AD)
2002-2005 Jacksonville Super Bowl Host Committee (President)
2005-2007 South Florida Super Bowl Host Committee (President)
2007-2012 Atlantic Coast Conference (Sr. Associate Commissioner)
2012-2018 College Football Playoff (Chief Operating Officer)
2018-Present [1] University of South Florida (VP/Director of Athletics)

Michael Kelly is an American college athletics administrator. He is currently the athletic director at the University of South Florida, a position he has held since 2018, as well as a member of the NCAA Division I Council since 2021. [2] Prior to becoming the AD at USF, Kelly served in many high level positions throughout college athletics, including as associate commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference and the chief operating officer for the College Football Playoff. He is the first person to serve as the president of the Super Bowl host committee for three different communities, doing so for Super Bowl XXXV in Tampa, Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville, and Super Bowl XLI in Miami. He was also the executive director for the organizing committee for the 1999 Men's Final Four, which was held in St. Petersburg. [3]

Contents

Early life and education

Kelly was born on July 20, 1970, in Washington, D.C., and attended St. John's College High School, where he is today a member of the board of trustees. [4] He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Wake Forest University to earn his bachelors degree in politics in 1992, and earned his master's in sports administration from St. Thomas University in Miami in 1994. While attending St. Thomas in 1993, Kelly served as an intern for the then-Florida Marlins during their inaugural season. [4]

Career

Kelly played an instrumental role in securing the Tampa Bay area as hosts for the 1999 Men's Final Four at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg and for Super Bowl XXXV at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. [5] He was the executive director of the 1999 Final Four Organizing Committee and president of the Super Bowl XXXV Host Committee. He would later also serve as the president of the host committees for Super Bowl XXXIX and Super Bowl XLI. [4] From 2007-2012 he served as Sr. Associate Commissioner at the Atlantic Coast Conference where he oversaw football, communications and broadcasting.

In June 2001, five months after the successful Super Bowl XXXV, Kelly was appointed as associate athletic director at the University of South Florida in Tampa. He left after one year to become the director of athletic facilities and athletic operations at his alma mater of Wake Forest. [4]

In 2006, Kelly left Wake Forest to become the senior associate commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference. While there, he oversaw football broadcasting and communications. [5]

In 2012, Kelly became the first chief operating officer of the College Football Playoff. [5]

In 2018, Kelly took the job as vice president of athletics at the University of South Florida. [3]

In addition to being the athletic director at USF, Kelly serves as vice chair of the NCAA's Championships Oversight Committee, the President's board of advisors for St. Thomas University, and the board of trustees for St. John's College High School. [4] [6]

Personal life

Kelly and his wife Lisa have two daughters. [3]

Honors

In 2006, Kelly was named to Sports Business Journal's 40 under 40 list and was presented with the St. Thomas University Distinguished Alumnus Award. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Roy Selmon</span> American football player (1954–2011)

Lee Roy Selmon was an American professional football player who was a defensive end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football as a defensive tackle at the University of Oklahoma, the youngest of three brothers to play football there.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tampa Bay area</span> Region in Florida, United States

The Tampa Bay area is a major metropolitan area surrounding Tampa Bay on the Gulf Coast of Florida in the United States. It includes the main cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater. It is the 17th-largest metropolitan area in the United States, with a population of 3,175,275 as of the 2020 U.S. Census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corey Simon</span> American football player and politician (born 1977)

Corey Jermaine Simon Sr. is an American politician and former professional football player. A member of the Republican Party, he has served as the Florida State Senator from the 3rd district since 2022. He previously played as a defensive tackle for eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL).

Judy Lynn Genshaft was President of University of South Florida from 2000 to 2019. She stepped down from the position in July 2019 after a 19-year tenure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of South Florida</span> Public university in Tampa, Florida, United States

The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF is home to 14 colleges, offering more than 240 undergraduate, graduate, specialist, and doctoral-level degree programs. USF is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. USF is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU) and is designated by the Florida Board of Governors as one of three Preeminent State Research Universities.

The South Florida Bulls football team represents the University of South Florida. The Bulls began playing in 1997 and compete in the American Athletic Conference of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The team plays its home games at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Florida Bulls</span> University of South Florida athletic team

The South Florida Bulls are the athletic teams that represent the University of South Florida. USF competes in NCAA Division I and is a member of the American Athletic Conference for all sports besides sailing, a non-NCAA sanctioned sport which competes in the South Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association within the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association. The current athletic director is Michael Kelly, who has held the job since 2018. The school colors are green and gold and the mascot is Rocky D. Bull.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War on I-4</span> Rivalry between the South Florida Bulls and UCF Knights

The War on I-4 is a college rivalry between the University of Central Florida Knights and University of South Florida Bulls. The rivalry is best known for its college football matchup which originated in a series of football games played from 2005 to 2008 and now takes place on Thanksgiving weekend, the de facto "rivalry weekend" for FBS football. In 2013, when UCF joined the American Athletic Conference, the schools began competing annually in all sports. In 2016, the schools officially adopted the "War on I-4" as an official competition series. Each year, the team with the most wins across all sports receives a gold trophy styled after an Interstate 4 (I-4) road sign with the logos of each school. The winner of the annual football game also receives a similar trophy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tampa Spartans</span> Athletic teams representing the University of Tampa, located in Tampa, Florida

The Tampa Spartans are the athletic teams that represent the University of Tampa, located in Tampa, Florida, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Spartans compete as members of the Sunshine State Conference for all sports besides beach volleyball and track and field, which compete as independents. Tampa has been a member of the conference since 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sports in the Tampa Bay area</span> Overview of sports opportunities in the Tampa Bay area

The Tampa Bay area is home to many sports teams and has a substantial history of sporting activity. Most of the region's professional sports franchises use the name "Tampa Bay", which is the name of a body of water, not of any city. This is to emphasize that they represent the wider metropolitan area and not a particular municipality and was a tradition started by Tampa's first major sports team, the original Tampa Bay Rowdies, when they were founded in 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sports in Florida</span> Overview of sports in Florida

The U.S. state of Florida has three National Football League teams, two Major League Baseball teams, two National Basketball Association teams, two National Hockey League teams, two Major League Soccer teams and 13 NCAA Division I college teams.

The South Florida Bulls men's basketball team represents the University of South Florida in NCAA Division I basketball competition, where they are currently a member of the American Athletic Conference. They are currently led by head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim, who was hired after Brian Gregory was fired following the 2022–23 season. The Bulls play their home games at the Yuengling Center on USF's campus in Tampa, Florida. USF has reached the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament 3 times in their history, with their best finish coming in 2012 when they made the round of 32.

Bulls Media is the University of South Florida Student Media Station. Previously Bulls radio was broadcast on 1620 kHz on the USF campus and was the first college station to be carried on an HD Radio sub-channel, when it occupied WMNF's HD-2 channel from July 2009-July 2014. The station also has an Internet audio stream.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Scott</span> American football player and coach (born 1980)

Jeffrey Bradford Scott is an American football coach. He was the head coach at the University of South Florida from 2020 to 2022.

Nelson Elijah Townsend was an American college athletics administrator. Townsend served seven tenures as athletic director at four different universities: the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Delaware State University (1979–1986), Florida A&M University and the University at Buffalo (1987–1998). He was the University at Buffalo's first African American athletic director. At both Delaware State and Buffalo, Townsend was responsible for leading the athletic department to achieve full NCAA Division I status, as both schools transitioned from lower levels of NCAA hierarchy. Townsend was inducted to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame in 1995 and was inducted to both the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Halls of Fame in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Florida Bulls baseball</span>

The South Florida Bulls baseball team is the intercollegiate men's baseball program representing the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida. The team competes in the American Athletic Conference of NCAA Division I. Founded in 1966, the baseball team is one of the oldest teams at the university. The Bulls have captured eleven conference titles and 14 NCAA tournament appearances. The team plays their home games on campus at USF Baseball Stadium at Red McEwen Field and are coached by Billy Mohl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dick Bowers</span>

Richard T. "Dick" Bowers was an American college athletics administrator. He was the first athletic director at the University of South Florida (USF) from 1966 to 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of South Florida Athletic Hall of Fame</span> University Hall of Fame in Tampa, FL

The University of South Florida Athletic Hall of Fame was established in 2009 to recognize and perpetuate the memory of student athletes, teams, coaches and administrators who have made demonstrably outstanding and significant contributions to the success, tradition and heritage of USF Athletics, and who demonstrate the character and values that define the highest principles of sport. Induction in the University of South Florida Athletic Hall of Fame is the highest honor afforded by the USF Athletics Department.

The University of South Florida athletic facilities are the stadiums and arenas the South Florida Bulls use for their home games and training. The University of South Florida currently sponsors 19 varsity athletic teams and has 11 facilities in the designated Athletics District on or adjacent to its Tampa campus, one on its St. Petersburg campus, and one elsewhere in Tampa. 18 of the 19 teams have some sort of facility in the USF Athletics District.

The South Florida Bulls lacrosse team will represent the University of South Florida in the sport of women's lacrosse beginning in spring 2025. They will compete in the American Athletic Conference of NCAA Division I. The Bulls will play their home games at Corbett Stadium on USF's Tampa campus, which they will share with the USF men's and women's soccer teams. It is the university's newest varsity sports team and the first new USF team since football was established in 1997. It will be the first new women's team in an NCAA sport at USF since women's soccer in 1995.

References

  1. Kelly, Michael. "Michael Kelly - Vice President/ Director of Athletics - Staff Directory". USF Athletics. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  2. "Kelly to Begin Four-Year Term on NCAA Division I Council in July". USF Athletics. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
  3. 1 2 3 "Michael Kelly Named Vice President of Athletics". USF Athletics. Archived from the original on 2021-05-26. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Michael Kelly - Vice President of Athletics - Staff Directory". USF Athletics. Archived from the original on 2021-05-26. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
  5. 1 2 3 "Meet Michael Kelly, USF's New Athletics Boss". WUSF Public Media. 2018-08-08. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
  6. "COMMITTEE SELECTION LINKS: A JSP APPLICATION". web1.ncaa.org. Retrieved 2023-02-01.