Director of Athletics, Randale L. Richmond has announced administrative staff additions and a series of promotions. These changes were a part of the next phase of departmental review to enhance the student-athlete experience and create strong alignment with the department’s mission and guiding principle.
“Our mission continues to be to graduate student-athletes, boldly prepared for life after sport and win championships. In this second phase of our strategic plan, we had a great opportunity to celebrate and reward the great work already being done at Kent State. This new alignment will assist us in being more effective and inspiring as we deliver a true first-class, division-I experience to our student-athletes and fans.”
Promotions
David Rush has been promoted to Associate Athletic Director, Facilities and Operations. With this promotion, David will have full oversight of the development of policies and procedures for our athletics facilities and event operations as well as the coordination of the budget for maintenance of eight unique locations of our athletics facilities. In addition, David serves on the athletics Leadership Team.
Phil Tizio has been promoted to Associate Athletic Director, Compliance. In this role, Phil is responsible for day-to-day oversight of the athletic compliance in the development, management, implementation and monitoring of all systems designed to ensure compliance with NCAA, Mid-American Conference and Athletic Department rules and regulations. He will also have responsibilities with Title IX and serves on the athletics Leadership Team.
Dan Griffin has been promoted to Assistant Athletic Director, Athletic Communications. With this promotion, Dan will provide visionary leadership for the athletics communication staff, while serving as the media contact for the department as well as the baseball, football, and wrestling programs. This role will be critical to sharing the KSU Athletics story and providing fans with exceptional new media content.
Jake Olson has been promoted to Assistant Athletic Director, Football Operations. In this elevated role, Jake has taken on increased administrative responsibilities within the department related to external operations along with providing leadership with all administrative aspects with the football program.
Cliff Ragin has been promoted to Assistant Athletic Director, Equipment Services. In this role, Cliff will serve as head equipment manager for the football program and provide leadership to the comprehensive equipment services program for KSU’s nineteen programs.
Jon Wilson has been promoted to Assistant Athletic Director, Business and Finance. In this elevated role, Jon will serve as the Chief Financial Officer embedded in athletics and charged with the maintenance and projections for all department fiscal matters. Jon will also be adding additional administrator duties and serves on the athletics Leadership Team.
Alisha Ellis has been promoted to Assistant Director, Academic Services. In this new role, Alisha will serve as the athletics academic advisor for Football, Volleyball and Wrestling along with assuming additional administrative duties.
Jay Fiorello has been promoted to Associate Director, Athletic Communications. Jay now serves as the primary point of contact for Women’s Basketball, Volleyball, Softball and Men’s & Women’s Track & Field. In addition, he will provide leadership for KSU athletics historical sport statistics and support the athletics Hall of Fame Committee.
Nick Kane has been promoted to Associate Director, Athletic Creative Services. In this role, Nick will lead and produce new digital media for Kent State Athletics with an emphasis on creative storytelling and brand enhancement.
Chelsea Perry has been promoted to Associate Director, Academic Services. In addition to her current team case load, Chelsea will provide leadership with the NCAA’s Academic Performance Program data collection as serve as the lead for the textbook scholarship program.
New Administrative Staff Additions
Stanley Frazier joined the Golden Flashes in July 2022 as the Assistant Athletic Director, Marketing and Fan Engagement. In this role, Stanley will provide leadership for the comprehensive marketing and fan engagement efforts. A two-time graduate of Wright State, Frazier returns to the Buckeye State. He has over eight years of marketing experience and comes to Kent State from the University of New Mexico where he served as the Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing and Revenue Generation since 2019. He had direct marketing oversight of football and men's basketball with the Lobos, leading all in-game promotions and sponsor activations as well as all community outreach and marketing. He also helped oversee ticket sales and promotion for season tickets, leading to an increase from 2019 to 2021. Additionally, Frazier served as the Department's liaison to the student-spirit organization, ASUNM, leading to an 80 percent increase in attendance at men's basketball games.
Jim Kaufman joined the Golden Flashes in June 2022 as the Assistant Athletic Director, Compliance & Eligibility. In this role, Jim will coordinate all initial and continuing eligibility processes and assist with KSU’s comprehensive NCAA compliance program. Jim most recently served as the Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance at Charleston Southern University where he served as the department’s senior compliance administrator and was responsible for leadership of the compliance efforts, reporting, and served as the primary liaison to many campus units. A native of Pennsylvania, Jim also had stints at Urbana University and Thiel College in athletics compliance.
This organizational realignment supports the Kent State Play as One Strategic Plan that was unveiled in the fall of 2021. The plan also aligns with the department's vision to be a nationally recognized comprehensive athletics program that inspires communities and transforms lives.
For more information, go to kentstatesports.com.