Union, N.J. (7/7/25) – Kean University has announced the elevation of Kelly Williams to Vice President of Athletics and Recreation.
Williams has been at Kean since the summer of 2020, serving as Director of Athletics and Recreation.
During the past five years, he has led groundbreaking initiatives including: ONNJ media partnership; Opendorse NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) partnership; mental health programming; revenue generation efforts; and transformative upgrades to the athletic training facilities. In addition, he has led the athletics department through tremendous growth with the addition of 10 sports during the same time period (eSports, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s outdoor track and field, men’s and women’s wrestling and women’s flag football).
The multi-phase deal with ONNJ includes Kean Athletics as the title sponsor of On Sports with Mike Black, ads on both the On New Jersey streaming channel and MeTV, streaming of Kean Athletics contests on the On New Jersey platforms and a student-mentor partnership.
Kean’s partnership with Opendorse includes compliance, content and education, while every Kean student-athlete receives an Opendorse profile, which is customizable and able to be promoted on their personal social media platforms. Each athlete has the opportunity to review opportunities, accept deals and compensation and disclose the activity all within the Opendorse app. Kean was the first in the NJAC to partner with Opendorse.
Mental health initiatives have been at the forefront of the Kean Athletic Department since Williams was appointed as the athletic director. He began by creating a position for Student-Athlete Development that was filled by a Clinical Sport Social Worker to enhance the complete student-athlete experience. The Athlete Mental Health Link App was purchased to provide student-athletes with mental health resources and tools, including a self-assessment questionnaire, links to resources on and off campus and Kean’s mental health emergency action plan. The student-athletes also fill out a PHQ-9 and GAD-7 as part of their annual physical forms and the sports medicine staff meets with anyone with concerns prior to the start of the season to discuss resources and availability. Kean athletics has also partnered with Morgan’s Message and Hillinski’s Hope for programming opportunities and the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and the Cougar Leadership Academy Workshops (CLAWs) have had guest speakers to discuss mental health issues. In addition, all support staff and coaches will be certified in Mental Health First Aid by next summer.
Williams spearheaded the development of the annual Kean Athletics Golf Outing and a donation from Karl-Anthony Towns and his family to provide the Jacqueline Towns Women’s Empowerment Series.
Almost every athletic space has seen some form of an upgrade in the past five years: Kean Alumni Stadium, Jim Hynes Stadium and Cougar Field all received new turf surfaces; Alumni Stadium new Daktronics video board; Alumni Stadium tennis courts surface replaced; Harwood Arena padding replaced; new Harwood Arena digital scorers tables; remodel and enhancement of East Campus gymnasium (scoreboard, shot clocks, backboards, playing surface, painting); replacement of East Campus weight room equipment and designation of space for faculty and staff; complete remodel and expansion of the D’Angola Fitness Center (enlarged space, new equipment); D’Angola Pool enhancements (new starting blocks, new deck surface); D’Angola Small Gym remodel (painting, doors, surface, wall padding).
The athletic training rehabilitation facilities have also seen upgrades with recent additions: Student-Athlete Recovery Lab (recliner chairs, Normatic leg, hip and arm attachments, Hyperice Hypervolt 2 heated massage guns, Hypersphere 2 vibrating massage spheres, and Vyper 3 vibrating massage rollers); AlterG anti-gravity treadmill; VALD Performance (ForceDecks Dual Force Plate System, NordBord Hamstring Testing System, DynaMo Handheld Strength and Range of Motion Testing, SmartSpeed Timing Gate System).
Williams supported the department’s recent transition to TeamWorks (Compliance + Recruiting) and TeamWorks Sports EMR (Emergency Medical Records), software meant to enhance and simplify documents, workflows, records and communication.
Williams’ background prior to Kean includes both coaching and athletic administrative experience, most recently at The College of New Jersey.
Previously the Director of Community Relations at TCNJ, Williams spent 25 years working at TCNJ, first as the assistant director in the Office of Admissions from 1995-2008 before moving back into the athletic arena as the head men’s basketball coach (2008-2015). He later served as the Senior Associate Director of Athletics.
He enjoyed his brightest season coaching at the college in 2015. The Lions went 15-11 overall, qualified for the conference playoffs and Williams was named 2014-15 New Jersey Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. While the Director of Community Relations he served as the Co-Chairperson of Diversity Equity Empowerment Pipeline (DEEP) at TCNJ. The committee facilitates the educational, cultural, and social development of middle and high school students by organizing programs that grant opportunities and prepares them for post-secondary education.
Named the Senior Associate Director of Athletics/External Affairs in 2015, Williams oversaw game and event operations, marketing, camps and clinics, facility rentals, sports information, fundraising and managing day to day operations including teams and coaches. While serving in administrative roles, he graduated several NCAA programs including the selective 2018 NCAA Pathway Program and the NCAA Division III Institute for Administrative Advancement for Ethnic Minority Males and Females (2015). The Pathway Program is a year-long course for the top 25 emerging athletic administrators in college athletics across all divisions that prepares participants to run all facets of an athletic department.
Williams was a four-year member of the Lions men’s basketball team (1989-1993) scoring just shy of 1,000 points in his career. Shortly after graduation he served as an assistant men’s basketball coach (1995-1999) at TCNJ before embarking on a successful, nine-year tenure (1999-2008) at Mercer County Community College in his first head coaching position. There he compiled a record of 154-100 and led the Vikings to six Garden State Athletic Conference championships, three National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II Region XIX Finals appearances, which included one year that MCCC advanced to the District IX playoffs. In 2000, he was honored as the Junior College, Division II/III Coaching Staff of the Year by the New Jersey Collegiate Basketball Coaches Association.
Prior to his playing career for the Lions, Williams was a standout at Ewing High School (1,218 career points) and in 2008 was inducted into the school’s athletic hall of fame. He was also inducted into the Catholic Youth Organization (C.Y.O) Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.
Just this spring he was inducted into the Mercer County Basketball Hall of Fame, as part of the sixth induction class for both his high school and coaching career accolades.
Recently his philanthropic efforts include a donation to MCCC in honor of his parents and subsequent naming of the David and Willie Mae Williams scoreboard.
Outside of Kean, he serves as the New Jersey Athletic Conference Athletic Director At-Large member for the Board of Athletic Administrators. He also serves as the NJAC men’s basketball sport chair and is a member of both the Membership Committee and Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
Williams graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from TCNJ in 1993 and a Master of Arts in Sports Leadership from Concordia University (Chicago) in 2020.
The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) will host its 2025 Officials Conference on Friday and Saturday, July 11-12, 2025, at Normal Community West High School in Normal. The annual conference provides professional development and networking opportunities for athletic contest officials from around the state who officiate 25 IHSA sports.
The IHSA will have a community service piece to the conference once again in 2025, as the IHSA will team up with Donate Life Illinois to encourage attendees to become organ, eye, and tissue donors.
