MURRAY, Ky. — Murray State University named Kevin Saal its ninth director of athletics at a news conference Friday, March 1 at the Murray Room of the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky.
Coming to Murray State after 12 years at the University of Kentucky, Saal brings a wealth of experience in both internal and external affairs to the Racer athletics program.
Dr. Bob Jackson, Murray State President, introduced Saal in front of a large crowd of Murray State supporters and staff.
“We are very excited about Kevin, Jennifer and their sons joining our Racer Family,” Jackson said. “Kevin has a wealth of experience, is a seasoned athletics administrator and has the necessary integrity, vision, passion and enthusiasm to assist us in taking Racer Athletics to a new, higher level. Most importantly, he understands the needs of our student-athletes, the long and successful history of our athletics programs, the importance of our fans, alumni and supporters and the need to be highly visible in our region and state as we advance Murray State University.”
Murray State is gaining an experienced leader at the senior and executive levels and one that managed similar annual resources. More importantly, the Racers are getting a leader that is a well-rounded professional and wants to be part of the Murray State family.
“My family and I are tremendously honored and blessed to be a part of the Racer Family,” Saal said. “I would like to thank President Jackson, the Board of Regents and search committee for their trust and confidence. Murray State is a special place with a long history and tradition of success. I look forward to supporting our student-athletes and coaches, connecting with our constituents, working with a great team of colleagues and supporters and advancing each one of our programs.”
In 2007, Saal joined the athletics staff at UK and enjoyed a working atmosphere that allowed for tremendous personal and professional growth under Director of Athletics Mitch Barnhart. Saal showed solid leadership in the areas of sports administration, capital projects and facilities construction, budget and human resources management and championships administration.
Saal brings a tremendous work ethic and knowledge of key areas in college athletics to Murray State, including personnel development and supervision. At UK, he was responsible for a similar size staff as he’ll have at Murray State.
Saal excelled in developing relationships with donors at Kentucky. As a member of Mitch Barnhart’s executive team, Saal played a significant role in the friend-raising and fundraising process, including Athletics’ ongoing $500M commitment to the University of Kentucky’s $2.1B “Kentucky Can” capital campaign. He also assisted in hosting 100 external events at the university that led to $350,000 in new revenue.
Since 2013, Saal was heavily involved in unprecedented facilities growth as one of the leaders for the design and construction or renovation of eight UK athletics venues, including a $135M project to renovate Kroger Field for football and a $49M construction project to build Kentucky Proud Park for baseball. In total, Saal has served in various roles in the design and construction process for approximately $250M in new athletic facilities.
Saal had oversight of the Kentucky men’s soccer program (since 2010) and the baseball program (since 2013). After a nine-year NCAA drought, the soccer team has participated in five of the last seven NCAA Tournaments. Additionally, in 2017, UK baseball won its first NCAA regional title and made a first NCAA Super-Regional appearance in program history. His efforts for soccer and baseball included managing budgets, maintaining NCAA compliance, roster and academic performance and contract negotiations.
In the area of championships administration, Saal led a department that hosted 50 championship events for the Southeastern Conference and NCAA. While at Kentucky, he led the effort to host Kentucky High School Athletic Association championships, which resulted in the football championships being hosted at UK for the first time since 1976. He also supported Mitch Barnhart’s role on the NCAA men’s basketball selection committee.
Saal’s academic career began at the University of Arkansas (1995-96) as a swimming and diving student-athlete who majored in psychology. When the program was discontinued, he transferred and competed at Texas Christian University where he earned his B.S. in psychology in 1999. Saal earned a M.S. in athletics administration at the University of Kansas in 2000.
Prior to his long association at Kentucky, Saal served at Kansas State (2000-05) where he was event coordinator and had administrative responsibilities supporting men’s and women’s golf and rowing. From 2005-07, he was director of operations at the University of Missouri-Kansas City before arriving at the University of Kentucky in 2007.