Pierce Named Deputy AD for Administration/Chief of Staff
ACC Sr. Associate Commissioner/Senior Woman Administrator to fill new role on Vice President of Athletics Michael Kelly’s staff
TAMPA, JULY 27, 2021 – Vice President of Athletics Michael Kelly has named Kris Pierce to the newly created role of Deputy AD for Administration/Chief of Staff in USF Athletics.
Pierce, who has served at the Atlantic Coast Conference since 2003, will have primary responsibilities directing the day-to-day operations of the athletic department and providing leadership to sport administrators and other key internal departments.
“I am thrilled to welcome Kris Pierce to our USF Athletics family in this important role,” Kelly said. “She brings a unique blend of sports administration, project management and event management expertise that will serve our department well. Kris always focuses on putting the student-athlete experience first, and is a consummate team player who has earned the respect of coaches and administrators all over the country with her hard work over the past two decades.”
Starting as an assistant in the football department at the ACC in 2003, Pierce continually elevated her role at the conference office over nearly two decades, culminating with her assuming the role of Sr. Associate Commissioner/Senior Woman Administrator in 2013.
In her capacity at the ACC, she served as a member of the commissioner’s senior staff with oversight of all 24 Olympic sports and championships the conference administers. Pierce served as a conference staff liaison to numerous committees and service groups among ACC member institutions, including the conference’s Senior Woman Administrators, governance oversight team, all Olympic sports committees, the Medical Advisory Group, Sportsmanship and Infractions Committee, Head Athletic Trainers Service Group and Game Operations Directors Service Group.
At the ACC, she oversaw all of the conference office’s Olympic sports budgets, schedules, the implementation of all Olympic sports television contracts, championship facilities and host site agreements, ball agreements, officiating staffs and supervisors of officials. She also handled the day-to-day administration of baseball and women’s soccer.
Pierce served as a member of the NCAA Division 1 Competition Oversight Committee from January 2018 through June of 2021, and was honored in 2017 as the “Administrator of the Year” by Women Leaders in College Sports.
A native of Goldston, North Carolina, Pierce received her Bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications from the University of North Carolina in 2003, where she was a member of the prestigious Order of the Golden Fleece. She earned a Master’s degree in sports administration from Ohio University in 2013.
Pierce and her husband, Ben, have two daughters, Emerson and Ellington.
About USF Athletics
USF Athletics sponsors 19 varsity men’s and women’s teams that compete in 11 different sports, 18 at the NCAA Division I level in the American Athletic Conference. The Bulls’ athletic program began in 1965 and completed its 55th season in 2020-21. Nearly 450 student-athletes train and compete in the athletic district located on the east end of the campus in Tampa, Fla. The Bulls have claimed 25 American Athletic Conference team titles since joining the conference in 2013, including six trophies in 2020-21, and own 129 conference titles in department history. The Bulls posted a combined annual grade-point average over 3.0 for the sixth straight year in 2020-21 and have posted a program-record 13 straight semesters with a combined GPA over 3.0. USF has had nearly 450 student-athletes earn their degree since 2016-17.
Follow USF Athletics on Twitter (@USFAthletics) and Facebook for all the latest information concerning the USF Athletic program.
– #GoBulls –
