Randale L. Richmond
Randale L. Richmond was formally introduced as the 12th Athletic Director at Kent State University on April 9, 2021. He began his tenure as Athletic Director on May 1, 2021.
This is Richmond’s second stint at Kent State University. He previously spent 10 years with the Golden Flashes working in Student-Athlete Academic Services and Compliance. Richmond started as a graduate assistant before serving as an Assistant Director of Compliance starting in 2006. He was elevated to the Assistant Athletic Director of Compliance in 2010, then promoted to Associate Athletic Director of Student-Athlete Academic Services & Compliance in 2012. Richmond served in that role until 2015 when he was hired by Old Dominion University.
Richmond arrived at Old Dominion University in February of 2015 as the Sr. Associate Athletic Director for Sport Administration and Student-Athlete Welfare. In that role, he was responsible for the leadership, oversight, and supervision related to Student-Athlete Academic Services, Leadership Development, and NCAA Compliance. He also served as the Sport Administrator for the men’s basketball, field hockey, baseball, men’s soccer and men’s and women’s swimming programs. During his oversight of those sports, he had a direct impact in fundraising and program enhancement, raising over $1.5 million dollars and increasing the men’s soccer’s fundraising efforts over 500%. In addition, Richmond served on a number of campus committees, including the Brother 2 Brother Steering Committee and the President’s Task Force on Inclusive Excellence where he served as the co-chair. He took the lead on developing and enhancing numerous programs at Old Dominion including the revamping of the Monarch’s Competitive Excellence Plan and the implementation of a Sport Administration Executive Summary, which is designed to track each sport’s success in terms of the goals set in the Old Dominion strategic plan. He also started the New Employee Welcome Plan which helps new employees experience early success and provides connections with current employees.
Richmond served on the LEAD1 Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Working Group and is a current member of the National Association for Athletic Compliance (NAAC) Thought Leaders Group and co-chairs the NAAC Convention Committee. He has participated in the Collegiate Athletics Leadership Symposium, the D1A Athletics Director’s Institute, and the NAAC ACE Mentoring Program. He is also a graduate of the NCAA Leadership Institute where he was selected as the graduation speaker for the 2015 class. In 2014, Richmond was named to the Crain’s Cleveland Business list of ‘Who to Watch in Education’ and Kaleidoscope Magazine’s ‘40 Under 40 Club’ in 2013.
The Akron, Ohio, native received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Baldwin-Wallace College in 2004 with a major in history and a minor in sociology. He then earned his Master of Education degree from Kent State in 2006. Randale and his wife, Ja’Alycia, have two sons, Ramahn and Ramar, and one daughter, Jayla.
