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 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.