W
est Virginia’s Keli Cunningham thinks the compliance officers get a bit of a bad rap in collegiate athletic departments. To her, they’re much more than internal affairs officers whose job it is to keep everyone on the straight and narrow of NCAA rules.
Keli Cunningham
WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY,
DEPUTY ATHLETIC DIRECTOR
“People don’t realize that you really gain a good understanding of the inner workings of an athletic department,” said Cunningham, who has followed the compliance track to her current job as deputy athletic director for the Mountaineers. “You’re more connected than a lot of people know. It’s not just about NCAA rules. You really have to understand how an athletic department works and how it’s connected.”
Cunningham has progressed from compliance jobs at Maryland and at West Virginia, her alma mater, to the No. 2 position with the Mountaineers, where she works with AD Shane Lyons. Cunningham was WVU’s interim AD following Oliver Luck’s departure from West Virginia before Lyons was hired in early 2015.
She touches every aspect of athletics and has been especially involved in the past year with construction projects at the school’s football and basketball venues.
In both her interim and now deputy role, Cunningham has been able to solidify her desire to one day be an AD.
“Keli’s focus has always been on doing what is right for the student athletes,” said Debbie Yow, AD at North Carolina State and Cunningham’s former boss at Maryland. “It is her core value. She’s also smart, collegial and has a terrific work ethic … and that will serve her well one day as an AD.”
— Michael Smith
