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Man who organized NCAA Final 4, Super Bowl will try to bolster image of Bulls athletics.
By ANTONYA ENGLISH
© St. Petersburg Times, published June 14, 2001
TAMPA -- The man who organized two of the area's biggest athletic events -- the NCAA Final Four and the Super Bowl -- has been chosen to revitalize the South Florida athletic department's marketing endeavors.
Michael Kelly, the former executive director for the Tampa Bay Super Bowl XXXV Task Force, was hired Wednesday as associate athletic director for business development and marketing at USF.
Kelly, who quit his job in athletic administration at Wake Forest in 1998 to become executive director for the Final Four Organizing Committee, said he's excited about getting back into college athletics.
"I feel my passion is college athletics," Kelly said Wednesday afternoon. "The Super Bowl was just such an incredible opportunity I couldn't pass up; it was good for my career and a learning process. But since it's over, it allowed me to look at other options and the opportunity became available at this institution in a place we've really come to like, so we're (he and wife Lisa) very excited."
Kelly, who received a bachelor's degree in politics from Wake Forest and a master's in sports administration from St. Thomas University, is the first hire of new USF athletic director Lee Roy Selmon.
"We are very excited to add Michael Kelly to our administrative team," Selmon said. "He has developed an outstanding reputation in our community through his involvement with the Final Four and Super Bowl XXXV. The relationships he has developed and the marketing skills he has displayed will serve the university well in our outreach efforts."
The hiring of Kelly comes one month after Carr Sports Associates, a consulting firm in Gainesville, suggested that one of the challenges of the athletic department is to generate more support from the community and other external constituencies.
Kelly's job is part of a partnership between the athletic department and university advancement. "We want to target every new business so that they understand the value of USF athletics," said Michael Rierson, vice president for university advancement.
And therein lies Kelly's challenge -- making USF more visible and turning its athletic programs into a more marketable product in the Tampa Bay community.
"For me to come into the marketplace and come to know the athletic department and observe the program as a fan, I know it's a high-caliber program and a great success story," Kelly said. "I really couldn't find a better opportunity."