Travis Goff (born September 28, 1979) is an American athletics director at the University of Kansas. Prior to being named as Kansas' athletic director, Goff spent the previous twenty years as a development administrator in college athletics, which he began at his alma mater, Kansas, with his career including stops at Tulane University and Northwestern University.[1]
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Athletic director |
| Team | Kansas |
| Conference | Big 12 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | September 28, 1979 Dodge City, Kansas, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Kansas (BS) Tulane University (MBA) |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 2002–2004 | Kansas (Membership coordinator) |
| 2005–2006 | Tulane (Director of development) |
| 2007–2012 | Tulane (Senior associate AD) |
| 2012–2021 | Northwestern (Deputy AD) |
| 2021–present | Kansas |
Biography
editEarly years
editBorn in Dodge City, Kansas, Goff attended the University of Kansas, where he graduated in 2002 with a bachelor’s in journalism and sociology.[2]
Early career
editUpon graduating from Kansas, he began his career full-time as membership services coordinator for the Williams Fund in the Kansas Athletics department. After two years at his alma mater, Goff left for Tulane University where he served as director of development for the athletics department, while obtaining his master in business administration.[3]
Tulane University
editGoff was hired to be the development director for Tulane Athletics in 2006. During his six years at Tulane, Goff led a campaign fundraising more than $70 million to build a new football stadium, replacing the Mercedes-Benz Superdome as the home football stadium.[4] He also oversaw athletic marketing and ticket sales.[5]
Northwestern University
editOn September 20, 2012, Goff was named Northwestern's deputy athletics director for athletics and recreation development.[5] During his nine years at Northwestern, he helped fundraise over $440 million, which helped renovate Welsh–Ryan Arena, build new facilities off the shore of Lake Michigan, and other athletic facilities.[6]
University of Kansas
editOn April 5, 2021, Kansas chancellor Doug Girod named Goff the 16th director of athletics for the University of Kansas.[7] Goff was tasked with finding a new football coach and almost one month later, he named Lance Leipold the 40th head football coach.[8] Goff was also tasked with possible punishments for the men's basketball team's involvement in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball corruption scandal.[9] On November 2, 2022, Goff suspended head coach Bill Self and assistant coach Kurtis Townsend for four games,[10] as well as reducing to four official visits during the 2022–23 and 2023–24 academic years, three men's basketball scholarships for three years, and implemented a six-week ban on recruiting communications and unofficial visits.[11]
References
edit- ^ "KU hires Travis Goff as new athletic director". KMBC. April 5, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
- ^ Lance, Sam (April 5, 2021). "Travis Goff hired as new University of Kansas Athletic Director". The University Daily Kansan. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
- ^ Galloway, Matt. "New KU AD Travis Goff cites 'divine intervention' along journey back to Lawrence". The Topeka Capital-Journal. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
- ^ Nunez, Tammy (December 9, 2011). "Tulane plans to build a 30,000-plus seat on-campus football stadium". NOLA.com. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
- ^ a b "Travis Goff Named Deputy Director for Athletics and Recreation, Development" (Press release). September 20, 2012. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
- ^ Chasen, Ben (April 5, 2021). "Breaking: Kansas hires Northwestern Deputy AD Travis Goff as Jayhawks' next Director of Athletics". Inside NU. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
- ^ "KU hires Travis Goff as new athletic director". April 5, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
- ^ Potrykus, Jeff. "Former UW-Whitewater coach Lance Leipold leaves Buffalo to take on a new rebuilding project". Journal Sentinel. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
- ^ Dean, Jeff (April 6, 2022). "As Kansas celebrates victory, a years-long NCAA investigation hangs over the school". Retrieved November 7, 2022 – via NPR.
- ^ "Kansas suspends Self, assistant for 4 games". ESPN.com. November 2, 2022. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
- ^ "Kansas suspends coach Bill Self four games, self-imposes recruiting restrictions amid ongoing investigation". CBSSports.com. November 2, 2022. Retrieved November 7, 2022.