Director of Athletics Ken Kavanagh Retiring in June 2024

James Curtis, Sports Editor

October 31, 2023

FGCU Director of Athletics Ken Kavanagh will be retiring on June 30, 2024, the end of his contract, as announced earlier today in an email from President Aysegul Timur.

“On behalf of the university, I wish Ken well in his next chapter,” Timur said.

Throughout Kavanagh’s tenure, the Eagles have accomplished many things. He not only helped guide FGCU Athletics in finalizing its full transition to Division I by 2011, but he also had the opportunity to oversee the 2013 “Dunk City” men’s basketball team that became the first No. 15 seed to advance to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament, according to Timur’s email.

Kavanagh’s leadership over the years has seen the Eagles win 49 ASUN regular-season titles, 33 ASUN Tournament titles and nine Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) championships. Additionally, the Eagles have made 49 NCAA Tournament and Championship appearances since the 2011-12 season.

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Kavanagh has been named AD of the Year three times by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) in recognition of his accomplishments.

Until April, Kavanagh will continue in his role as Director of Athletics. He will then transition into overseeing special projects with the Office of the President until the end of June and his retirement.

About the Contributors

James Curtis, Eagle News Sports Editor

James Curtis is a senior majoring in journalism and minoring in global studies. He is from Tampa, FL, and has known he wanted to be a journalist since taking a journalism class in seventh grade. He has been involved in sports for his whole life, including swimming competitively all the way through high school. His goal now is to be a sports journalist. When not covering sports games or writing stories, he's usually spending his free time with his friends or watching YouTube.

Gabriella Lopez, Graphics Editor

Gabriella Lopez is a senior majoring in digital media design with a minor in marketing. She is from Fort Lauderdale and now lives on campus. She has been working with graphics for seven years and has multiple certifications including Adobe Photoshop and Premiere. She has been helping Eagle Media since her sophomore year and has held the official title of Graphics Editor for over a year now. When she is not making the Eagle News magazine, she can be found biking around campus or reading a new book.