Now in his fourth decade as a College employee, Director of Athletics Chris Kenny '86 M'98 P'18 was chosen to assume his current role on July 1, 2015, after a nationwide search for a new director of athletics. The 2023-24 school year is his 37th as an employee of the College.
The senior associate director of athletics during the 2014-15 school year, Kenny has served a host of roles during his time at the College, most recently being primarily responsible for NCAA compliance, marketing, development and sport administration for the Purple Knights prior to becoming director of athletics. Kenny is a product of Saint Michael's, earning a bachelor of arts degree in journalism in 1986, and a master of science degree in administration and management at the College in 1998.
After a brief stint in public relations and operations with the Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies minor league systems following graduation, he returned to his alma mater in summer 1987 to become the College's sports information director, a position he held for nine years. Following his term as the school's SID, he served as director of athletic external affairs for two years, before being promoted first to assistant and then associate director of athletics. Kenny was again promoted in 2014-15, this time becoming the senior associate director of athletics.
A well-known face around campus, Kenny is a member of several committees, both on campus and in the outer realm of college athletics. He is a member of the Northeast-10 Conference's Athletics Council, and served as chair of the league's Executive Committee through the COVID-19-challenged 2020-21 academic year. He is also a member of the NE10's Hall of Fame Committee, and was a member of the Steering Committee for the NE10's transformative branding project with SME. A former member of the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Committee and various regional advisory committees, he is a current member of the NCAA Regional Postgraduate Scholarship Committee. On campus, he is a member of the College's Strategic Planning Committee, the College's Athletic Task Force, the Athletic Advisory Council and the College's Athletic Hall of Fame Committee.
Kenny is a graduate of Leadership Champlain, and is an active volunteer in and outside the Burlington community. He is a Wish Granter for Make-A-Wish Vermont, and volunteers for Vermont's Camp Ta-Kum-Ta, a residential summer camp for children with cancer, having served the organization as a member of its board of directors for 10 years. He is involved with community youth sports initiatives after volunteering as a youth sports coach for many years. He is also co-director of the Robert J. Kenny Campership Fund at the Clara Barton Camp for girls and Joslin Camp for boys with diabetes, endowed through 20 years of hosting a memorial golf tournament with his family in his father’s memory. He is a member of the Barton Center's "Friends of Barton" and also serves on the Board of Directors for the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame and the C. Douglas Cairns Arena.
