Keith Gill (athletic director)

For financial marketer and financial educator known for involvement in the GameStop short squeeze, see Keith Gill.

Keith Gill
Current position
TitleCommissioner
ConferenceSun Belt
Biographical details
Alma materDuke University (BA)
University of Oklahoma (MA)
Playing career
1990–1993Duke
Position(s)Running back
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1995–1999NCAA (membership services rep.)
1999–2000Vanderbilt (assistant AD)
2000–2004NCAA (director of membership services)
2004–2007Oklahoma (senior associate AD)
2007–2012American
2012–2017Richmond
2017–2019A-10 (executive associate commissioner)
2019–presentSun Belt (commissioner)

Keith Allen Gill[1][2][3][4] is an American college sports administrator who serves as the commissioner of the Sun Belt Conference, a collegiate athletic conference in the United States.[5] Gill is also the first African-American to serve as a commissioner an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) conference.

Early life and education

Gill was born to parents Bill (father) and Carrie (mother).[6] Gill grew up in Winter Park, Florida and graduated from Winter Park High School in 1990.[7][8][9] Gill played on the high school's football (as a fullback),[10][11][12][13] baseball (as an outfielder),[14][15] and track and field teams.[16] During Gill's junior season, he helped the football team finish with a 9-2 record and earned all-Orange County offensive team honorable mention.[17][18] Gill also helped the baseball team to a "district.. and region champion[ship]" and a 26-6 season.[15] During Gill's senior season, he earned Golden Helmet Awards honorable mention,[19] helped the team finish, again, with a 9-2 record, including a win in the Kumquat Bowl: A high school postseason bowl game,[20] and earned all-Orange County offensive team honorable mention for the second consecutive year.[21] Gill was selected among six finalists as Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando's Scholar-Athlete Leader Award and to receive the Youth Educational Sports Scholarship (YESS) scholarship, as a result.[16][22][23][24] The high school's head football coach Larry Gergley described Gill as a "dedicated and hardworking individual" and that his "running style makes him very tough".[12]

Gill attended college at Duke University, where he played running back on the Duke Blue Devils football team[9][25] under head coach Barry Wilson (American football).[26] Gill's playing time was primarily on kickoff returns. During Gill's junior season, Gill was named to both, among the 225 total athletes at Duke, to make the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) honor roll[27] and, among 156 total athletes at the university, to Duke's Iron Duke Student-Athlete All-Star team honors.[28] Gill graduated with Bachelor of Arts degrees in history and sociology in 1994.[1][4][6][29]

Gill graduated with a Master's degree from the University of Oklahoma in 2007.[30]

Career

Gill previously served as athletic director at the University of Richmond from 2012 to 2017,[31][32][33][34] as athletic director at American University from 2007 to 2012,[35] and as senior associate athletic director at the University of Oklahoma from 2000 to 2004.[36][37] Gill was named the commissioner of the Sun Belt Conference on March 18, 2019.[38][39][40][41] Gill has also worked many other collegiate jobs, such as working as the NCAA membership services representative from 1995 to 1999 and again from 2004 to 2007 as the director of membership services, assistant athletic director at Vanderbilt University from 1999 to 2000,[42] and as executive associate commissioner for the Atlantic 10 Conference from 2017 to 2019.

In addition to his work as commissioner, Gill is currently serving a five-year term on the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee, a tenure that started during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. In July 2024, Gill was elected to the vice-chair position of the committee for the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, and as chair for the 2025-26 season.[43]

Personal life and awards

Gill was selected as a semifinalist for the National Merit Scholarship Program during his senior year of high school by Orange County (Florida) school officials.[2][3]

Gill was one of the 230 total students selected by Walt Disney World's Dreamers and Doers Award in 1990.[44][45]

Gill organized and participated in events related to substance abuse prevention[46][47]

References

  1. ^ a b "Appendix A: List of All Blacks Who Received Undergraduate Degrees at Duke". Legacy, 1963-1993: Thirty Years of African-American students at Duke University. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University. 1995. p. 89 – via Internet Archive.
  2. ^ a b "Education Notebook". The Orlando Sentinel. October 15, 1989. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b "Honor students". The Orlando Sentinel. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b Anderson, Christina, ed. (1994). "Class of 1994". The Chanticleer. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University. p. 222 – via Internet Archive.
  5. ^ O'Connor, John (May 23, 2017). "Outgoing University of Richmond athletic director Keith Gill joining A-10 staff". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  6. ^ a b "Undergraduate Alumni Panel Roundtable | Department of Sociology". sociology.duke.edu. September 20, 2024. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
  7. ^ Murschel, Matt (October 6, 2021). "Sun Belt commissioner: We continue to monitor conference realignment moves but confident in future". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on May 16, 2025. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
  8. ^ "U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012"; School Name: Winter Park High School; Year: 1989
  9. ^ a b "Game Day Report: Duke At FSU". South Florida Sun Sentinel. September 5, 1992. p. 6C – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Owers, Paul (October 1, 1988). "Gill (153 yards, 3 TDs) helps Winter Park rush past Colonial 20-0". The Orlando Sentinel. p. C-5 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Babineau, Jeff (November 5, 1988). "2nd-half onslaught propels Winter Park past Apopka, 34-29". The Orlando Sentinel. p. B-5 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ a b Gordon, Cheryl (September 1, 1989). "No surprise here - Winter Park should be solid again". The Orlando Sentinel. p. I-5 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Thomson, Peter (August 27, 1993). "Central Floridians playing for Division I-A programs". The Orlando Sentinel. p. I-7 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Dorsey, Steve (May 6, 1989). "Ohme, Hawblitzel lead Lancers to Section III championship". The Palm Beach Post. pp. 1C, 7C – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ a b "Winter Park". The Orlando Sentinel. January 28, 1990. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ a b Gordon, Cheryl (May 10, 1990). "Prep Beat". The Orlando Sentinel. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Offensive team". The Orlando Sentinel. December 18, 1988. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Class AAAAA, District 5". The Orlando Sentinel. September 1, 1989. p. I-6.
  19. ^ "Golden Helmet Awards". The Orlando Sentinel. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Preps". The Orlando Sentinel. November 23, 1989. p. D-3 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "Offensive team". The Orlando Sentinel. December 17, 1989. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ Buchalter, Bill (May 8, 1990). "Athletic club honors scholar athletes". The Orlando Sentinel. p. B-5 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ Gordon, Cheryl (May 17, 1990). "A scholarly King among his athletic peers". The Orlando Sentinel. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ "Achieving Their Goals". The Orlando Sentinel. May 17, 1990. p. D-6 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ^ "Keith Gill College Stats, School, Draft, Gamelog, Splits". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
  26. ^ "Duke Facts". The Herald-Sun. August 25, 1992. p. C6 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^ "The 1992-93 ACC honor roll". The News and Observer. August 15, 1993. p. 3B – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ^ "College football". The Orlando Sentinel. August 12, 1993. p. D-7 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ^ "Keith Gill, B.A. 1994 | Department of Sociology". sociology.duke.edu. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
  30. ^ "Sun Belt Conference names Keith Gill new commissioner". The Acadiana Advocate.
  31. ^ O'Connor, John (November 6, 2012). "New AD a strong believer in academics". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  32. ^ O'Connor, John (November 3, 2012). "New UR AD Gill assumes improved position". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  33. ^ O'Connor, John (May 12, 2015). "UR's Gill recognized as an AD of the year". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  34. ^ O'Connor, John (May 10, 2017). "University of Richmond AD Keith Gill resigns amid unrest". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  35. ^ Goff, Steven (March 22, 2007). "AU Selects Oklahoma's Gill to Be AD". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  36. ^ "Colleges". The Daily Oklahoman. August 27, 2004. p. 3C – via Newspapers.com.
  37. ^ Haisten, Bill (June 14, 2005). "Playing by rules a priority". Tulsa World. pp. B1, B3 – via Newspapers.com.
  38. ^ Joyce, Ethan (March 19, 2019). "The Sun Belt's Keith Gill on his new conference and being the first African-American FBS commissioner". Winston-Salem Journal. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  39. ^ Wolken, Dan (March 18, 2019). "Sun Belt making history with hire of Keith Gill as conference commissioner". USA Today. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  40. ^ Stephenson, Creg (March 18, 2019). "Sun Belt Conference names Keith Gill commissioner". The Birmingham News. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  41. ^ Kercheval, Ben (March 19, 2019). "Sun Belt hires Keith Gill as first African-American commissioner overseeing FBS conference". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  42. ^ "Vanderbilt Addition". The Tennessean. January 13, 1999. p. 2C – via Newspapers.com.
  43. ^ Conference, Sun Belt (July 11, 2024). "Sun Belt Conference Commissioner Keith Gill Elected Vice Chair of NCAA Men's Basketball Committee". Sun Belt Conference. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
  44. ^ "Meet The Students Who Figured Out Walt Disney's Secret All By Themselves". The Orlando Sentinel. p. B-8 – via Newspapers.com.
  45. ^ Oliver, Lance (May 19, 1990). "'Doers and Dreamers': Try, be positive, pray". The Orlando Sentinel. pp. D-1, D-4 – via Newspapers.com.
  46. ^ Buchalter, Bill (April 17, 1990). "Inside The Preps". The Orlando Sentinel. p. D-4 – via Newspapers.com.
  47. ^ Andrews, Mark (April 20, 1990). "Drug-free grad party a lifesaver". The Orlando Sentinel. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
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