Ed Kull

A native New Yorker, St. John’s alumnus and gifted administrator with a proven track record of success, Ed Kull has been named the eighth Vice President and Director of Athletics in the history of St. John’s University. 
 
"Ed Kull has demonstrated a commitment to excellence on and off the field of competition," said Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P., President, St. John's University.  "This is an important hire at a critical time in the shifting landscape of college athletics, and I am pleased to have Ed rejoin our team."
 
"I am happy to welcome Ed back home to St. John's," said Joseph Oliva, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.  "We enjoyed a great working relationship in the past. Ed has the experience and drive to achieve athletic goals and objectives aligned with St. John's mission and values, prioritizing the welfare of our student-athletes.  His passion and love for St. John's, together with his proven college athletic leadership, will help to transform our athletic department."  
 
Kull comes home to Queens following a successful stint as the athletic director at Fordham. Appointed as the department’s interim director in April of 2020 before taking over the full-time post in February of 2021, Kull took incredible steps to transform Fordham Athletics during his relatively brief tenure. 
 
“To say this is the honor of my professional life would be an understatement,” said Kull.  “As a kid from the neighborhood who got his start working as a graduate assistant in Carnesecca Arena, to be able to follow in the footsteps of Jack Kaiser as the athletic director at St. John’s is surreal.  I understand the work that we have ahead of us will not be easy, but I wholeheartedly believe that we will commit every resource necessary to restore St. John’s to its natural place atop the collegiate athletic landscape.
 
“I’d like to thank Fordham President Tania Tetlow, the Fordham administration and the Board of Trustees for their support and belief in our department over the past several years,” continued Kull.  “Having backing at the highest levels of a university is critical to success in athletics.  It’s something that I enjoyed at Fordham and I’m excited to work with an equally enthusiastic and dedicated administration at St. John’s led by Father Shanley and Joe Oliva.”
 
In the spring of 2021, Kull hired Kyle Neptune, then a Villanova assistant, to lead a men’s basketball program that had gone 45-95 over the previous five seasons, including a 2-12 mark in 2020-21. In his lone year at the helm, Neptune led the Rams to a 16-16 record and an appearance in the Atlantic 10 Quarterfinals for the first time in 15 years. After Villanova hired Neptune to replace Hall of Famer Jay Wright that spring, Kull promoted Associate Head Coach Keith Urgo to lead the program following a national search. Kull’s belief in Urgo paid immediate dividends, as the 2022-23 Rams went 25-8, including a 12-6 A-10 mark to tie for second in the final conference standings. The Rams advanced to the semifinals of the A-10 Tournament for just the second time in nearly 30 years of league membership before Kull inked Urgo to a long-term extension. The men’s basketball team’s 54 wins in Kull’s three years as the permanent athletic director are the program’s highest three-year win total since 1990-93 when Fordham was a member of the Patriot League. 
 
In addition to the team’s turnaround on the court, Kull also has been instrumental in revamping the culture surrounding Fordham Basketball and Fordham Athletics in general. The Rams recently concluded their third straight fiscal year with a record fundraising total, including a $7.6 million figure in 2023-24 that was more than $2.5 million higher than the previous year’s mark.  Those aforementioned totals do not include a long-term pledge to Fordham Football from an anonymous donor totaling $10 million. 
 
The most impactful product of Kull’s fundraising efforts has been the creation of the New Era Fund, which is dedicated to helping Fordham Men’s and Women’s Basketball remain competitive with the upper echelon of the Atlantic 10. The fund has allowed for much needed facility renovations, improved travel accommodations and an array of additional enhancements in the day-to-day lives of the basketball programs. 
 
Kull helped generate increased interest from students, alumni and supporters. The men’s basketball team ended the 2022-23 season with six straight home sellouts before seeing crowds of 8,500 and 10,000 for the Atlantic 10 Tournament at Barclays Center. 
 
In addition to the men’s basketball team’s turnaround, Fordham has enjoyed success in numerous other sports during Kull’s tenure.  Since being named the full-time athletic director in February of 2021, six Fordham squads have won conference championships while the football team earned an at-large berth to the FCS Playoffs in 2022.  Kull, who is a member of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Committee, has twice extended the contract of Fordham Football Head Coach Joe Conlin.   
 
In addition to their success on the fields of competition, Fordham student-athletes also excelled in the classroom during Kull’s tenure.  On a four-year rolling average, Fordham student-athletes outperformed the general student population in terms of GPA, retention rate and graduation rate.  The spring 2024 semester saw Fordham student-athletes compile their highest single-term GPA in 30 years.
 
In the summer of 2023, Kull inked a widely heralded apparel deal with Nike to outfit the Rams’ 22 varsity sports.
 
Kull arrived in the Bronx as the department’s senior director of development in 2017.  In this role, Kull oversaw two capital campaigns while dramatically increasing fundraising and alumni engagement.
 
Kull began his professional career at St. John’s in 2003 as a graduate assistant in external relations.  After rising to the position of Associate Athletic Director for External Relations, Kull left to oversee sports and entertainment marketing for the Glaceau and Coca-Cola companies.  One of the first employees hired at Vitaminwater, he played a vital role in the company’s meteoric rise. 
 
In 2011, Kull returned to St. John’s to serve as Chief of Staff to the President overseeing Athletics and Institutional Advancement before eventually rising to the role of acting Vice President for Athletics and Institutional Advancement.  During this time, St. John’s experienced stellar fundraising numbers and saw athletic revenues increase by 40 percent, as Kull helped negotiate a hydration agreement with BODYARMOR, a lucrative apparel deal with Under Armour, and a new venue contract with Madison Square Garden. 
 
A 2005 MBA graduate from St. John’s Tobin College of Business, Kull graduated with a BA from Stony Brook University in 2003.  A member of the Stony Brook baseball team, Kull was the program’s first-ever All-America East selection in 2003.  Kull, a Molloy High School graduate who played for legendary head coach Jack Curran, is currently pursuing a doctorate in educational leadership at St. John’s.
 
Kull and his wife, Sarah, live on Long Island and are the proud parents of two sons: Ben and Lukas.