“I think I’ll be the youngest Division I AD in the country. When I started at Middle Tennessee as an equipment manager, I was just a few years older than my student-athletes. I still understand the challenges they face on a daily basis. I understand how to use my position to enhance them and bring the best out of them.” – Kortne Gosha, New Florida A&M University AD
Florida A&M University President Larry Robinson, Ph.D., introduced Kortne Gosha as the new vice president and director of FAMU Athletics during the Future of FAMU Athletics Fundraising Breakfast, on Saturday. Gosha spoke with CollegeAD today about where he hopes to lead the department.
“I’m here to lead by example. Who are the people that lead the student-athlete’s lives, who are shaping them the most? I believe that fundamentally, yes, it’s going to be their coach, but it’s also the trainers, the equipment managers. I took that same mentality to my administrative role. They will see me on the sidelines, at practice, I want to be a part of their daily lives.”
His first day is December 3. He will take over the position held by John Eason, Ph.D., who announced on Friday that he would be retiring as athletic director, effective Dec. 2.
During his introduction, Gosha unveiled his strategic plan, calling it a “growth strategy” that is designed to continue helping student-athletes win in the classroom, in the community, on the gridiron, the track, and the field.
“There’s a lot of things we have to get right. Compliance and academics are going to be our offense and defense of the administration. I do fundamentally believe if you get those two things right, then everything else will come along with it. It’s hard to fundraise when there are no positive stories around the program.”
“I think it’s doing things that are untraditional, I’m a nontraditional AD; ten years ago I was in college. I think our administration and the way that we do things are going to be untraditional to what has been established there before. We’re going to go out and be active, be innovate, find ways to use technology and innovation to really tell our story and recreate our brand.”
He spent the previous year as the associate athletic director for Facilities and Operations at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla. In this role, Kortne Gosha took care of day-to-day facility and event operations, grounds, custodial, information technology, access control, and capital projects.
“I think one of the biggest things I’ll take away with me from Miami is the respect for diversity and inclusion and the ability to use technology and innovation, we use that to tell the story of Miami and strengthen the brand. I’d like to take that to Tallahassee.”
Gosha earned his degree in political science in 2011 from Jacksonville State University in Alabama and a master’s degree in sports management from Southern New Hampshire University in 2014. He was also accepted into the 2015 class of the Collegiate Athletic Leadership Symposium. Gosha is a graduate of the 2016 Sports Management Institute, the 2018 NCAA Dr. Charles Whitcomb Leadership Institute, and a member of the 2019 LEAD1 Association.
“You know, when the conversations started, they told me they needed someone to come in as an athletics director who understood every level of the athletic department. I think one of the reasons I was uniquely qualified for this is, essentially, I’ve worked at every level. I’ve worked my way up and have seen how everything works together.”
This story first appeared in The NightCap, CollegeAD’s evening newsletter. The NightCap delivers the day’s college athletics news in simple bullet points, giving you what you need to know in just a few lines. Get The NightCap today.