UIndy welcomes new athletic director

The University of Indianapolis welcomed new Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Kim Pate to the staff in an official press conference on Nov. 18.

Pate comes to UIndy from Lenoir Rhyne University where she served as its athletic director from March 2016 until September 2024. During her time there, the school won three national championships and had 43 All-Americans, according to an article by UIndy Athletics. 

UIndy has been without an athletic director since 2022 after Scott Young resigned, according to an article by UIndy Athletics. University President Tanuja Singh said there were strict criteria set by the search committee, and Pate met all of the requirements.

“We were looking for someone who’s exceptionally gifted, but who also brings this great sense of purpose,” Singh said. “And in Kim, we found her. If you look at her resume, it is too impressive to read from.”

Pate said she has had UIndy on her radar for 12 years, after developing a close relationship with UIndy’s previous athletic director, Sue Willey. It was the connection with Willey that intrigued her about the opportunity, she said, but it was the culture the program created that sealed the decision.

The goal for UIndy, Pate said, is to achieve success both in the classroom and on the field. Pate emphasized the importance of the athletic department working together as a whole to get better. She said she wants UIndy to be a leader among Division II schools not just for sports but for everything.

“We want to be a model program in Division II for how we operate, how we do everything, our game day experience, our marketing, our fundraising, our compliance, basically every aspect of how we go about our day to day business in support of our athletic programs and student athletes and certainly how we perform on the field or court and in the classroom,” Pate said. “That really stems from that same ultimate goal of winning the right way and really being a leader in Division II.”