ATHLETIC DIRECTOR SHEAHON ZENGER
Sheahon Zenger At-A-Glance
Bachelor’s........................................................Kansas State ‘88 Master’s............................................................Kansas State ‘92 Doctorate....................................................................Kansas‘96 Athletic Director-Illinois State 2006-10 Athletic Director-Kansas 2011-present Dr. Sheahon (SHAY-un) Zenger is a coach at heart. But when KU Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little introduced the Hays, Kan., native as KU’s Athletics Director January 3, 2011, he promised not to call any plays for the coaches. That doesn’t mean, though, that he won’t be right there with them - and their student-athletes - every step of the way. For it’s his genuine care for coaches and student-athletes that has stamped his career in intercollegiate athletics.
While focusing his attention on academics, he managed to stay involved in the world of intercollegiate athletics, and specifically football. ‘Involved’ may be an understatement. In 1993 Zenger and a friend founded American Football Quarterly, a magazine for coaches. Zenger served as publisher - and then editor - until 1995, when he sold his share of the by-then-thriving magazine.
Zenger comes to KU after serving for five years as athletics director at Illinois State University, helping steer ISU Athletics to a place of prominence in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Redbirds won a conference-leading seven league titles during the 2009-10 season and captured their second Valley All-Sports Trophy in three years.
Still, coaching stayed in his blood. After earning his doctorate, Zenger in 1996 signed on as the recruiting coordinator for the brand-new NCAA Division I football program at the University of South Florida. A year later he joined the University of Wyoming football staff as recruiting coordinator and within two years rose to assistant head coach, a position he still considers one of the crowning achievements In addition to Valley All-Sports titles in 2008 and 2010, in his last of his career. three years at ISU Zenger led the department to 16 top-five finishes in its 17 Valley sports - the highest percentage of top-five finishers in Zenger stayed at Wyoming through the 2000 season before returning league history. to Kansas State. He spent a year in the KSU College of Business, raising more than $2 million and restructuring its development program with At the beginning, Zenger wasn’t headed toward a career in research and planning. He rejoined KSU Athletics in 2001 as assistant administration. He was nine years old when he told his father he athletics director for major gifts, helping KSU initiate important wanted to be a coach, and it didn’t take long for that dream to development strategies. In 2002 he was appointed KSU’s associate materialize. After playing football at Fort Hays State and Mid- athletics director for development, a position he held until 2005, American Nazarene College, he finished his undergraduate degree when he was named Athletics Director at Illinois State. at Kansas State. Even before he received his bachelor’s degree in English and secondary education in 1988, Zenger was assisting the A published author and researcher, Zenger served for three years on football coaches at Manhattan (Kan.) High School. His first college the NCAA Division I Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement. football coaching job came at Drake University right after graduation. He also served on two NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Division committees, and was a member of the In 1989, at age 23, Zenger joined Bill Snyder’s staff at Kansas State Executive Committee of NACDA’s Division I FCS Athletic Directors as one of the nation’s youngest full-time football staff members; he Association. served in key roles as assistant recruiting coordinator and director of football operations. Zenger completed his master’s degree in He is also a member of many professional and university organizations, journalism and mass communication in 1992 while helping Snyder including the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics bring Wildcat football to unprecedented success. (NACDA), the Association for the Study of Higher Education and the American Football Coaches Association. It became evident, though, that more than coaching was in store for Zenger. He sought advice from then-KU Chancellor Gene Budig, who Zenger is married to the former Pam McAnarney. The couple has convinced him to pursue a Ph.D. at KU. As he completed his Ph.D. three children: Luke (15), Abby (13) and Jake (11). in educational policy and leadership (1996), Zenger contributed communications and special projects support to the office of the executive vice-chancellor, Ed Meyen, and wrote the professional life history of then-chancellor Del Shankel, while strengthening his understanding of university leadership at the highest levels.
21