• 2016 CoSIDA Special Awards general announcement/release
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by Adam Samson, Stephens College Athletics Director
There are few things better than landing a job at your alma mater. For some, having the opportunity to return to the place where it all started is a professional dream come true. You bleed the school colors. You understand the culture. You are a part of that community.
Rick Kindhart, a Missouri State University alumnus, is currently in his eighth year directing the MSU athletics communications efforts and seventh as an assistant athletics director for communications.
“An opportunity to return to my alma mater after Mark Stillwell’s retirement was a real honor,” Kindhart said. “It is a real privilege to work at Missouri State and to work with so many talented administrators and coaches. I’m blessed to have a great staff and to have so many former employees making their own mark in this profession.”
For Kindhart, his career has come full circle as he is back at the place where it all began.
In 1990, he was drawn to the business as a student assistant. Under Mark Stillwell (a.k.a. Stilly), Kindhart was given the chance to be on the stat crew for football and basketball games. Not long after, he was assigned to be the women’s tennis contact and thought at the time it couldn’t get much better than that.
In between the gig as student assistant and present day at Missouri State, Kindhart has made his rounds and logged meaningful experience each step of the way.
In 1991, Kindhart began working at Southeast Missouri State University, the same year that they
transitioned to NCAA Division I. During his two years in Cape Girardeau, Kindhart got a taste of every sport imaginable. His boss at the time, Ron Hines, was the main contact for football, men’s basketball and the annual track meet. Everything else fell on the rookie’s shoulders – from baseball and volleyball to cross country and gymnastics.
“Ron taught me so much, but also gave me room to grow and a chance to try new things,” Kindhart said. “I’ve always been grateful for that. It was a great testing ground to see if this was really what I wanted to do as a career.”
From there, Kindhart landed a position as sports information director at Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi, before returning to Missouri in 1996.
A unique opportunity surfaced at the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) when the organization developed an SID position to handle media relations, coordinate media needs at various championship events and organize state records. At the time, it was a perfect move for Kindhart as it rarely involved travel, he had the opportunity to invent the position, and there were a lot of hard-working people in the state office who shared the same passion for sports as he did.
Another career move took the New Madrid, Missouri, native away from his home state. The job opportunity honed in on a completely different skill set. From 2000-01, Kindhart served as stats coordinator at the NCAA national office in Indianapolis.
“Working with Jim Wright, Gary Johnson, Mark Bedics, Sean Straziscar and so many other fantastic professionals at the national office was a tremendous opportunity,” Kindhart said. “It came along at a perfect time in my career and taught me more in a year than I could have imagined.”
After about a year, Kindhart’s family situation changed and it was prudent to get closer to home. Another full-circle opportunity came about for Kindhart. He returned to work at MSHSAA where he was named assistant executive director for communications with added responsibilities and a much better position overall. Kindhart spent seven years there before making the triumphant return to his alma mater.
Reflecting on his 25 years in athletics communications, Kindhart had this to say about the profession:
“The amazing thing is how much the profession has changed in such a short period of time. We've gone from an industry that mailed news releases and operated in terms of print deadlines to one that operates in terms of real-time fan engagement, live results and infographics.
“It's a fantastic new frontier of information and ways to promote our programs, but I always stay grounded in the roots of our industry. We are still a people business. At our foundation, we are still the media relations experts, the record keepers and the gate keepers for our departments. We still have to be strong writers, editors and historians. It makes me proud to be that guy for my alma mater and to have helped so many others along the way in their careers.”