College Sports Information Directors of America

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Kenny Klein – University of Louisville, Senior Associate AD

CoSIDA Lifetime Achievement Award

by Doug Vance – CoSIDA Executive Director

Kenny Klein had an ambitious goal when he arrived on campus in 1977 as a freshman at Austin Peay State University in his red Volkswagen Beetle. He would major in pre-med and pursue a career as a general surgeon.
 
Unfortunately for the medical profession, his future would not be in a hospital operating room. Instead, Klein ventured into a vocation that he didn’t know existed when he enrolled in college.

Although he’s unable to recall what triggered the decision, Klein wandered into the Austin Peay sports information office early that fall with the hope a student position would be available. He had discovered the existence of the office while working part-time as a sports reporter at the local newspaper in Clarksville, Tenn.
 
The consequences of that decision, although not obvious at the time, ultimately reshaped his destiny.
 
Instead of a stethoscope, Klein would spend the next 40-plus years often having a staff media credential hanging around his neck. And, reminding everyone to “remember to have fun” in the profession.
 
 
“I’ve thought about what my life would have been if I had continued on the path to be a doctor, but I wouldn’t trade the experiences or journey I’ve had for anything,” said Klein in taking a full measure of his career.
 
It has been a momentous journey for Klein that is near a conclusion. After 40-plus years in the college athletic communications profession, including a 39-year run at the University of Louisville where he held the title of Senior Associate Athletic Director for Media Relations, Klein is retiring and leaving behind a cascade of memories and accomplishments.
 
Although departing the communication office, Klein has agreed to work part-time with new Louisville men’s basketball coach Kenny Payne in a role not yet determined.
 
Klein, who has served as the vice-chair of the CoSIDA Scholarship Committee, was inducted into the CoSIDA Hall of Fame in 2015. In 2017, he was inducted into the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame.
 
He will receive a CoSIDA Lifetime Achievement Award at the organization’s national convention in June.
 
His retirement announcement triggered an outpouring of national praise on social media that he couldn’t foresee when he accepted his first full-time job as sports information director at Morehead State University in 1982.
 
Here was some of the reaction to his retirement announcement:
 
“You’re not going to be able to find one person to say something bad about Kenny Klein, because no such human exists. If ANYONE in sports communications has earned a glorious retirement, it’s this man. Absolute SID legend. Among the best to ever do it.”
Matt Norlander, senior writer for CBS Sports 
 
"If you polled the college basketball media, Kenny Klein would be on the short-list of all-time great SIDs — and not just because he's been known to have a postgame Miller Lite or two stashed away for the writers. Kenny has never left the media work room before I have, or any writer has. He closes the room, every game, no matter how long it takes — not delegating that duty to an assistant.”
Pat Forte, national columnist for Sports Illustrated
 
“Simply the best SID there ever was.”
Brett McMurphy, The Action Network.
 
“Another G.O.A.T. is stepping away from college basketball. Kenny has been an absolute model for how to be a professional and a mensch.”
Seth Davis, CBS and The Athletic
 
Klein grew up on a farm in rural Southside, Tenn. Those small-town country values served him well in a profession characterized by long hours and demanding work.
 
“I had a strong work ethic instilled in me from my parents,” Klein noted. “There weren’t days off when you grow up on a farm.”
 
He split his undergraduate education and sports information experiences between Austin Peay and Murray State, where he graduated with a degree in journalism.
           
Klein launched his career at Morehead State where he served as sports information director for nearly two years. He accepted a position as associate SID at Louisville in the summer of 1983. One month after arriving his boss, Joe Yates, left to take the LSU job and Klein was tabbed to replace him.
 
At age 23, he was the youngest person to hold the SID title at a NCAA Division I football institution.
 
Klein has been at the forefront of changes in technology that have helped shape the profession. In a sense, he was an early pioneer and on the leading edge in applying technology to the job.
 
He was approached in the summer of 1984 by the IT staff of a Louisville-based coal company during a downturn in the industry offering to build a stats program. Klein collaborated with them, and the outcome was an elaborate system of recording in-game stats with the use of a light pen, three desktop computers, three monitors and yards of cable to connect everything.

The stats program was called Final III and it was first used for the 1984-85 season.

“It was quite a program, especially for that time,” Klein said. “Everyone loved it because it was a substantial improvement from what was out there.”
 
Outside of his duties representing Cardinal athletics, Klein has a long history of volunteering his skills in a media services role at several national sporting events, and volunteering with CoSIDA on several committees.
 
Klein has coordinated the computerized statistics operation for 36 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Fours and he will continue to do that into retirement. He’s also had an active role in Churchill Downs media service activities at the Kentucky Derby for many years.
 
He was the local media committee chairman for the 1996, 2000 and 2014 PGA Championships in Louisville. Klein worked in a similar role for the 2008 Ryder Cup, and 2004 and 2011 Senior PGA Championships. He served as media coordinator for the 1987 USA Pan American Games men’s basketball team.
 
Klein has worked an incredible 1,309 consecutive Louisville men’s basketball games. He was honored by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association in 2012 as the recipient of the Katha Quinn Award which is presented in recognition of outstanding service to media covering college basketball.
 
When asked to identify his fondest memories over his four-decade career, Klein has two at the top of his list.
 
“It’s difficult to zero in on a few memories when there are truly so many,” he noted. “Our last men’s basketball game closing out 54 years in our historic arena Freedom Hall was one for the ages – pulling together as many of our former All-Americas and NCAA Championship team members to attend a game against No. 1 ranked Syracuse that we won in front of a record crowd was really special. 
 
“Another would be winning the 2013 NCAA men’s basketball title, then taking a plane the next morning to watch our women’s team compete in their national championship game with no sleep.”
 
One other lasting memory that has its own special category for Klein is an experience that few – if any - other SIDs can claim. In recognition of his 50th birthday in 2010, U of L men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino presented him with a red Lexus IS 350 convertible which he continues to drive today.
 
Clearly, a bit of an upgrade from the VW Bug he was driving when he entered the profession!
 
Klein can easily distinguish what stands out as he looks back on his time on the job at Louisville.
 
“I’m probably most proud of building a lot of friendships along the way and being a tiny part of helping develop a strong, complete athletic department that competes at the highest level.”

Klein admits that he is looking forward to the opportunity to tailgate with his family and friends at football games and relax at college baseball games with no responsibilities to dictate his schedule. Having more free time to spend with his wife, Donna, along with sons’ Alex and Brady and their families are high priorities for his retirement years.
 
It is also a safe bet that he’s working on plans to attend a future Jimmy Buffet concert or two in the months ahead. He’s a full-fledged Parrot Head, having attended 97 Buffet concerts over the years.
 
In looking back over the values that have shaped his approach to the job, Klein has some simple advice for the next generation of athletic communicators.
 
“Be ready to adapt to and utilize innovative technologies that arise but always to get out from behind your computer and talk to people and treat them with kindness and respect. And remember to have fun.”