St. John's names Ed Kull its new athletic director
Ed Kull of Oyster Bay. Credit: Fordham University Athletic Communications
St. John’s has reached an agreement with Fordham’s Ed Kull to become the Red Storm's new athletic director.
Kull, who lives on Long Island and has been the Fordham AD since 2020, was first offered the position on Monday night. St. John’s has scheduled a Tuesday afternoon news conference on campus to introduce him. Kull was considered a candidate for the position even before former AD Mike Cragg and the school parted ways in June.
"To say this is the honor of my professional life would be an understatement," Kull said in a news statement. "As a kid from the neighborhood who got his start working as a graduate assistant in Carnesecca Arena, to be able to follow in the footsteps of Jack Kaiser as the athletic director at St. John's is surreal. I understand the work that we have ahead of us will not be easy, but I wholeheartedly believe that we will commit every resource necessary to restore St. John's to its natural place atop the collegiate athletic landscape."
Kull was as an associate athletic director at St. John's and worked in a large role in fundraising for the school from 2011 to 2017 before taking a position at Fordham. His fundraising for Fordham’s athletic department has set records year-over-year and it's an attribute St. John’s sought when filling the position.
In addition to already having close connections with administrators at St. John’s, he has worked in the corporate sphere with Mike Repole, who is a major financial backer of Red Storm athletics. Kull worked for Repole as a staffer at vitaminwater and they remain close. Repole and Storm men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino are friendly and have a shared interest in thoroughbred racing.
"Ed Kull has demonstrated a commitment to excellence on and off the field of competition," said school president Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P., in the news release. "This is an important hire at a critical time in the shifting landscape of college athletics, and I am pleased to have Ed rejoin our team."
Cragg was the St. John's athletic director for six years and helped guide the department through the coronavirus pandemic before he and school decided to part ways.
Fordham has seen a major uptick in support for its athletic department snice Kull became athletic director in 2020. In the last year, Fordham’s athletic department fundraising is up 50%. He also hired football coach Joe Conlin, who in 2022 took the Rams to the FCS playoffs for the first time since 2015.
Kull grew up in Queens and attended Archbishop Molloy High School and then Stony Brook University.
"I am happy to welcome Ed back home to St. John's," said Joseph Oliva, senior vice president and chief operating officer. "We enjoyed a great working relationship in the past. Ed has the experience and drive to achieve athletic goals and objectives aligned with St. John's mission and values, prioritizing the welfare of our student-athletes. His passion and love for St. John's, together with his proven college athletic leadership, will help to transform our athletic department."
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.