SAN FRANCISCO - Academy of Art University President Dr. Elisa Stephens has officially announced the hiring of Kevin Price as new director of athletics.

Price, who most recently served as the senior associate athletic director at UC Riverside, will draw upon his 20 years of experience with previous stops at numerous NCAA Division I programs.

“It is my pleasure to announce the hiring of new Director of Athletics Kevin Price and welcome him to the Urban Knight family,” Stephens said. “As we embark on active NCAA Division II membership, Kevin's vast experience and leadership will shepherd us through this next phase of our young athletics program. Throughout the search process, we were all very impressed with Kevin's ability to connect with staff and coaches, history of integrity, keen understanding of NCAA standards, and unwavering focus on the student-athlete. We are very excited to welcome Kevin back to the Bay Area.”

“I am very excited to be joining the family at Academy of Art University,” Price said. “It's a wonderful place in a great city and therefore a truly special opportunity. I'd like to express my gratitude to our president, Dr. Elisa Stephens, for her support of the athletics department and for her belief in what our student-athletes mean to the university. I'd also like to thank Dr. Jamie Williams for his efforts to grow the athletics department and to create something special. The commitment and passion from everyone at ART U are clearly evident.”

The director of athletics position at Academy of Art University was originally vacated by Williams this past summer after he was named associate athletic director at his alma mater of Nebraska.

With a variety of skills gained from Price's roles across the Division I realm, he is more than equipped as he continues to build upon Williams' foundation.

“The artist-athletes at our university are special people to be sure,” Price said. “Academy of Art University provides a unique opportunity for students that no other institution of higher learning can match. Someone can come to ART U and grow concurrently as an artist and as an athlete as at no other place in the nation or the world. It's my job and that of the athletics department in general to support our artist-athletes in their endeavors to the fullest extent.”

In September of 2011, Price began as the Highlanders' senior associate athletic director, where he oversaw new construction projects, various sports, and administrative units.

Price's route to join the Urban Knights collects a wealth of experiences not only from UCR, but also from Baylor, Oregon State, Santa Clara, Texas Christian, Texas and California.

“Many thanks should also go to my athletic director friends Ian McCaw (Baylor), Kevin Anderson (Maryland) and Brian Wickstrom (UC Riverside) for providing me excellent leadership and examples to learn from which helped me get to this point,” Price said. “The friendship and mentorship I've received from these gentlemen has been invaluable.”

From 2005-10, Price worked as the associate athletics director at Baylor administering all facets of compliance with the NCAA and the Big 12 Conference regulations. He was the sport supervisor for men's tennis, women's tennis, and women's volleyball, while serving as tournament director for NCAA and Big 12 championship events. Price also was responsible for cultivating relationships with major donors and overseeing an $8 million financial aid budget.

Prior to his time at Baylor, Price served as the associate athletics director at Oregon State from 2002-05. While with the Beavers, he was responsible for compliance with NCAA and Pac-10 Conference regulations while overseeing a $6 million financial aid budget and managing Heisman Trophy campaign issues of Steven Jackson.

Price worked at Santa Clara University from 2000-02 where he was assistant athletics director for compliance and oversaw a financial aid budget of $3 million.

From 1999-00, Price was the director of compliance at TCU, and prior to that worked as the compliance coordinator at Texas from 1998-99. During those years, Price managed Heisman Trophy campaign issues for LaDainian Tomlinson (TCU) and Ricky Williams (Texas).

Price also recently served as the regional director of sales for ACS Athletics where he was responsible for entire sales processes from initial contact to end of negotiation and signing of contracts for schools in the western region.

Price, who earned his bachelor's of arts degree in sociology from California in 1992, began his career working at his alma mater where from 1995-98 he was the assistant eligibility & compliance coordinator.

“As a native of the East Bay, I'm thrilled to be back in the San Francisco area,” Price said. “It's a special region and the Academy of Art University is a special institution. Be Artist! Be Athlete!”