Courtesy of Delaware State Athletic Media Relations
Delaware State University Director of Athletics Alecia Shields-Gadson has announced the appointment of Kyle Adams to the newly-created Deputy Director of Athletics post for the Hornets.
Under the position, Adams is tasked with providing leadership on student-athlete welfare, risk management; NCAA, conference and Title IX compliance, in addition to recruiting, student-athlete and community engagement, among other things.
“Kyle brings a wealth of experience and expertise in many areas relating to college athletics leadership and academic success, along with student-athlete welfare and support,” Shields-Gadson said. “He will be a tremendous asset to the Department of Athletics, our student-athletes and staff, and the University in general.
Adams most recently served as Principal and Chief Strategist of itsBIGGERthantheball, LLC, a leadership development entity that helps equip coaches, educators, and organizations with the necessary resources, dexterity, and awareness in providing transformative learning experiences for the next generation of leaders.
Through itsBIGGERthantheball, he has provided consulting and facilitated team-building workshops multiple colleges, including Maryland Eastern Shore, College of Charleston, University of Delaware, Lincoln University of Pennsylvania and East Stroudsburg University, among others.
Adams has also worked in conjunction with Georgia Southern University Coaching Education, University of Washington’s Center for Leadership in Athletics Master of Education in Intercollegiate Athletic Leadership (IAL) program, and the Global Sport Institute at Arizona State University.
Adams brings more than two decades of coaching and higher education student development experience, most recently serving as Head Girls Basketball Coach at the Shipley School in Bryn Mawr, Pa., , Associate Head Women’s Basketball Coach at the Arkansas at Pine Bluff, as well as Delaware State and North Carolina Central.
He has also served as Head Women’s Basketball Coach at his alma mater, Cheyney University of Pennsylvania.
Adams also has extensive experience in student diversity and advocacy while serving as Director of the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs at University of Rio Grande to his new position.
In March of 2022, he spearheaded and hosted an alumni event entitled HERstory Cannot Be Erased: The Celebration of the 1982 Cheyney State Lady Wolves and their historic run as the FIRST and ONLY HBCU to compete for the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball National Championship game. The event attracted over 200 people, including alums, politicians, stakeholders, and community partners.
In 2016, Adams was honored as Mentor of the Year by the Cheyney University National Alumni Association (CUNAA). The award was presented to Adams for his dedication to Cheyney University through his leadership, community engagement, and fundraising initiatives that led to furnishing the athletic department with women’s sports-specific strength and conditioning equipment.
In 2015, Adams was distinguished as one of the 30 Head Coaches across the country to participate in the Center for Coaching Excellence on the campus of Columbia University by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) selected Adams to participate in the ACE (Achieving Coaching Excellence) leadership development program at NCAA Headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 2014.
Adams has experience conducting basketball clinics internationally, working with Bahamas Elite Basketball Clinic, Nassau, Bahamas and Southwest Summit Clinic, and Educational Workshop, Ontario, Canada. He served as a skill development trainer for the Disney biopic Rise, based on the real-life experiences of NBA champion and Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo and his family.
He recently published his first book, Discarding the Mask: The Soul Sacrifices of a Coach, and hosts the itsBIGGERthantheball podcast.
“I am honored and excited to rejoin the Delaware State University community,” Adams said. “I am enthused in supporting Athletics Director Shields-Gadson’s vision of providing a holistic learning environment that fosters wellness, diversity, academic success, intellectual/ social growth, and connectedness. I look forward to engaging with our dynamic scholar-athletes, accomplished coaches, administrators as well as the faculty and staff to ensure the ongoing, competitive success and leadership development of our student-athletes.”
Adams graduated from Cheyney University with a B.A. in Psychology and holds a M.Ed. in Athletic Coaching and Leadership from the University of Rio Grande.
He is a life member of the Cheyney University National Alumni Association, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), and the Epsilon Pi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Incorporated.
