Laing Kennedy Named to Mid-American Conference 2022 Hall of Fame Class
3/11/2022 12:41:00 PM | General, The Golden Flashes Club
CLEVELAND, OHIO- Longtime Kent State Director of Athletics and current Emeritus Director of Athletics, Laing Kennedy will be inducted into the Mid-American Conference Hall of Fame as a member of the 2022 class as announced by the Conference.
In recognition of the 50-year anniversary of the passing of Title IX, this year's Mid-American Conference Hall of Fame class features individuals from each member institution that have contributed to the advancement of women's athletics.
"What a great honor it is to see Laing go into the MAC Hall of Fame," Director of Athletics Randale Richmond said. "This is really special for me because I know the personal impact he's had on my life and saw first-hand the impact that he and his wife Saundra have had on so many other people's lives. I could not think of a more deserving leader and person to be recognized in this fashion. Today is a great day for Kent State."
Kennedy retired in spring of 2010 after 16 successful years as Kent State's 10th Director of Athletics. During his tenure, the Golden Flashes claimed six Jacoby Trophies for women's athletic excellence in the MAC and five Reese Trophies on the men's side- including both awards in 2009-2010, a first for the department. In total, during his tenure, the women's teams at Kent State made 29 NCAA Appearances, won 22 MAC championships, 19 conference regular-season titles, nine east division titles and eight conference tournament titles.
Kent State was the top MAC school in the national Director's Cup standings for 10 of his last 11 years and 13 times overall. In 1995-96, the women's basketball team defeated Texas A and M in the opening round of the NCAA tournament for the program's first NCAA tournament victory. Individually, the Golden Flashes boasted 86 All-Americans, 29 Academic All-Americans and 274 MAC Champions under his watch.
He oversaw the addition of two varsity sports, women's soccer and women's golf, and major facility upgrades at Dix Stadium, the MAC Center, and Olga Mural Field at Schoonover Stadium. New facilities built during Kennedy's tenure included: Murphy-Mellis Field for field hockey, the Ferrara and Page Golf Training and Learning Center for men's and women's golf, the Diamond at Dix for softball, and the Athletic Academic Resource Center for all Kent State student-athletes.
Kent State was given full certification by the NCAA both in 1997 and 2004. He also oversaw completion of a comprehensive gender equity study, and the formation of two organizations: the National Athletic Development Council which systematically evaluates the various sports programs and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee which provides input on the department's planning process. He showed an emphasis on diversity, hiring the first black men's basketball head coach in Gary Waters and continued his commitment with the hiring of Waters' replacement, Stan Heath.
Kennedy was named the Northeast Region Division I-A Athletic Director of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) in both 2002 and 2006. Kennedy served on the NCAA Division I Basketball Committee from 2005 to 2010, was inducted into the Cornell Athletics Hall of Fame in 1980 and was inducted into the Varsity "K" Hall of Fame in 2011.
