Padilla Named Assistant AD for Athletic Communications
2/3/2025 6:00:00 PM | General
KENT, Ohio - Kent State Athletics is excited to announce that Josh Padilla has been named the new assistant athletic director for communications.
In this role, Padilla will provide visionary leadership for the athletic communications staff while serving as the media contact for the overall department and Golden Flashes football program. This role is critical to sharing the KSU Athletics story and providing fans with exceptional new content.
"After an extensive search, we know we have the right candidate to lead our communications unit," Deputy Athletics Director/Senior Woman Administrator Suzette McQueen said. "Josh impressed us during the hiring process with his digital media experience and success at his previous institutions. We are excited to welcome him to Kent State."
Padilla arrives at Kent State after serving as the associate athletic director for communications and digital strategies at Florida A&M University for the past three years. His responsibilities included creating social media strategies for all Florida A&M athletics accounts and serving as the primary contact for football, men's basketball, softball, baseball, men's golf, women's basketball, tennis, and bowling.
Under Padilla's leadership, the FAMU Athletics social media accounts generated over 250 million impressions and 15 million engagements. The @FAMUAthletics Instagram account gained the 45th most followers in the nation while generating the 59th most interactions on Instagram among all NCAA Division I institutions from July 1, 2021 – May 31, 2024, according to CrowdTangle.
Padilla also saw the department earn 224 SWAC Player of the Week honors, 139 All-SWAC honors, 21 SWAC individual awards, and campaigned for football's Isaiah Land to become the school's first Buck Buchanan Award (FCS Defensive Player of the Year) winner. He also served as an FCS Top 25 voter for two years.
He was recognized for his outstanding work at Florida A&M, being named the 2023 Southwestern Athletic Conference SID of the Year and 2024 HBCU Sports SID of the Year.
Before joining Florida A&M, Padilla was the social media coordinator at Middle Tennessee State University, where he was responsible for managing the Middle Tennessee Athletics and Football social media accounts.
Padilla earned a Bachelor of Science in recreation and sport management from Florida International University as a magna cum laude graduate.
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