Staff Directory
- Title:
- Assistant Athletic Director for Eligibility (Please contact for any transfer tracer requests)
- Email:
- Phone:
- 330-672-2243
Jim Kaufman joined Kent State in June 2022 and currently serves as the Assistant Athletic Director for Eligibility. In his role, Kaufman is responsible for overseeing all aspects of student-athlete amateurism and eligibility, including initial, transfer, and continuing eligibility certification. He acts as the primary liaison between athletics and key campus offices such as Admissions, the Registrar, and the Transfer Center while also providing NCAA and Mid-American Conference (MAC) rules education and interpretations. In addition, Kaufman serves as the Compliance Office lead for all matters related to roster management and bylaws 11, 12, and 14.
Prior to Kent State, Kaufman held multiple roles at Charleston Southern University, including Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance. While at Charleston Southern, he oversaw compliance education and monitoring for 16 NCAA Division I programs and managed an athletic scholarship budget of over $5 million. He also led APR, GSR, and Sport Sponsorship reporting efforts and served as the department's senior compliance officer, supervising a compliance staff of three employees.
Kaufman began his career in college athletics at Thiel College, where he served as Assistant Director of Compliance & Sports Information and an adjunct professor in physical education. He later served as a Compliance Coordinator at Urbana University gaining extensive experience in NCAA rules education, recruiting, academic eligibility, and compliance software platforms including JumpForward and ARMS. In 2018, Kaufman was selected to attend the NCAA's Emerging Leaders Seminar.
In addition to his work in college athletics, Kaufman spent four seasons as an In-Season Marketing Representative with the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he assisted in fan engagement and promotional efforts on game days. He also previously worked as a Lead Buyer and Contract Professional with Bechtel Plant Machinery Inc., procuring more than $5 million in equipment for U.S. Navy programs.
A former track and field student-athlete and two-time PSAC Scholar-Athlete, Kaufman earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Management and Marketing from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown in 2015. He later earned a master’s degree in Intercollegiate Athletic Administration from California University of Pennsylvania in 2018. Kaufman is a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
