WICHITA, Kan. — Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) Commissioner Dr. Scott Crawford has announced the hiring of Hans Nickel into the role of Assistant Commissioner for Operations beginning in September.
Nickel joins the KCAC from Sterling College, where he has been serving as an Assistant Professor of Sports Management. While a member of the faculty at Sterling, Nickel has been involved with athletics in various roles including as a Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR), a Sports Information Director (SID), and through class involvement with active learning experience both at the school and conference level.
"I am very excited to be joining the conference staff," said Nickel. "Under Dr. Crawford's leadership, the KCAC has grown into an NAIA conference that is considered one of the best in providing a high-quality athletic experience to its student-athletes. I want to thank Dr. Crawford for the opportunity to serve our student-athletes and member institutions as part of this prestigious office."
"Simply put, I cannot think of a better person than Hans Nickel to become part of the conference staff and take on this new role of Assistant Commissioner for Operations," related Dr. Scott Crawford, KCAC Commissioner. "I have had the privilege of watching Hans' career trajectory working directly with him as an intern for the KCAC many years ago to his most recent service to the conference as a member of our Executive Committee two years ago. He is a former student-athlete within the KCAC and has done impressive work as an athletic department staff member and faculty member at Sterling College. I relish the many facets of experience he will be able to draw on in taking on this position."
Nickel brings a wealth of sport governance experience, both at the conference and national level. While the FAR at Sterling College, Nickel served on the KCAC Governing Council for five years. Three of those five years, Nickel served on the KCAC Governing Council Executive Committee where he provided guidance in KCAC policy interpretation and helped organize the KCAC business meetings. Additionally, Nickel also served on the KCAC Nominating Committee for four years, chairing the committee for three years. In that role, Nickel helped ensure KCAC nominations for NAIA national awards.
At the national level, Nickel was active in the NAIA governance process. NAIA FARs voted Nickel to serve on the Council of Faculty Athletics Representatives (CFAR), where Nickel served for three years. As a member of CFAR, Nickel assisted the council in developing Return to Play procedures for the 2020-21 academic year during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As part of his CFAR service, Nickel represented the council on the NAIA Constitution and Bylaws Committee, which is responsible for editing proposed NAIA legislation for consistency with the NAIA Constitution and Bylaws prior to the Annual Business Meeting each academic year. The committee also provides insight into the impact the proposed legislation would have on the current NAIA Constitution and Bylaws.
Prior to his service on CFAR, Nickel was voted to serve on the NAIA Faculty Athletics Representatives' Association (FARA) Executive Committee for a three-year term in which Nickel served as Chair in the 2018-19 academic year. During his FARA tenure, Nickel developed and presented professional development programming to NAIA FARs at the annual NAIA Convention.
During his tenure as a member of the Sterling College Faculty, Nickel was active in faculty governance and leadership. For seven of his 11 years as a member of the faculty, Nickel was voted by his peers to serve on the Faculty Council and was voted to chair the council for two separate years.
While at Sterling, Nickel also served four years as the athletic department's Sports Information Director (SID). As Sterling's SID, Nickel oversaw athletic department branded communication and portions of game day operations. Nickel was responsible to lead both part-time employees and volunteer staff during game days.
Through active learning experiences in his classes as an Assistant Professor of Sports Management, Nickel and his students were also heavily involved in the operation of KCAC Championship Events. Nickel's students helped operate KCAC Championships during all three championship seasons during the year, providing operational support in ticketing, crowd control, game support, team support, and many other crucial roles in operating a successful championship event.
In the classroom, Nickel taught a variety of sport related courses including Governance in Sport, Sport Tournament/Event Management, Sport Economics, and Sport Marketing. During his tenure, Nickel grew the Sports Management Program into one of Sterling College's most populated degree programs and was also awarded the William M. McCreery Teaching Award for the 2016-17 academic year.
Currently, Nickel lives in Wichita with his wife, Sarah, and their children, Madison and Ehli.