Statements on departure of Phoenix AD Ken Bothof
Bothof joins NKU from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, where he was the school’s longest-tenured athletics director, serving since 2002. In his new position he will oversee an athletics department set to begin its second year at the NCAA Division I level, with membership in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
Chancellor Tom Harden’s statement
I appreciate the contributions that Ken Bothof has made to UW-Green Bay and Phoenix Athletics during his 11 years as Athletics Director. We thank him for his service, and wish him well in his new assignment with Northern Kentucky University.
Our UW-Green Bay Intercollegiate Athletics program has made impressive gains over the last decade. The Kress Events Center is the most prominent example, and Ken was a key player in planning, fundraising and the successful opening and operation of the center as a much-valued campus and community resource. Under Ken’s leadership, community support for the Phoenix Fund has grown greatly. Our student athletes annually rank among the Horizon League’s best in classroom performance, highlighted by a pair of No. 1-in-the-nation GPA rankings for the women’s basketball team. The program encourages its coaches and players to be active in serving the community.
On the courts and playing fields, we have enjoyed success across a range of sports during Ken’s tenure. The spectacular NCAA Tournament record of the women’s basketball team, a competitive men’s basketball program, and our recent success in men’s soccer all come in sports with long winning traditions at UW-Green Bay. Just as impressive, in my view, are the conference domination by Phoenix swimming and diving, and first-time NCAA trips by volleyball, softball and men’s tennis. Ken, his coaches and staff have cultivated a climate in which excellence is pursued and achieved throughout the department.
Within the next week or so I will appoint an interim athletics director and set a timetable for the search for Ken’s permanent successor. I will share those details at that time. Today is a day to applaud Ken’s achievements here at UW-Green Bay, to congratulate Northern Kentucky on an outstanding hire, and to extend best wishes to Ken and his wife, Carrie, as they begin this exciting new chapter in their lives.
Ken Bothof statement
I would like to thank former Chancellor Bruce Shepard for giving me the opportunity to lead UW-Green Bay and Chancellor Tom Harden for all of his support over the past four years.
I would also like to thank the many talented administrators, coaches, student-athletes, Phoenix supporters, colleagues and friends that I have worked with at UW-Geen Bay. I am incredibly fortunate to have grown alongside them and have learned from every one of them.
My wife Carrie and I have so many special relationships with so many wonderful people in Green Bay and we will miss them.