Gene Taylor named Director of Athletics at Kansas State

After more than a decade as athletics director at North Dakota State and nearly three years as deputy athletics director at Iowa, Gene Taylor will be in charge of a Power 5 college athletics program. Taylor was named as Director of Athletics at Kansas State on Friday, President Richard Myers announced.

Taylor will be officially introduced as the leader of the Wildcats' athletic programs on Monday at 10:30 a.m.

'Throughout the process, Gene's experience as an athletics director and his national reputation as a respected leader and someone who has built and maintained tremendous relationships with his staff, coaches, student-athletes and donors stood out in what was an extremely talented pool of candidates,' Myers said Friday in a news release.

Taylor departs Iowa after being hired in June 2014, and long held the goal of being an athletics director at a Power 5 school.

At Iowa, Taylor was responsible for administrative oversight of the department's day-to-day operations while also serving as the lead adviser to athletics director Gary Barta. Taylor also worked closely with the football program during his time at Iowa, and Coach Kirk Ferentz said in a statement Friday that Taylor provided, 'excellent leadership and insight to our day-to-day operation, our game-day events, and our bowl travel planning and implementation each season.'

His departure leaves Barta with a position to fill, but expressed his excitement for Taylor and his new position.

'Gene Taylor is one of the most respected athletic administrators in the country,' Barta said Friday in a news release. 'He has such a great combination of passion, experience, and the ability to lead by bringing people together toward a common goal. He's made a big difference during his time with the Hawkeyes. I'm going to miss him as a colleague and as a friend.'

Taylor spent 13 years as athletics director at North Dakota State before making the move to Iowa City, leading the Bison program through reclassification to NCAA Division I from Division II and placing all 16 athletic programs in an affiliated conference — the Summit League, Missouri Valley Football Conference and Western Wrestling Conference.

'My family and I are truly honored and thrilled to join the K-State family,' Taylor said Friday in a news release. 'I would like to commend Amy Button Renz and the committee for conducting what I believe was the most professional and detailed search I have ever been a part of, while also being extremely appreciative to President Myers for his leadership and confidence in my ability to lead this athletics department at such an outstanding institution.'

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