PORTALES, NM – May 16, 2024 – Kevin Fite will be the next director of athletics at Eastern New Mexico University. Fite comes to ENMU after serving as senior associate athletics director for compliance at Oklahoma State University. He will begin his duties on July 1.
"I am excited to accept the director of athletics position at Eastern New Mexico University and can't wait to get started,” said Kevin Fite, new ENMU Director of Athletics. “When this position became available, I was initially intrigued by the opportunity. My interest grew after learning more about the University and the characteristics President Johnston and the search committee sought in the next athletic director.”
“Upon visiting the campus, meeting coaches and staff, and developing a clear understanding of President Johnston's vision for the athletics program and the entire University, I knew I wanted to be part of what is happening at ENMU and what will happen in the future,” continued Fite. “My wife, Robbie, and I look forward to being active in the Eastern New Mexico community and playing a role in helping the student-athletes of Greyhound Athletics reach higher levels in their academic and athletic performance."
Fite holds nearly 35 years of athletic administrative experience at Oklahoma State University, the University of Houston, and the NCAA national office.
Fite spent the last 13 years as the senior associate athletics director for compliance at Oklahoma State University. At OSU, he directed all aspects of a comprehensive athletics compliance program, serving the needs of seventeen sports programs and 500+ student-athletes. He also served as the Athletics Department’s chief liaison to the NCAA national office and the Big 12 Conference regarding all compliance and governance matters. Fite developed comprehensive compliance policies and procedures to provide structure and consistency for the compliance program and the entire athletics department at OSU. He also established the department’s first Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) policy. He worked as a member of the department’s NIL committee to revise policy during the initial transitional period of NIL enactment and educated the group and department on evolving NCAA rules in this area.
Before Oklahoma State, Fite was the associate athletics director for compliance and eligibility at the University of Houston. Before the University of Houston, Fite held several positions within the NCAA offices in Indianapolis, Ind., including as an enforcement representative and a student-athlete reinstatement representative. Fite started his career as an assistant director/eligibility manager in academic services for student-athletes at Oklahoma State University.
Fite has also served as the lead sports administrator for the nationally competitive baseball programs at Oklahoma State University and the University of Houston. Through this experience, he has assisted in supervising and planning ticketing operations, ticket sales, budgeting, marketing, and revenue production, including season ticket sales strategy and promotional events to increase sales and attendance for these successful programs. These responsibilities included game-day oversight and preparation for the regular season, and they also applied to several NCAA baseball championship events hosted by OSU. He led all aspects of the planning and administration of the five NCAA Baseball Regionals and one Super Regional hosted by Oklahoma State University between 2014 and 2023. Fite has also served as an NCAA Division I Baseball Site Representative, acting as the lead NCAA administrator on multiple occasions for various NCAA Regional and Super Regional Sites.
In addition to his administrative background, Fite comes to ENMU with a solid academic background. He holds a Master of Science in Higher Education Administration from Iowa State University and a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Northern Iowa.
“After a national search that yielded a very strong finalist pool, Mr. Kevin Fite rose to the top,” said James Johnston, ENMU Chancellor. “Mr. Fite comes to ENMU with a breadth of expertise, experience, and leadership skills that will greatly add to my leadership team. I am excited for him to join the Greyhound family.”
Fite and his wife, Robbie, have two children, Will and Sarah. Will lives in Indiana with his wife, Hannah, and they have two children, Ellie and Liam. Sarah recently completed her sophomore year at the University of Oklahoma.
An introductory press conference will be held on Monday, May 20th, at 3:00 PM in Greyhound Arena at ENMU-Portales.