Hitting His Stride
We’ve got great facilities,” says Missouri State Athletic Director Kyle Moats, referring to the domain of the athletic department. However, Moats could also be speaking about the residence halls on campus. Not all athletic directors venture away from the confines of the offices, fields and arenas of the athletics. Moats, however, has months of first-hand experience with the residence halls. He actually lived in the Sunvilla residence hall when he was hired in July until mid-October.
After stints at the University of Kentucky, Marquette University and Louisville University, it wasn’t so bad to put up with dorm life for a few months to reach the job he’s been striving for. “My career goal was to be an athletic director someday,” says Moats. “When I got into this business, it was something I always wanted to do. It’s got to be the right fit; you’ve got to be lucky. Everything has to line up, and that’s what happened.”
Moats is extremely driven with a desire to put his stamp on the department. “I don’t want to be good at just one sport,” says Moats. “I want to be good at all of them.” Moats balances this drive with appreciation for the people who make it happen. “I think in order to be successful, you have to have relationships with people,” he says. “The buildings are great, facilities are wonderful, but you really have to have the people to make it work. The people have been great to work with. I think they have the sense that they enjoy athletics and have it in the right perspective.”
