(Talladega, AL) Talladega College announced that Kareem D. Kenney has been promoted to assistant athletic director. Kenney, who has served as the institution’s director of intramural sports and summer camps since August 2021, has over a decade of experience in coaching, recruiting, athletic operations, public relations and academic advising. He will also serve as the assistant men’s basketball coach.
“In addition to having the talent, acumen and experience needed to help manage a successful athletic program, Coach Kenney has a proven commitment to continuous growth and improvement,” said Talladega College Vice President and Athletic Director Michael Grant. “Having served as a basketball coach, a success coach and an academic advisor, he has a winning mindset and the ability to instill in student-athletes the discipline required to reach their full potential.”
Assistant AD Kenney came to Talladega after a stint as assistant men’s basketball coach/academic advisor at Morehouse College, where he served as divisional academic advisor for math and computational sciences. Prior to Morehouse, he spent eight notable seasons at Fort Valley State University, where he served as associate head men’s coach from 2012-2018 and associate head coach/interim head women’s coach from 2018-2021. In addition to leading practices and workouts, and recruiting nationally with athletics, he served as interim cross country coach, an adjunct instructor and an athletic academic advisor at FVSU.
A defensive and rebounding tactician, Kenney has helped multiple men’s and women’s Wildcat basketball teams finish in the top ten nationally in multiple defensive and rebounding National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) D2 statistical categories since 2012. These top-ten finishes include #10 in Field Goal % Defense, #9 in Turnovers Forced per game (2), #9 in Total Steals, #7 in Total Blocked Shots, #7 in Steals Per Game, #6 in Blocked Shots Per Game, #5 in Total Rebounds, and #1 overall in the nation in Offensive Rebounds during both the 2016-17 season (men’s) and the 2019-20 season (women’s).
During his six seasons with the men’s program, the Wildcats appeared in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Tournament Championship game on two occasions, earning a regular season SIAC Championship in 2014 and a SIAC Championship Tournament Runner-Up in 2014 and 2016. In his second year, the team won 13 more games than it had the previous season. The program boasted the winningest men’s season in school history in 2013-14. In 2019-2020, Kenney was instrumental in doubling the Lady Wildcats’ win total from the previous year, earning a victory over a D2 #12 nationally ranked team, and securing the program’s most wins since 2013.
Assistant AD Kenney helped recruit and develop 10 all-conference selections, a conference player of the year, one defensive player of the year, an All-Southeast Region player and numerous academic honor roll student-athletes as well. In addition to establishing an impressive coaching record, he was a vital member of the Carson-Newman University basketball team, which won the 1993-1994 South Atlantic Conference Tournament Championship, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA D2 National Tournament. Upon graduating, he played professionally for the Yulon Dinos in Taipei, Taiwan for two seasons.
Assistant AD Kenney earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix and a Bachelor of Arts in communications from Carson-Newman University, in addition to recruiting certifications and an athletic academic advising certification from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
