Paul Pierce II

Bio

Paul Pierce II was named Associate Athletics Director for Inclusive Excellence in July 2021 after serving as the Assistant Athletics Director for Compliance since June 2019. In this newly created position, Pierce will shift away from compliance duties to oversee all of the diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) initiatives for Kansas Athletics. In addition to leading the Diversity Leadership Council, a collaborative group of internal and external stakeholders tasked with cultivating intentional DEIB infrastructure, programming and training that impacts student-athletes, coaches, staff, and the greater Jayhawk community, Pierce will serve as the NCAA Athletics Diversity and Inclusion Designee and the primary mentor to the John McLendon Minority Leadership Initiative at the University of Kansas.

Prior to rejoining KU in June of 2019, Pierce served as the Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance at Northern Illinois University where he oversaw all operations of the Huskie Athletics Compliance Office (HACO) as the Compliance department head. While at Northern Illinois, Pierce implemented a comprehensive rules education program for student-athletes, coaches, staff, and Huskie community members, and collaborated with key members of the campus and athletics communities to implement effective policies and procedures. Before his tenure at Northern Illinois, Pierce held compliance positions at the University of Kansas and Kansas State University.

A native of Kansas City, Missouri, Pierce earned his undergraduate degree from the KU William Allen White School of Journalism in 2015 and his master’s degree from the Kansas State University College of Education in 2017. Pierce is a member of the National Association of Academic and Student-Athlete Development Professionals (N4A), the National Association of Athletics Compliance (NAAC), the Minority Opportunities Athletic Association (MOAA), and was an inaugural member of the Athletics Compliance Elite (ACE) Mentorship Class of 2015.