Paul Pierce II

Bio

Paul Pierce II was named Associate Athletics Director for Inclusive Excellence in 2021, after serving as the Assistant Athletics Director for Compliance since June 2019.

In this new position, Pierce will shift away from compliance duties to lead all diversity and inclusion initiatives for Kansas Athletics, and partner with student-athlete development in KU Leads. This will ensure inclusive excellence and development efforts for all student-athletes through programming and education to promote and engage in an inclusive atmosphere.

As the leader of the Diversity Leadership Council, Pierce will shepherd the cultivation of educational programming and training curriculum for student-athletes and staff. Additionally, he will work with Human Resources and lead the Diversity Recruitment Committee to ensure intentional recruitment of underrepresented demographic groups with the goal of creating a more diverse and inclusive workforce within athletics.

In February 2021, Pierce was named the Interim Chief Diversity Officer tasked with leading the athletic department’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts which materialize into student-athlete education, institutional staff trainings and community-wide programming.

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 his coaches, staff, and community, 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 and his master’s degree from the Kansas State College of Education. Pierce is a member of the National Association of Athletics Compliance (NAAC), the Minority Opportunities Athletic Association (MOAA), and is an inaugural member of the Athletics Compliance Elite (ACE) Mentorship Class of 2015-16.