Travis Goff

Bio

Focused on enhancing culture through value-based leadership, while emphasizing student-athlete wellness and the commitment to providing an inclusive environment, Travis Goff is in his second year as Athletic Director for the University of Kansas. He was appointed to the position by Chancellor Douglas Girod on April 5, 2021.

A Kansas graduate with deep roots in his home state, Goff had a memorable first year leading the Jayhawks. KU sent several teams to NCAA postseason competition during the 2021-22 academic year, highlighted by men’s basketball claiming its sixth National Championship with a 72-69 victory over North Carolina at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

Other 2021-22 postseason highlights included:

• Volleyball advancing to its first Sweet Sixteen since 2015
• Women’s Basketball returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013 under the leadership of 2022 Big 12 Coach of the Year Brandon Schneider
• Men’s Golf finishing fifth at NCAA Regionals to advance to the NCAA Championships for the second time under coach Jamie Bermel
• Tennis reaching the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time under coach Todd Chapman.
• Swim & Dive finishing second at the Big 12 Championships and qualifying Kate Steward for the NCAA Championships in three events
• Track and Field earning three All-America honors at the NCAA Indoor Championships and nine at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, including five first-team honors between the two events

Since arriving in Lawrence, Goff has hired three new head coaches. His first hire was head football coach Lance Leipold, a six-time National Champion and the fastest coach in NCAA history to reach 100 career wins. Leipold led the Jayhawks to their first Big 12 Conference road win since 2008 in his first year as coach. Goff has since added seven-time conference coach of the year Lindsay Kuhle as the head coach of women’s golf and Dan Fitzgerald, an elite recruiter, player developer and coach to lead the baseball program.

In addition to bringing in dynamic new coaches, Goff secured some of the top leaders in Kansas Athletics as well, signing both Schneider and Bermel to contract extensions that will keep them in Lawrence for years to come. He also extended Track and Field head coach Stanley Redwine, who served as the head coach of Team USA at the 2022 World Track Championships, and Rowing head coach Carrie Cook-Callen.

Success has not been limited to competition as Kansas student-athletes recorded a combined grade point average of 3.20 or higher in both semesters of the 2021-22 academic year. Three teams set program records for GPA during the year and each KU athletic program had a cumulative team GPA of 3.00 or higher during the 2022 spring semester.

Under the leadership of Goff, Kansas Athletics took a thorough and comprehensive examination of the changing landscape in college athletics regarding Name, Image and Likeness. As a result, Kansas announced a partnership with Altius Sports Partners in June 2022 and launched its official NIL Marketplace through Opendorse in August 2022. The Altius partnership is designed to maintain KU Athletics’ position on the cutting edge of the NIL with educational resources for coaches and staff while the Opendorse marketplace – one of the first of its kind in college sports – will maximize NIL support for student-athletes and promises to mobilize the KU fan base and local organizations to best support its student-athletes. Goff and the Jayhawks also created two full-time positions solely dedicated to NIL, adding a Director of NIL Strategy and a Director of NIL, Athlete Brand Development and Partnerships.

Goff, who was named a Next Up honoree by CollegeAD in 2018 and one of Sports Business Journal’s “Power Players in College Sports” in 2019, came to Kansas as a seasoned college athletics administrator and program builder.

Goff returned to Kansas from Northwestern, where he served as Deputy Athletic Director/Assistant Vice President from 2012-21. Some of the Northwestern’s notable accomplishments during his time as an administrative leader there include:

• More than $400 million in new and renovated facilities
• Total fundraising of $460 million to Athletics
• Transformation of sports programs through budget growth and a commitment to passionate, committed and high-character leaders as coaches
• Bolstering on-campus partnerships and exceptional engagement with alumni and fans
• Setting new milestones for success in the classroom, in the community and in competition

A Dodge City native who grew up in a family of Jayhawks, Goff got his start in college athletics at KU in the Williams Educational Fund as an undergraduate. Following his ascension to a fulltime role in the department, Goff was hired at Tulane, where he also received his Masters of Business Administration.

During his time in New Orleans, he was part of the team that rebuilt the athletics program following the devastating impact of Hurricane Katrina. His more than eight-year tenure was highlighted by his role as Associate Athletic Director for External Affairs where he was responsible for leading the $70 million athletics fundraising campaign to raise funds to develop an on-campus football stadium. He also held oversight of marketing, ticket sales and operations, sponsorships and communications, and served on the department’s executive staff.

Following his successful stay at Tulane, Goff accepted the position of Deputy Athletic Director for Development at Northwestern. In 2016, he added Assistant Vice President to his title.

As part of his role at Northwestern, Goff has been responsible for unprecedented fundraising success as he led all Athletics & Recreation’s development efforts. During his time in Evanston, $460 million was raised to support the department. Throughout his tenure, annual fundraising efforts increased from an average of $6-8 million per year to an average of more than $60 million annually. The department set a university record, raising $97 million in one year alone.

On top of the fundraising efforts he led for the Wildcats, Goff served as the sports administrator for the football, volleyball and baseball programs. He also served on the leadership team for the university’s Alumni Relations and Development staff as an Assistant Vice President. That dual role required consistent engagement across the institution, and led to unmatched collaboration and efficiency with campus partners.

Goff’s leadership in record-setting fundraising created a dramatic transformation of Wildcats facilities during his tenure. In 2018, Northwestern unveiled a $270 million project alongside Lake Michigan, including the 100,000 square-foot Ryan Fieldhouse.  an indoor practice space that has supported the preparation of all 19 Wildcats varsity programs and hosted competition for lacrosse and soccer, and Walter Athletics Center, the new hub of the student-athlete experience including state-of-the-art developmental amenities for academic, sports medicine, athletic training, nutrition, professional development and sports performance support.

He also led the fundraising effort for the $110 million renovation of Welsh-Ryan Arena, the competitive home of Wildcats men’s and women’s basketball, volleyball and wrestling. Alongside the arena, Northwestern opened the $25 million Trienens Performance Center, a new dedicated basketball and volleyball practice facility, and indoor training center for baseball and softball.

Goff received his Kansas degrees in Journalism and Sociology, and also holds an MBA from Tulane. He is married to the former Nancy Kockott, a 2005 Tulane alumna (MBA 2008) and former tennis standout for the Green Wave. Together they have two daughters, Ellie and Carly, and a son, Graham.