Ed Kull | VP/Director of Athletics | St. John’s University – One Question Leadership Podcast

@1QLeadership Question: How are athletic departments incorporating pro sports operating principles while protecting their school’s institutional mission?

Ed Kull, VP & Director of Athletics at Saint John’s University, discusses how the athletics department is adapting to a rapidly changing, more professionalized era of college sports, especially men’s basketball. He talks about using a revenue-first, startup-style approach and how that model intersects with mission, academics, and student‑athlete welfare.

– Kull describes leading the department like a **startup**, emphasizing three parallel revenue streams: annual fund, capital projects, and new revenue-sharing obligations tied to the professionalization of college sports. He highlights resource constraints (small staff, no football, limited facilities) and how creativity in licensing, sponsorships, and partnerships is helping the department stay competitive.

– The conversation also explores how Kull’s corporate and pro sports background (Coca-Cola, Vitamin Water, NFL, private equity) shapes a professional sports model inside a Catholic, non-profit university.

– Kull stresses education on money management and life after sport, the need for legal and advisory structures, and his belief that academics and degree completio