Feb 11, 2021

Former FHSU, Barton CC coach named director of Minn. athletic conference

Posted Feb 11, 2021 7:54 PM
Kohler / MCAC
Kohler / MCAC

MCAC

ROCHESTER, MN – The Minnesota College Athletic Conference (MCAC) has named Kurt Kohler as the new executive director.  Kohler comes to the MCAC from Northeast Community College in Nebraska, where he served as the dean of student life and athletic director since 2017. 

During his time at Northeast, Kohler was responsible for leading numerous departments including residence life, counseling services, student conduct, student activities, student health, dining services, and athletics.  As the chief athletic administrator, he directed a department of seven coaches, and 160 student-athletes in eight sports that competed at the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I and Division II levels in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC). 

Northeast Athletics experienced incredible success with Kohler at the helm, earning multiple regional and district championships and making national tournament appearances in volleyball, baseball, and golf.  Over 500 student-athletes earned regional and national academic awards during his short tenure, with nearly 90 student-athletes earning NJCAA All-American or All-Region XI status. 

Kohler said he “feels privileged to serve the great colleges of the Minnesota College Athletic Conference” in his role as the executive director.

“I want to thank the MCAC Executive Committee for all their time and hard work throughout the process of hiring me for this position, and I am extremely excited to get to work.  I look forward to meeting with the student-athletes and athletic staffs of the 24 MCAC colleges and building upon the already successful MCAC brand.”

Prior to Northeast Community College, Kohler served as the head volleyball coach at Fort Hays State University in Kansas for nine seasons.  He has previous athletic administrative experience there too.  Before coaching at Fort Hays State, he was at Barton Community College (KS) where he initially coached volleyball for one season in 2005 and was voted the Jayhawk West Division Coach of the Year that season. He then served as Barton’s athletic director for three years.

In 2004, Kohler was at Missouri Western State University, where he was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator, and previously served as an assistant and head coach at Allen County Community College (ACCC) in Kansas. He served as the assistant athletic director at ACCC while coaching volleyball, eventually becoming the interim athletic director. He was voted Jayhawk East Division Coach of the Year in 2002 while at Allen.

Kohler was the athletic director and head volleyball coach at Weld Central High School in Keenesburg, CO, during the 2000-01 academic year. In his time at WCHS, he guided the volleyball program to one of its top finishes in school history and helped triple the size of the booster club. He planned and promoted fund-raising efforts that doubled the budget of the athletic program.

Kohler also spent time as the supervisor of youth sports for the Fort Collins, CO, Parks and Recreation Department. While in Colorado, he was a teacher and volleyball coach at Karval High School in Karval, and Genoa-Hugo High School in Hugo. He earned league Coach of the Year honors twice while coaching in Colorado. He also served as president of the Colorado High School Volleyball Coaches Association in 2000 and 2001.

Kohler is a native of Colorado Springs, CO. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise and Sport Science from Colorado State University. He also earned a Teaching Certificate for Physical Education and General Sciences. He obtained his Masters of Science degree in Health, Physical Education, and Recreation from Emporia State University.

Mike Lester, the President of the MCAC Executive Committee said, “We couldn’t be more thrilled to have Kurt Kohler stepping into the Executive Director role.  We are excited to work with Kurt to continue to move the MCAC forward on the regional and national stage.  Kurt’s leadership background will be extremely well-suited to our diverse institutions and student-athletes.  We look forward to the future of the MCAC under Kurt’s guidance.”