<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1613073264015.png" alt="Kohler / MCAC" />
 <figcaption>Kohler / MCAC</figcaption>
 </figure>MCACROCHESTER, MN – The Minnesota College Athletic Conference (MCAC) has 
named Kurt Kohler as the new executive director. &nbsp;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.&nbsp;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.&nbsp; 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).&nbsp;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. &nbsp;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.&nbsp;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.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; He has previous athletic administrative experience there too. 
&nbsp;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.&nbsp; We are excited to work with Kurt to continue 
to move the MCAC forward on the regional and national stage.&nbsp; Kurt’s 
leadership background will be extremely well-suited to our diverse 
institutions and student-athletes.&nbsp; We look forward to the future of the
 MCAC under Kurt’s guidance.”

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