KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The University of Kansas' new athletic director arrived in Lawrence this week and held a news conference Wednesday morning.
Travis Goff is a KU alum and had served as deputy director of athletics and assistant vice president at Northwestern University since 2012. Before that, he also worked at Tulane University.
Goff is a native of Dodge City, Kansas, and graduated from Kansas in 2002 with degrees in journalism and sociology, while working in the athletic department. He received his Master of Business Administration from Tulane University in 2007.
At the introduction, Chancellor Douglas Girod described Goff as a rising star in the field and was the right person at the right time.
He said he looks forward to the leadership Goff will provide the athletics department.
Goff said the opportunity to work at the school he attended as an athletic director is humbling and puts a lot of things in perspective.
"We're going to do incredible things together. We're going to propel the University of Kansas forward and have some fun doing so," he said.
Goff emphasized the need to focus on the student-athletes and the facilities they spend their time in.
"You are why we are here, you are why this career exists," he said to athletes. "I'm going to remind myself of that daily."
Goff received several questions about the search for a new head football coach. He underscored that yes, it is a priority, but that he wants to also take the time to get to know the staff and the program before making a hire.
"We have work to do, there's no questioning that," Goff said.
He already met with the football team on Tuesday, his first day in Lawrence.
Many Kansas student journalists were excited to ask Goff questions about how his schooling at the university shaped his career.
He said that he applies skills learned from the KU journalism school every day.
"This is my destination job. This is where I received an incredible education, started my career. Where I fell in love with collegiate athletics," he said.
Goff replaces former athletic director Jeff Long, who stepped down in March after the university parted ways with head football Les Miles due to accusations made against him at Louisiana State University prior to coaching at KU.
