St. Olaf College Athletics

Connor Kern is in his first season as St. Olaf's associate athletic director for budget and compliance in 2025-26 after being hired in July 2025.

A former student-athlete at fellow Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) member Gustavus Adolphus College, Kern came to the Hill with four years of experience in athletic administration at a pair of NCAA Division II Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) institutions.
  
In the newly-formed role, Kern serves as a senior member of the department’s leadership team, oversees the operating budget, and ensures compliance with institutional, NCAA, and MIAC rules and regulations. He also manages all financial reporting, including the annual completion of the EADA Report, coordinates a comprehensive rules compliance program, oversees Title IX and gender equity components of the department, and serves as the sports supervisor for up to six sports.

For the last two years, Kern served as the associate athletic director for internal operations at St. Cloud State University, overseeing an athletic budget of over $14 million and the compliance team, among other areas. He also performed annual budget construction for athletics, sports facilities, and campus recreation, approved all purchasing within the athletic department, completed all financial reporting for the department, and oversaw the wrestling, baseball, women’s cross country, and women’s track and field programs.
 
Prior to his time at St. Cloud State, Kern was the assistant athletic director for business operations at Northern State University from 2021-23. At Northern State, he oversaw an athletic budget of over $7 million, managed the financials for the NSU Foundation Wolves Club, assisted in developing the department’s strategic plan, and provided oversight of the baseball and cheer programs, among other responsibilities.
 
Kern graduated from Gustavus with a bachelor of arts in public accounting in 2017 and earned a master of science in coaching and athletic administration from Concordia University-St. Paul in 2023. After graduation, he worked in the private sector in accounting and quality control positions for five years before entering the collegiate athletics landscape. While at Gustavus, Kern played four years of baseball for the Gusties, starting 25 of his 30 appearances on the mound.
 
Kern is a member of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and the Business of Small College Athletics (BOSCA) organizations and participated in the BOSCA Leadership Academic from January through April 2025.