Kit Strief joined the VSU Athletic Staff August 1, 2018, as an experienced professional among the ranks of Sports Information Directors throughout the NCAA. With stints at both the Division I and Division II levels, Strief has accumulated 25 years of experience in the athletic communications profession.
Strief has publicized the Blazers to three national titles with one in football (2018) and back-to-back national championships in men's tennis in 2024 and 2025 during his seven years in Titletown. As the only full-time athletic communication staff member for the Blazers, he handles publicity efforts for all 12 NCAA Division II sports along with national champion dance (Red Hots) and cheerleading teams. He has hired numerous graduate assistants throughout his time, along with student workers and community members to help staff games during the seasons. Strief runs the VSU Athletic Hall of Fame Committee and has publicized numerous student-athletes for conference, regional and national awards, while also publicizing GSC Hall of Fame candidates each year.
With the cancellation of the fall sports in 2020, VSU played 11 of its 12 sports in Spring, 2021, making for a very busy season for Strief and the Blazer Athletic Department. VSU also was awarded hosting duties for the NCAA Men's Basketball South Regional in March and the South Regional for Softball in May. Strief publicized the softball team to the program's fifth appearance in the College World Series in May, 2021. He also had the opportunity to do play-by-play broadcast on the radio for both baseball and softball at the Gulf South Conference championships for both sports in Oxford, Ala., at Choccolocco Park.
In 2018-19, Strief publicized all 12 Blazer athletic teams and promoted the VSU national champion football team. Strief spearheaded the Harlon Hill Award campaign for VSU quarterback Rogan Wells as Wells finished runner-up in the voting for the prestigious award. Strief also has led the redesign of the VSU athletic webpage in the summer of 2019. In 2019-20, Strief publicized Wells to a finalist finish in the Harlon Hill and handled all 12 sports prior to the COVID-19 Pandemic in March 2020.
Prior to VSU, he spent six years with West Texas A&M, where he served as the institution's Associate Athletic Director for Media Relations. Strief managed a staff at WTAMU that was responsible for covering the Buffs' 17-sport athletic program. During the 2017-18 season, Strief was tasked with hosting duties for the NCAA Division II South Central Men's Basketball Regional Tournament, the West/South Central Region Men's Golf Regional Tournament, the 2018 Lone Star Conference Baseball Championship, and the South Central Regional Baseball Championship. Throughout his tenure at WTAMU, he served as the primary contact for football, women's basketball, men's and women's golf, and baseball. Furthermore, Strief earned a position on the NCBWA South Central Region Baseball Committee.
Before the move the Lone Star State, Strief served as the Sports Information Director at the University of South Dakota, where he covered the school's 17 NCAA Division I (FCS) sports. Experience prior to USD includes a stint at Montana State University Billings as the Assistant Athletic Director for Operations and Media Relations, and he served as the Director of Media Relations at the University of South Alabama from 2005-2007.
A native of Des Moines, Iowa, Strief held the position of assistant media relations director at the University of Northern Iowa prior to attending graduate school at Wichita State University. He also held sports information internships at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Indiana University, and University of South Carolina-Aiken. He also completed a year-long graduate internship at Disney’s Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Fla., in 2004-05. While at DWWS (Now ESPN Wide World of Sports), Strief worked in media relations/publicity and in client services and promotions.
Strief is a member of the College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA) and serves on the NCBWA National and South Region committees. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Journalism, Mass Communications and TV/Radio from Grand View College in Des Moines, Iowa, in 2000 and a master’s degree in Sports Administration (M.Ed.) from Wichita State University in May, 2005.
