On Tuesday, in a Kenyon Athletics communication, Vice President for Student Affairs Celestino Limas announced the hiring of Jason Imperati to become the College’s next director of athletics, fitness and recreation. Imperati fills the space created by Jill McCartney’s July departure from the Hill, which Tommy Bell currently occupies as interim director. As Kenyon’s athletics director, Imperati will guide a department of 23 sports and a staff of over 50 coaches and administrators. 

However, Imperati will not begin the role on Jan. 1, 2026. Instead, he will finish out the academic year as director of athletics at his current institution, Lawrence University, a Division II school in Appleton, Wisconsin, and begin his Kenyon tenure on June 1. In an interview with the Collegian, Limas provided context on this timing decision. “Everyone that we were thinking about bringing to campus expressed hesitancy with 1 January start, and when I told them that we could wait until 1 June to have them begin, they just lit up, and they were even more invested in the Kenyon opportunity.”

According to the Athletics communication, Imperati has been at Lawrence since 2022. Under his guidance, the university constructed multiple new sporting facilities, and introduced two new sports with the advent of men’s and women’s lacrosse teams. In addition, he sits on multiple national advisory subcommittees relating to D-III football, convention planning and D-III regional women’s basketball. Before that, Imperati worked at Bowie State University, a D-II school in Maryland, for two years. While at Bowie State, he rose from associate athletics director for compliance and equipment management to senior associate athletic director.

Per Athletics, Imperati attended both Farmingdale State College and Dowling College, where he earned his bachelor’s degrees in management technologies and sports management, respectively. Following his graduation from Dowling, he remained at the college to earn a master’s degree in management and leadership. 

In an interview with the Collegian, Imperati discussed what drew him to Kenyon. “I think when you look at Kenyon’s academic pedigree, it’s second to none, in my opinion, and [you’re] getting a wonderful education there… 62 national championships, Kenyon had a pedigree of success athletically, and it was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down.”

When asked what his goals are, Imperati told the Collegian: “To come in and continue to push our staff and our student athletes to want more and to be successful. … I think it’s so important that student athletes have a great experience in college. You know, it’s very difficult to do both very well, to get a high education and … a phenomenal athletic experience. And I want our coaches to provide our student athletes with that.” 

Imperati was inspired by Kenyon’s community and culture: “One of the things that resonated with me throughout the interview process, when I was on campus, is the willingness for others to collaborate. … I think [what is] so important to be successful is having great partnerships on campus, not just within our department. And I want to see our staff … continue to develop those partnerships.”

As for Imperati’s transition into the role, Limas commented, “[Bell] is going to stay with us through 15 June. [Imperati] will start 1 June. So this way, there can be a couple weeks of overlap between those two folks here after graduation. But also, [Imperati, Bell] and I are going to be talking very routinely throughout the spring semester to make certain we can have [Imperati]’s fingerprints on some of the things we need to do.”

As the new director, Imperati will contend with issues that the department has faced over the past couple of years; for example, the College’s decision to halt the KenyonFit program and discussions over the Lowry Center dress code. Limas elaborated as to how he believed Imperati would handle these conversations: “He is collaborative with a capital C, and there’s a way in which I think he wants to make sure that, you know, people are on board with things. … As a new person coming in, he is going to want to talk with users of the facility to say, ‘How can we really make this your facility, your home?’”

Limas also mentioned Imperati’s focus on the whole student: “Sometimes there’s a belief that athletics comes at the expense of high-achieving academics. And, of course, this is completely false. There are fantastic athletic directors out there that are able to do both and [Imperati] is absolutely one of them. So he really impressed … people across campus about how unwavering he was when he talked about commitment to academic performance and how student athletes are just that: They are students.” 

Imperati touched on this notion: “I think you have to be intentional with scheduling. So, you know, just looking at what that practice schedule looks like, what the game schedule looks like… what majors are perhaps the most challenging… We have to partner with our folks on the academic side of the house, just to understand where those workloads are and to be mindful of it. And that starts with talking to our coaches about ‘hey, what are we doing that we can improve? … How can we help [students]? What support systems do we have in place?’”

Imperati added, “I’m really excited to get to work. I think Kenyon has assembled a great coaching staff. There’s phenomenal leadership on campus. You know, just really thankful for the opportunity and looking forward to getting to work and continuing to move Kenyon Athletics forward and into the future.”