After Jack McKiernan’s unannounced departure, Matthew Caruso fills Athletic Director post
By Steven Merrill | Published by September 22, 2019
Former Kean Director of Athletics Jack Mckiernan
Photo courtesy of Kean Athletics
Matthew Caruso is serving as Acting Director of Kean Athletics, replacing Jack McKiernan who departed the university in July.
The Tower learned of the change at the helm of the athletics department after noticing that McKiernan was no longer listed on the Kean Athletics website as athletic director. Kean has not publicly announced the change.
“Kean does not comment on personnel matters, but I can confirm that Jack McKiernan is no longer with the University,” Kean’s Director of Media Relations Margaret McCorry said in an email.
Caruso most recently served as President Dawood Farahi’s Deputy Chief of Staff. He has also served as Kean’s spokesperson. It is not known whether a formal search for a permanent athletic director is underway.
Acting Director of Athletics Matthew Caruso
Photo courtesy of Kean Athletics
“It’s an honor to be named Acting Director of Athletics,” Caruso said in an email. “Our student-athletes are some of Kean’s best ambassadors and working on their behalf inspires me. Our coaches and staff are a dedicated group and I’m excited for what the future holds.”
Kean athletics is a $2.86 million operation with 368 student-athletes, according to collegefactual.com. Between the men’s and women’s programs, Kean competes in 13 sports at the Division III level.
McKiernan became Kean’s athletic director in 2015, the seventh in school history. Before taking the top spot, he worked for Kean Athletics as the Sports Information Director for 15 years. McKiernan played football at Rutgers and received a sports management degree in 1998.
It’s unclear why McKiernan is no longer at Kean. When reached by phone, he declined to comment.
Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach Matt McDuffie said it is a fresh start for Kean Athletics and he hopes to see more winning programs at the school. He said he already notices a difference at Kean with Caruso in charge.
“Caruso has a more hands-on approach,” said McDuffie, who is going into his fourth season with the basketball program. “He went with the football team to their first away trip, I’ve never seen that before. He’s making our jobs as coaches easier because it paints a better picture of our programs.”
McDuffie also commended Caruso for the number of projects he’s been able to accomplish, one of which includes a new court for Harwood Arena, with separate ones for the basketball and volleyball programs. Locker room renovations will be underway soon, as some of them have already been painted.
“We really appreciate what he’s done in a short amount of time,” McDuffie said. “His influence has to do with a lot of the changes around here. He’s definitely a guy who is transparent, a straight shooter. Everyone in athletics appreciates that approach much more.”
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