Staff Directory

Kelli McCombs

Title:
Director of Athletic Development, Associate Athletic Director
Email:

Kelli McCombs joined Quinnipiac Athletics in the fall of 2024. She serves as an Associate Athletic Director and the Director of Athletic Development at QU.

McCombs joined the Bobcats after a stint at Fairfield University on the Athletic Advancement team (August 2022 – September 2022). In her role as Assistant Athletic Director at Fairfield, she oversaw the development and implementation of a comprehensive athletics annual giving program, which successfully increased both donor participation and overall philanthropic contributions.

At Fairfield, she managed an active donor portfolio and served as a primary development liaison to head coaches, leveraging their networks for revenue generation and engagement. Her work focused on creating and executing strategic engagement and stewardship plans for annual donors. Additionally, she organized record-setting department events, including the Athletics Golf Outing, the Athletics Hall of Fame, and various sport-specific engagement initiatives.

She also played a key role in Fairfield’s digital and collaborative growth, executing multi-platform solicitation strategies, leading athletic development communications, and working with off-campus partners to expand the university’s NIL collective.

Prior to her time at Fairfield, Kelli served as a Membership Advisor at Chelsea Piers Athletic Club, where she was a top-performing sales representative. She also spent several years at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) as a Graduate Assistant and Field Hockey Assistant Coach. During her tenure at SCSU, she co-founded the Field Hockey Alumni Foundation and assisted in athletic compliance, ensuring eligibility and CARA law adherence for student-athletes.

A former NCAA Division II student-athlete, Kelli was heavily involved in leadership during her undergraduate years, serving as President of the SCSU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and Vice President of the NE10 SAAC.

Kelli earned her B.S. in Sport Management with a minor in Event Management in 2019, graduating cum laude, and completed her M.S. in Sport and Entertainment Management in 2020, both from Southern Connecticut State University.