Kelsey Armstrong was elevated to Associate Athletics Director for Student Athlete Support Services in July of 2023 after serving in that capacity as Assistant AD since 2021. Her efforts helped SHU earn the highest GPA among NEC schools in 2022-23.
Armstrong oversees all of academics and student-athlete development for the Pioneers. Armstrong advises seven teams including football, women’s volleyball, men’s basketball, men’s ice hockey, bowling, softball and men’s lacrosse.
In addition to her role in student-athlete support services, where she oversees the academic progress and eligibility of nearly 1,200 student-athletes, she also serves as the sport administrator for women’s volleyball, bowling and softball.
During her time with SHU, Armstrong implemented a new study hall and advising technology system called Retain, which monitors and tracks study hall hours and generates on-demand progress reports and appointment scheduling for all 33 varsity sports. Armstrong also onboarded and implemented a student-athlete success program to the entire athletic department.
She has also developed an official partnership with Team Impact, a non-profit that matches children with life threatening illnesses with college sports teams. Since its inception, SHU has signed 6 teams including, men’s ice hockey, women’s ice hockey, men’s lacrosse, women’s lacrosse, men’s wrestling and men’s basketball.
She also serves on the on-campus Student Care Team to ensure the safety and success of students, as well as the JED Campus Coalition, a group of constituents across campus completing a mental health university-wide study. Her work on campus also includes teaching two classes: First Year Experience and SM-299 Intro to Athletic Administration.
Armstrong was originally hired as the Sacred Heart University Academics and Student-Athlete Development Coordinator in August 2019. In this role, Armstrong provided academic support to student-athletes, including time management and organizational skills, academic advising, class registration, and progress towards degrees.
She also led student-athlete development initiatives in the areas of career development, personal health and wellness and community service, including advising SAAC (Student-Athlete Advisory Committee), Every Heart is Sacred (DEI group), H.E.A.R.T. (injured student-athlete group) and Heart-to-Heart; (mental health group).
Prior to joining the staff at SHU, Armstrong served at the Chief of Staff for the University of Hartford Department of Athletics. In that role, Armstrong provided support to the director of athletics, in addition to overseeing day-to-day operations and special projects. Her additional responsibilities included advising SAAC and assisting with compliance for each of Hartford’s 17 Division I athletic programs. Prior to this role, she also served as a compliance intern and women’s volleyball assistant coach at Hartford.
Additionally, Armstrong brings experience from UConn, where she served as a compliance intern. Armstrong has also volunteered at the NCAA Division I, II and III Men’s Lacrosse Championships, working primarily with the NCAA championships staff.
Armstrong earned her bachelor’s degree in education from Western New England University in 2016, where she also was a women’s volleyball and women’s lacrosse student-athlete. She then earned her master’s degree in athletic administration from Springfield College in 2018, where she served as graduate assistant for the athletic administration department.
