A veteran Division I administrator, Dennis Kalina is the Deputy Director of Athletics after serving as Interim AD for nearly two years between 2021-23. His appointment as Interim AD in April 2021 capped a steady rise in scope and stature in his first decade on campus. Under his 21-month watch, BU crowned six All-Americans, two conference championship teams, sent a team to the NCAA tournament and in Fall 2022, enjoyed its highest-ever placement in the America East Commissioner's Cup Standings (2nd among 9).
Kalina carries more than 25 years of college athletics administrative experience and has built a track record of widespread accomplishments and trusted collaboration at Binghamton.
A native of Portage, Ind., Kalina was hired in 2012 and began by overseeing Binghamton's external relations area, including major gifts, the annual fund, marketing and promotions, corporate partnerships, ticketing, merchandising and licensing. In all, he was responsible for generating and overseeing a budget of $1.3 million annually.
Among his notable accomplishments were several fundraising projects that secured $1,000,000 for renovations to the men's and women's basketball locker rooms, enhancements to the Events Center concourse and facility branding and fan experience elements. Additionally, Kalina managed two successful fundraising special events that eclipsed previous year's profits by $50,000.
Before stepping into the AD role, he managed and serves as the Executive Director of the Binghamton Bearcats Athletic Association, a volunteer board whose function is to raise money through fundraising activities and special events.
Within the athletics department, Kalina was the administrative supervisor for volleyball and golf and as a member of the senior management team, he worked to implement policies, procedures and practices that advance the goals of the department.
Initiatives have come internally, externally
His initiatives have included the creation of the Varsity Club, an athletics alumni letterwinners club and the addition of corporate sponsorship packages that further the Binghamton brand through retail point-of-sale and in-store consumer promotions.
Kalina played a key role in Binghamton's basketball programs. He collaborated with Elliott in the hiring of new head coaches for both the men and the women and in 2014, wrote the successful bid to garner the host role for the 2015 and 2016 America East Women's Basketball Tournaments.
Across campus, Kalina served as the athletics liaison to University Advancement in fundraising and solicitations and he also represents the department on various university committees.
Other leadership roles include serving on America East Conference committees for Men's Basketball Scheduling, Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments and External Standards.
"I have confidence that Dennis will provide great leadership and direction for the department," University President Harvey Stenger said when announcing his AD appointment. "I also have confidence that our Division I student-athletes, coaches and staff – the glue of our athletics programs – will continue to uphold the outstanding tradition of Binghamton Division I athletics."
Seeds sewn at Bradley, Gonzaga
Before Binghamton, Kalina served as an administrator at Bradley University, Northwestern State University and Indiana University.
Kalina worked extensively with the nationally-prominent men’s and women’s basketball programs at Gonzaga for six years and before that was a key contributor as associate AD at Bradley in Peoria, Ill.
At Gonzaga, Kalina managed the comprehensive external operations that included major gifts, the annual fund, basketball ticketing, marketing and promotions, communications, video services and website. He solicited gifts for capital projects and scholarship initiatives and as a member of the senior staff, was instrumental in the development of the department’s 5-year Strategic Business Plan. Kalina also had oversight of special development projects and events for the athletic department.
Gonzaga’s men’s basketball program has gained attention in recent years, having made 13 straight NCAA appearances. The women’s team has won eight straight regular season conference titles and both teams have been in the AP Top 25 poll this season. Kalina has tailored the department’s external messaging to capitalize on the basketball success with record-setting attendance, donations, e-commerce and other revenue streams. Under Kalina’s direction, the annual fund (Bulldog Club) generated $1.7 million in revenue in 2010-11.
Prior to his six-year stint at Gonzaga, Kalina spent eight years working at Bradley University, which like Gonzaga, is a non-football school whose structure and focus is similar to that at Binghamton. Among his major accomplishments at Bradley were substantial revenue increases in the annual fund, corporate sponsorships and special events.
Kalina’s early years were spent at Indiana (3 yrs.) and Northwestern State (1 ½ yrs.), where he honed his skills in marketing, corporate sales and promotions.
He holds memberships in the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA), College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and the International Collegiate Licensing Association (ICLA). Kalina served as president of the 1,000-plus member NACMA in 2008-09 and has been a presenter at seven different annual NACMA conventions.
A former Division I track athlete, Kalina earned his bachelor’s degree in sports marketing and management at Indiana in 1995. He stayed in Bloomington and received his master’s degree in athletic administration one year later.
Dennis and his wife, Dina, have two children: daughter Addison Shelby and son Canyon Marek.
