Kelly Carney joined Conference USA in 2004, when the league re-located from Chicago to Dallas. Carney started as the Associate Commissioner of Marketing and Television and in 2013, she was promoted to Senior Associate Commissioner. Carney oversees CUSA’s External Department which includes marketing, branding, promotions, communications, multimedia, licensing, sponsorship sales and fulfillment. She is also the primary contact responsible for executing the league’s multimedia agreements with CBS Sports Network and ESPN.
Prior to joining CUSA Carney worked for Host Communications. Her arrival at Host coincided with the organizations acquisition of the rights to the Big 12 Conference. Carney served as Director of Marketing for that property for two years, and then was promoted to General Manager for another two years. After four years working with Host’s collegiate division, Carney was hired by the events division to work with the NCAA.
In that capacity, she managed the logistics and operations of the NCAA Hoop City Fan Festivals at the men’s and women’s Final Four. In addition, she managed the annual SBC Red River Shootout between Texas and Oklahoma. Before her tenure with Host was complete, she was promoted to Vice President of Events and oversaw all of Host’s event business.
Carney began her professional career with DelWilber and Associates – a sports marketing company in St. Louis, Mo. She was promoted from intern to administrative assistant after four months and in the next six years held the titles of Event Coordinator and Event Director.
While at DelWilber, Carney worked with Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, major sponsors such as Seven-Up, IBM and Alka-Seltzer and the USA Baseball Olympic Tour. She also coordinated and managed collegiate events such as the 7UP Shootout and the Las Vegas Bowl.
A native of St. Louis, Mo., Carney graduated from Marymount University. She and her husband Drue have son AJ (Mizzou ‘20) and a daughter Megan (Syracuse ‘22).