The good sport
“I thought it was great because I’d still be able to hang out with my friends, ride on the bus and watch them do something that they loved to do,” she chuckles. “When I recently told that story to some track student-athletes, they thought I would have been upset, not happy. But I told them, ‘That’s because you’re real athletes, and I never was.’’’
So how did an individual with little to no experience in athletics become one of the most important voices inside the College’s athletics department as the deputy director?
“Kate has such a caring heart and an attention to detail when it comes to the student-athletes,” says Matt Roberts, director of athletics. “She pours herself into making sure every student-athlete in every sport has a tremendous experience.”
Tiller, who graduated with a political science degree, just completed her 17th year working at the College. What started as a way to stay connected to the university and city she loved as an academic adviser has morphed into a career she never thought possible as an undergraduate.
“I’d like to think that I had a plan when I was an undergraduate, but I really didn’t,” says Tiller. “I thought about law school. I was determined to do whatever I could to stay at the College.”
From her humble beginnings in the academic services department, Tiller has risen through the ranks, becoming the senior associate athletics director for student-athlete success and the department’s senior woman administrator in 2021.
In her role, Tiller oversees student-athlete academic services, sports medicine and sports performance, and she holds administrator duties for multiple sports.
Tiller has quickly become one of Roberts’ most trusted advisers and has a reputation as a fixer for anything broken within the department.
When Tiller joined the athletics department, one of her first tasks was helping newly hired baseball coach Monte Lee. Until Lee’s arrival, the baseball team’s graduation record had been spotty. Tiller and Lee were determined to change the narrative.
“I knew the players were in great hands because of how much she cared about their success on and off the field,” says Lee.
The men’s basketball team was next on the agenda.
During Earl Grant’s tenure as head coach (2014–21), only one player who stayed for four years didn’t graduate.
“I had some guys who needed a lot of support academically, and Kate poured her heart into making sure they got their degrees,” Grant says.
The 2018 men’s basketball team, the first to make it to March Madness in more than two decades, had three future NBA players on the roster: Joe Chealey ’18, Jarrell Brantley ’19 and Grant Riller ’20.
“I learned pretty quickly that Kate’s passion for helping us was the same passion I had for basketball,” says Chealey.
While Tiller is proud that she played a small part in their success, she also delights in the success of team members like Evan Bailey ’18, who received the Bishop Robert Smith Award, the highest and most selective honor a graduating student can achieve at the College. Bailey is now a third-year resident in orthopedic surgery at Emory University.
“We get to see these amazing student-athletes play at the highest levels, sometimes even professionally,” says Tiller. “But not everyone is going to go pro, so to see them succeed academically is incredibly satisfying.”