Keli Cunningham joined the WVU staff as Associate Athletic Director for Governance and Compliance in August, 2010.

A native of Petersburg, W.Va., Cunningham comes to West Virginia from Maryland, where she joined the compliance staff in June 2004 as compliance coordinator and was named assistant athletic director for compliance in November 2005.

While at Maryland, Cunningham worked in the day-to-day operations to ensure compliance for the athletic department and more than 700 student-athletes in 27 varsity sports programs. Serving as the primary contact for financial aid, she awarded athletic financial aid to all prospective and current Terrapin student-athletes. She also administered the national letter of intent process, monitored NCAA squad lists and provided rules education and interpretations to Terrapin coaches and student-athletes. Cunningham also compiled NCAA and ACC waivers and appeals in addition to assisting senior level management with the investigation and reporting of violations.

Previously, Cunningham served as a compliance assistant at the BIG EAST Conference, where she assisted in the review of institutional compliance audits and processing of all conference and NCAA waivers and violations. She conducted coaches' meetings and the bi-annual BIG EAST student-athlete advisory committee.

Cunningham has been involved in several national committees over the years, including the National Association for Athletics Compliance (NAAC) Education Committee and the NAAC Reasonable Standards Committee. She is currently serving on the WVU Office of the President’s Social Justice Committee, the WVU College of Physical Activity and Social Sciences Advisory Committee and the BIG EAST Sport and Championship Committee for Men’s and Women’s Tennis.

A graduate of West Virginia University with a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in sport management, Cunningham began her career in the WVU athletic compliance office as a graduate assistant.

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