Associate Vice President and Deputy Athletics Director Mary Kay Hungate enters her 40th year as a member of the Louisiana Tech Athletics Department and has proven to be an integral part in the emergence of the University's programs on the playing fields and in the classroom.
A mainstay in the LA Tech Athletics Department, she also serves as Chief Operating Officer, Senior Woman Administrator, head of the compliance department, sport administrator for numerous athletic programs (men's and women's basketball, volleyball, bowling, and golf), and overseer of Student-Athlete Success Services.
As one of the top two ranking administrators in the Tech Athletics Department, Hungate is part of an executive staff that was instrumental in helping the University earn an invitation to join Conference USA starting July 1, 2013.
Another one of Hungate's main responsibilities includes overseeing the academic side of the Tech athletics department, another area which has improved drastically as proven by the fact LA Tech's graduation rate continues to be one of the highest in the state (Federal Graduation Report).
Louisiana Tech's student-athletes continue to reach academic progress superlatives. For the fifth straight year the University recorded a GSR of 80 percent or higher in the most recent report released by the NCAA last November.
In this year’s report, Louisiana Tech garnered a graduation success rate of 81 percent and a Federal Graduation Rate of 62 percent. LA Tech’s four-year average for the Federal Graduation Rate is also 62 percent and its single year Federal Graduation Rate (2010-11) is 70 percent, the highest in a decade and the second highest since the NCAA starting monitoring it 13 years ago.
Hungate also plays an important role in LA Tech's NCAA Certification process. As a member of the Steering Committee and the liaison between the athletic department and the University's Self Study Committees, she provides the information needed for the committees to write their reports.
In addition, Hungate and the current senior staff have also garnered a number of national awards, including the 2010 Turnkey PRISM Award - which recognizes colleges for managerial excellence across four areas: marketing/branding; fan development; community relations; and customer/client service.
The Tech athletics department also finished in the Top 10 three times in the Excellence in Management Cup, which recognizes the most efficient athletic departments in the nation.
Hungate joined the Louisiana Tech staff in 1985 as an assistant women's basketball coach and remained in that role for five years. During that time, the Lady Techsters participated in four Final Fours and won the NCAA National Championship in 1988.
In 1990, Hungate made a move out of coaching and became assistant athletics director for academics and compliance as well as senior woman administrator. One of Hungate's early accomplishments as assistant director of athletics was the creation of the Louisiana Tech Athletic Academic Center program.
Hungate has served terms on the NCAA Division I Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet, the NCAA Division I Interpretations/Legislative Review Subcommittee, the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators Wade Trophy Selection Committee and as an NCAA Peer Reviewer. She has also served on the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Issues Committee since 2004.
She served on the Western Athletic Conference Council, the Conferences' Legislative Review Committee, the Finance Committee and the Code Book Committee. In addition, along with Director of Athletics Eric Wood, she represents the athletics department as an ex-officio member of the LA Tech Athletics Council.
Hungate's professional career began as Women's Sports Coordinator and head volleyball, head basketball and head softball coach at Illinois' Carl Sandburg Junior College. She spent four seasons at the college where she guided the basketball team to a mark of 80-22 which included an 11th place finish in the 1976 NJCAA national tournament.
In 1978, Hungate took over the head coaching position at Richwoods High School in Peoria, Ill., and quickly compiled one of the top prep coaching records in the nation. During her seven seasons at Richwoods High School, Hungate's team recorded an impressive record of 195-13, including a state-record 63 consecutive victories.
Hungate was named the National Coach of the Year by USA Today in 1985. Before coming to LA Tech, she amassed a career coaching record of 275-35.
She is a two-time Hall of Famer, having been inducted into the Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame and the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) Hall of Fame. Her fourth Richwoods High School girls basketball team was also inducted into the Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame in 2024, as voted on by the GPSHOF board.
