Brian Kloman has been at Pat Kelsey’s side for 12 seasons, beginning during his time at Winthrop. Now, after spending Year 1 at Louisville as an assistant coach, Kloman is being promoted to Executive Director of Player Personnel and Strategic Initiatives. He’ll head into Year 2 as a major part of Kelsey’s operation as the Cardinals look to contend for an ACC title and a national championship.
“He’s my right-hand man, someone who knows what I’m thinking before I’m thinking it. His promotion to Executive Director of Player Personnel and Strategic Initiatives is a testament to his elite skill set, which touches every facet of our program,” Kelsey told Dana Brown, Louisville’s assistant director of media relations.
Louisville elevates former assistant coach Brian Kloman to Executive Director of Player Personnel and Strategic Initiatives
This move brings Louisville closer to the model of other major basketball programs, which have a general manager, and follows the trend of the school’s athletic department. This summer, before Jeff Brohm’s third year at Louisville, the program hired Vince Marrow away from Kentucky to become the Executive Director of Player Personnel, Recruiting, and Portal Management for Louisville football.
Kloman, like Marrow, does not have the title of “general manager,” and Kelsey says that is intentional. “While many programs are hiring general managers to handle the professional aspects of college basketball, that title would undersell the immense value Brian brings to Louisville. We are thrilled to recognize his contributions with this role."
Of course, Kloman will spearhead much of the program’s recruiting efforts, roster construction, and revenue-sharing cap management. The revenue-sharing era necessitates programs to have somebody with an intimate knowledge of the market, both in high school recruiting and the Transfer Portal, to assemble the most talented and cost-effective roster possible. However, the scope of Kloman’s responsibilities won’t stop there.
The other aspect of Kloman’s new job will be to stay on top of the ever-changing landscape of college basketball and to position Louisville as a leader on the sport’s cutting edge.
Any program that doesn’t have a specific staff member dedicated to managing the revenue-sharing cap and roster management will fall behind. There is simply too much on the head coach’s plate in the modern era of college basketball. The sport continues to get further professionalized, so it requires a professional organizational structure, where the head coach isn’t the only one with decision-making power.
Those shifting power dynamics could potentially lead to dysfunction and almost certainly will as programs feel the pressure to win. That risk could explain why Louisville promoted within, understanding the value of Kelsey and Kloman’s long-standing relationship.