Kirsten McCowan is in her third year with the Big South Conference in 2025-26, as she joined the Conference staff Oct. 16, 2023.
McCowan serves as the Big South’s primary administrator and liaison to key governance constituency groups, as well as the primary administrator for the sports of Women’s Basketball and Volleyball -- including oversight and governance of both championships. McCowan also oversees soccer, cross country/track & field, golf, tennis and women's lacrosse, handles oversight of diversity, equity and inclusion matters, plus strategic planning efforts, membership initiatives and NCAA national matters. She serves in a supervisory role in regards to pertinent office operations including internal and business affairs, human resources, finance operations, office management, sport administration and all championships.
McCowan joined the Big South staff from the Missouri Valley Conference. She began at the MVC in September 2021 as an Assistant Commissioner, and was promoted to Associate Commissioner of Championships and Student-Athlete Experience in August of 2023. She worked with The Valley’s diversity, equity and inclusion program, has oversight of several conference championships, and served as staff liaison to the Women’s Basketball, Men’s Soccer, and Cross Country and Track & Field groups. McCowan also served on the NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Committee.
Before joining The Valley, McCowan was at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference from 2017-2021, and was promoted to Assistant Commissioner in December 2019. She was responsible for numerous aspects of the RMAC, including oversight of conference championships, business operations, officiating, awards production, diversity and inclusion, and scheduling.
Prior to her time at the RMAC, she served as the Championships Assistant at the Big 12 Conference, where she assisted with preparations for men’s and women’s conference championships and tournaments, conference meetings, awards, signage delivery, and the 2017 Women’s Final Four.
McCowan received her Master of Education in Adult and Higher Education at the University of Oklahoma in 2016 while working as a Graduate Assistant in the athletic department. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Engineering Technology from West Texas A&M University in 2014. At WTAMU, McCowan was an NCAA Division II two-sport student-athlete for the Lady Buffs -- competing in volleyball as a middle blocker, as well as in track & field, where she ran the 100m hurdles and threw shot put and javelin.