San Diego Athletics

Lauren Kirby joined the University of San Diego Athletic Department in the Fall of 2024, currently serving as the Director of Name, Image and Likeness (NIL). In this role, Kirby oversees and manages any and all aspects related to NIL events and activities for Torero student-athletes, helping to elevate the student athletes’ personal brands while following the NCAA and USD Athletic Department guidelines. 

Kirby comes to USD after serving as the Assistant Athletics Director for Learning Support at Baylor University. During her time at Baylor, she served as a member of the Student-Athlete Center for Excellence (SACE) leadership team, which provides strategic leadership to a staff of 20 members from academics and character formation. She also served as a Sport Program Administrator for Acrobatics and Tumbling, and an Academic Advisor for men’s golf. In addition, Kirby created and facilitated, “Bridging the Gap: Viewing Players as Learners,” which was a three-year program that helped over 50 football coaches and staff learn to teach concepts in a way that players at every level can understand.
 
Kirby also spent time at Louisiana State University, serving as a Learning Specialist, providing oversight to the strategy tutor program including recruiting, interviewing, hiring, training, scheduling, and evaluating the program. She also oversaw the Summer Academic Success Program (SASP) for incoming freshman student-athletes. 

She was a Graduate Assistant Learning Specialist at the University of Arkansas where she managed a caseload of academically at-risk student-athletes using research-based learning strategies and differentiated approaches. This is also the university where she earned her Master’s Degree.  

Kirby is a former women’s basketball student-athlete from Wofford College. She also has had research published in the Journal of Higher Education Athletics & Innovation and The Journal of student-Athlete Educational Development and Success. 

She is joined in San Diego by her husband, Sidd Dadhich.