Kendrick D. Lewis is an award-winning, innovative communications and marketing professional with more than 20 years of experience in public relations, strategic communications, sports marketing, athletic administration, branding, social media management, content creation, and leadership development.
Currently serving as Assistant Athletic Director for Strategic Communications & Marketing at South Carolina State University, Lewis oversees the Office of Athletic Strategic Communications & Marketing and manages the day-to-day operations of the department, while serving as Sports Oversight Administrator for women’s golf.
He is only the second individual in the university’s history to hold the position.
Before being named Assistant AD, Lewis spent seven years as Assistant Sports Information Director at SC State, serving as the primary media contact for football, men’s and women’s track & field, men’s basketball, and men’s and women’s tennis. In addition to directing communications efforts, he also served as Sports Oversight Administrator for softball and women’s soccer.
Under Lewis’ leadership, the Office of Strategic Communications & Marketing serves as the primary communications arm for the Department of Athletics, overseeing media relations, athletic branding, digital communications, record keeping, media guide production, and management of the university’s athletics website for all 16 varsity sports programs.
Beyond athletics, Lewis actively contributes to university governance and campus engagement through service on numerous committees, including Customer Service & Image Building, Computing & Information Technology Advisory, Gender Equity, Game Management, Staff Senate, Sports Awards Banquet, and the Staff Employee of the Year Committee.
A respected voice in collegiate athletics, Lewis serves as a voting pollster for several national college football polls and is a voting committee member for both the SC State Athletic Hall of Fame, where he serves as Co-Chair, and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Hall of Fame.
Deeply involved in community and professional service, Lewis serves on the MEAC Basketball Tournament Committee, the Orangeburg Rotary, the Orangeburg Touchdown Club Board of Directors, and the Hillcrest Golf Commission Board of Directors. He was also selected as a member of the 2023 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Diversity & Inclusion Fellowship class, becoming part of only the second fellowship cohort in the program’s history.
A native of Mullins, Lewis began his professional career in athletics communications in 2008 after serving as a Graphic Artist/Athletic Liaison in the University Relations & Marketing Department at SC State. Prior to that, he worked for more than six years as a Sports Copy Editor and Sportswriter for The Times and Democrat newspaper. His foundation in sports communications began as a Sports Information Student Assistant at SC State from 2000–2003.
Lewis earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in journalism from South Carolina State University in 2004 and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in organizational leadership from American College of Education and currently set to graduate in July 2027..
His professional achievements include graduating from the NCAA Leadership Institute for Minority Males & Females in 2011 and the Orangeburg Chamber of Commerce Leadership Institute in 2012. In 2013, he was recognized as SC State’s Staff Employee of the Year for the Division of the Office of the President.
Lewis maintains active membership in numerous professional organizations, including the National Collegiate Marketing Association (NCMA), the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), the Black College Sports Information Directors Association (BCSIDA), and College Sports Communicators (CSC), where he serves on the Diversity & Inclusion Committee. He is also a proud member of The Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc..
