Kevin Edwards (BUS ’92) soars for a layup during his Blue Demon hoops days. Today, he courts alumni and industry contacts as director of athletics alumni and professional relations. (Photo courtesy of DePaul Athletics)

Former Blue Demons star Kevin Edwards gives his all for alumni

By Marilyn Ferdinand

Kevin Edwards’ (BUS ’92) longtime association with DePaul stepped up a notch last year. In July 2021, the former Blue Demon basketball star and veteran NBA player began serving as director of athletics alumni and professional relations after spending nearly 11 years as the Athletics Department’s director of community, corporate and professional relations for the men’s basketball program.

“I’m now a liaison to all alumni across all sports. My role is to encourage them to come back and get engaged with DePaul, whether they’re in town or out of town,” Edwards says. As a star athlete with DePaul from 1986 to 1988, Edwards is certainly a recognizable figure to many alumni. By the end of his college career, he had scored 995 points and led the Blue Demons to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances. In his two seasons, DePaul had a combined record of wins to losses of 50–11.

Edwards says that after college, “I was fortunate to get drafted 20th by the Miami Heat, and because they were an expansion team, I was able to play a lot of minutes at a young age. Coming from college, where you only play about 25 to 30 games, now I was up to 82. It’s a big adjustment. You have to learn how to get your nutrition, get your sleep.” During his professional career, Edwards also played for the New Jersey Nets and Orlando Magic, and finished his playing days with the Vancouver Grizzlies.

Edwards spent some time as a film producer, and when DePaul came knocking on his door with an offer to join the Athletics staff, Edwards said yes.

In his previous role at DePaul, Edwards often acted as a mentor to the student-athletes on the men’s basketball team. “On the community side of things, I took the guys to community service events,” he says. “On the corporate side, I teamed up with a professor at DePaul to teach the guys networking skills, how to enter a room, how to greet somebody with a handshake, how to look people in the eyes—things of that sort,” he continues. “On a professional side, I would use my NBA contacts to help those guys get a job [in professional leagues] overseas, or just get some intel that someone else probably couldn’t get.”

In his new role, Edwards helps former student-athletes stay connected to DePaul. He leads the D Club, DePaul Athletics’ letter-winners association, coordinates in-person and virtual events and assists in producing targeted communications for Athletics alumni. He is also the liaison to DePaul’s Office of Alumni Relations. New this year, “alumni will be able to get a ticket, or season tickets, for their sport for a small donation, which we never had before,” he says.

Of his long association and work with DePaul, Edwards says, “One of the reasons why I came to DePaul, what I love about DePaul, is the family atmosphere. We want to make sure alumni feel good and know they’re welcome to come back anytime. We’ll try to assist with anything we can for them.”