Nina E. King

Nina E. King is VP & Director, Athletics at Duke University. In 13 years on Duke’s staff, King has served as the chief operating officer for Duke Athletics, with direct responsibility for human resources, Recreation and Physical Education, legal and regulatory affairs, as well as strategic planning and special projects. She also oversees Duke’s women’s basketball and football programs.

In addition, King co-teaches a sports business course in Duke’s Fuqua School of Business as part of Duke’s MBA program alongside Dr. White. She also championed the creation and launch of the Rubenstein-Bing ACE program, a collaboration between Stanford and Duke for global civic engagement for student-athletes from both athletics departments.

In February of 2018, King was named to Sports Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 Class of 2018. The annual list honors 40 executives for excellence and innovation in their respective careers, all before the age of 40. Later that year, she was tapped to the Leaders Under 40 Class of 2018, honoring sports business executives from around the world. In 2019, Sports Business Journal named King among the leading power players in college sports, while Adidas selected her to the “Next Up” class in 2016, which recognized senior-level administrators ready to take the next step as athletic directors.

King has one year remaining as a member of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee, after serving as Chair in 2020-21. The 10-person group’s charge, among many duties, is the selection, seeding, and bracketing for the annual NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship. King also serves on several ACC and Duke University committees and was previously a member of the NCAA Committee on Institutional Performance.

King received her bachelor’s degree in accountancy from the University of Notre Dame where she participated as a student manager and eventually as the head manager for the women's swimming and diving program, and her juris doctor degree from Tulane Law School. She served internships in the Notre Dame Athletics Department, NCAA and Nike, Inc.

Prior to joining Duke University, King served as the Director of Rules Education in the Notre Dame Athletics Department from 2005-08.

She is a member of Women Leaders in College Sports, Sports Lawyers Association, University of Notre Dame National Monogram Club and the Florida Bar Association. Additionally, King serves on the Arizona State University College of Law Sports Law and Business Program Advisory Board as well as the Durham Academy Board of Trustees.

King and her husband, Rick, are the parents of Connor Stephan and Austin Casey.