Black Hills State University Athletics

Kristin Carmichael has been with Black Hills State, starting as a volleyball student-athlete in 2005. She currently serves as the Assistant Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Success and as the department's Senior Woman Administrator (SWA), moving into her current role in August of 2022.

She has remained committed to BHSU and the athletics department since her playing days, serving as the head volleyball coach for eight seasons (2014-21), prior to moving into an administrative role within the department. 

In her current Assistant AD position, Carmichael assists with the day-to-day operations of the athletic department.  She is charged with student-athlete development, such as community engagement activities, career development, life skills, and mental and physical wellness. Carmichael also serves as an advocate for gender equity within the athletic department, is the Athletics Title IX Coordinator, and is the liaison between the institution, athletic department, and the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC). 

She also assists with game-day operations, athletic fundraising events, and compliance trainings. Carmichael coordinates community outreach activities for coaches and athletes and is responsible for hiring new athletic department staff members. Additionally, Carmichael also serves as the advisor for BHSU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).

While leading the volleyball program, Carmichael's teams had a pair of American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Academic Award (2016, 2018). She coached 12 All-Conference performers. In 2016, Carmichael coached the Co-Defensive Player of the Year Lacy Stevens, who broke the school record for career digs (1,771) and set an RMAC record for second-most digs in a match (49 digs). The BHSU alum also lead the program to their first trip to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) tournament in program history in 2017. 

Formerly known as Kristin Engle while a student-athlete at BHSU, Carmichael was a three-time National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) All-American for the Yellow Jackets and can be found in the Yellow Jacket volleyball record book 20 different times. She is the all-time leader in solo blocks (146), assisted blocks (622), kills (1,539) and games played (443). She twice led the Yellow Jackets to the Dakota Athletic Conference (DAC) Championship and a pair of NAIA National Tournament appearances. She also earned the DAC Freshman of the Year (2006), DAC Player of the Year (2008), DAC Most Valuable Senior (2009) Honorable Mention All-American (2007), Second Team All-American (2008) and First Team All-American (2009). She ended her career at BHSU with a .404 hitting efficiency, setting a DAC record.

Following her playing career, Carmichael served as the graduate assistant for the Yellow Jackets before moving into the assistant coach position. During her tenure as an assistant coach, Carmichael oversaw five all-conference student-athletes.

Kristin is married to her husband, Kelly and they have two daughters, Emersyn and Avery.