KAPPAS IN SPORTS
The Journal: So tell us a little bit about your childhood, your upbringing, and your overall family situation. Jarmond: I was born in Goldsboro, North Carolina but raised in Fayette- ville. Love where I came from. Always proud to represent Fayetteville. I know there are a lot of greats from Fayette- ville, like J Cole. That’s what the kids know, J Cole is from the Ville. My parents were unbelievable, Virginia and Matt Jarmond (Goldsboro (NC) Alumni 1983). My mom was a Delta. They were unbelievable and just did everything right. I have an older brother and that’s the family. Growing up man I loved sports. Grew up in the church, you know, and just tried to do right. One thing I wanted to mention from a family perspective was the main reason I pledged Kappa was because of my grandfather, whom I’d never met. So my dad’s dad, if I was born in 1979 he passed in 1976, but he pledged at Alpha Nu at North Carolina A&T in 1942. So, for me when I got to school, I never knew him, I’d never met him, I’d only heard about him. He retired as a school principal, got his undergrad and Masters’ Degrees at A&T and I’d heard so much about him from my dad and family, but I didn’t have that connection with him because I’d never met him. So, Kappa to me was that connection to Matthew D. Jarmond Sr (Alpha Nu 1942). My dad is a junior. So that’s a big piece of me and “why.” I wanted to make sure that I mentioned that be- cause that’s really important to me and my dad. But I had a great childhood. I went to UNC Wilmington and played a little bit of basketball there. I was never the fastest, never the best, but was always just trying to bring energy. And that’s how I live my life now. You know every day, whatever you do, be enthusiastic and have energy and just go. That’s kind of what my role was at UNC Wilmington playing basketball, but I learned a lot. Also, that’s where I pledged and crossed Mu Nu Chap- ter Spring 1998. And from there as a college athlete, so many people gave
back to me and helped me have a great college experience. I loved my college experience. I always liked being on a college campus. The young people everywhere, the energy, creativity, in- novation. There’s just something about being around young people and being on a campus that just gets me going. So, I started to think when I finish, I’d love to work in college. And maybe athlet- ics because I had so many people that worked behind the scenes that I didn’t even know who ensured I had a great student athlete experience. I went to graduate school. Got the John McClen- don scholarship named for the legend- ary HBCU basketball coach. I was one of the first to get that scholarship to go to grad school or else that may have not been possible for me.
never a good time” is true. Timing is everything, even during COVID and the pandemic the UCLA opportunity pre- sented itself. I never saw myself moving out west. Never saw myself in Califor- nia. Sometimes you can’t see it, but God can. I was just fortunate enough to get the opportunity and I said “you know, I can’t pass this one up. It’s too good to pass up.” To have this impact on young people. So that’s what lead me here to Westwood. The Journal: You’re answering all my questions before I get a chance to ask them brother, LOL. What was your undergrad major?
Jarmond: Communication Studies.
The Journal: I imagine you were a good student. So for the students and student athletes like you were who may be read- ing this, how were you able to be active in Kappa Alpha Psi, play basketball, ex- cel academically, and have a social life? How were you able to compartmentalize all of those things and complete them at a high level? Jarmond: I would say it’s energy man- agement. You know a lot of people talk about time, and time is obviously a fixed resource, and it’s important. But I think more important than that is your energy, and how you manage that. Especially at a young age like in college I was able to develop a strong energy management technique and plan. Because you can do things that take time, but if you don’t put the proper energy or don’t have that energy reserved, it’s not going to be worthwhile. I can go to the gym for an hour, you know that’s an hour, but if I’m not exerting that much effort and energy I’m not going to benefit from it. If I go for thirty minutes and really exert myself and push, that’s going to be more rewarding and fulfilling. That’s how I think about energy. So from a standpoint of being active in Kappa, and being a student, as well as playing basketball, I really had to focus my energy on those three things and really had to put aside
The Journal: Where did you attend graduate school?
Jarmond: Ohio University. They have one of the best Sports Administration programs in the country. I got two de- grees. I got my MBA and got a Masters’ in Sports Administration. I had some luck; I had an alum of the program that was working at Michigan State. He’s at Nevada now, but was at Michigan State at the time. I never thought I’d stay in the Midwest. I figured I’d do my few years and go back down south where it’s warm. I went to Michigan State kind of on an internship and thought I’d be there a couple of years. But low and behold, I caught a couple of breaks, put the time and effort in and ended up there seven years. Then I had the opportunity to go to The Ohio State University for eight years and worked under Gene Smith, who’s one of the best in the business, and I got to learn from him. He’s a giant man. From there I went to Boston College and became at age 37 the youngest AD in Power Five at the time. I loved my time in Boston, I was there three years and made some great connections, and right when things were going well and I was hitting my groove…low and behold, opportu- nity knocks. You know the saying “It’s
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