Kiel attended Columbus East High School in Indiana, where he was rated the #3 quarterback in the nation by Parade. Coach Dan Devine offered him a scholarship to the University of Notre Dame, where Kiel earned the starting quarterback job during his freshman year, four games into the 1980 season. The team achieved a 9-0-1 record and the #2 ranking before closing the season with losses at USC (3-20) and to Georgia in the Sugar Bowl (10–17).
Kiel went on to become the sixth all-time leading passer for Notre Dame, and holds the record for the team's longest pass play—a 96-yard bomb to Joe Howard against Georgia Tech in 1981. In his final game, he led his unranked team to victory over 13th-ranked Boston College in the Liberty Bowl.
Kiel resided in the Fishers area with his fiancé Lisa and her son. Blair worked as a private quarterback coach. He died of a heart attack at Columbus Regional Hospital on April 8, 2012, at the age of 50.[1]
Kiel's nephew, Gunner Kiel, played college football for Notre Dame and Cincinnati. His brother, Kip, played for Butler; another nephew, Drew, played at Illinois State; a third nephew, Dusty, played at Indiana.[2]
