City College names Lydia Travis athletic director

Lydia Travis, a sports management expert with several professional affiliations, is The City College of New York’s new director of athletics. Her appointment is effective March 12.

“Lydia brings expertise and experience for both the academic and athletic facets of our student-athletes' college lives, and that's perfect for a place like City College,” said CCNY    President Vince Boudreau. “We are serious about supporting, and enjoying, athletic competition on this campus, but must never lose sight of the bigger picture: that our students must graduate with a successful academic record and a bright future before them.”

He added that Travis was the right person to build these values more deeply into the  program.

“I would like to thank President Boudreau, Interim Vice President for Student Affairs Wendy Thornton and the search committee for entrusting me to lead the City College of New York’s Athletics Program and serve the CCNY community,” said Travis. “I am eager to begin working with the talented coaches and staff who bring a wealth of knowledge to the program as we contribute to the development of our student athletes in and out of the playing arena.  I also look forward to engaging our alumni, campus and local communities to build on the amazing history and traditions of Beaver athletics.”

Travis is a member of the Women Leaders in College Sports, the National Association of Athletic Compliance and serves on the Minority Opportunity Athletics Association Membership Committee.  She joins CCNY from Queens College, CUNY's only NCAA Division II athletic program, where she was assistant athletics director for student-athlete performance.

Before her tenure at Queens, Travis served as assistant athletic director for internal relations and senior woman administrator at Kentucky State University. There she oversaw several sports programs and strengthened multiple processes to maximize the effectiveness of the athletic academic support services area.   

She also created a student-athlete peer mentoring program and KSU’s senior seminar series, designed to prepare senior student-athletes for careers after athletics. Under her direction, KSU earned three Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Academic Team Championships and held its highest department grade point average in over a decade.

Travis is a graduate of Virginia State University where she earned BA and master’s degrees in sports management.

About The City College of New York
Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided a high quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. Today The Chronicle of Higher Education ranks CCNY #2 among public colleges with the greatest success in ensuring the social mobility of our student body; at the same time the Center for world University Rankings places it in the top 1.2% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. More than 16,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight professional schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity and scholarship. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic and visionary as New York City itself.  View CCNY Media Kit.