When Christina Roybal starts the new job officially on July 1, the new Director of Athletics said building relationships will be a huge priority.
That is not only with the coaches, administrators and the Northern Kentucky University Norse student-athletes. That’s also with the alumni and other members of the community.
“That’s what I plan on doing really for the next 30, 60, 90 days once I arrive – getting to know people and what they care about, what is so special and unique, what they find joy in coming here,” Roybal said. “Really those connections are the biggest piece.”
Roybal will take over for Ken Bothof. He announced his retirement earlier this year.
“We are at an exciting moment in our athletic department’s evolution having achieved championship-level success, both on and off the field,” said Ashish Vaidya, NKY President. “We are confident that Christina’s leadership and values will help elevate NKU Athletics and continue to build on the success we have experienced at the Division I level.”
Roybal will come to NKU from the University of Northern Iowa from the Missouri Valley Conference. She is the primary administrator for 14 of the 17 spots there. Her roles include budget development, and expenditure approvals. She’s been at Northern Iowa since 2016.
Roybal came to Northern Iowa from Fresno State University. She had a number of roles there including interim senior woman administrator and sport administrator for women’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s tennis. She also saw the creation of a women’s water polo squad.
NKU has 17 programs competing in Division I. A big difference is Northern Iowa has a football team and NKU does not.
“I think from the very beginning, I knew that NKU was an institution I was attracted to and it has a lot to do with the fact that the values closely align with mine,” Roybal said. “As a regional, comprehensive institution, it’s a very special type of student-athlete. It’s a student-athlete to knows they’re coming here to compete, to do great things in the classroom, but also be engaged in the community. That’s what I’m about. That’s the institutions that I’ve been a part of.”
NKU had a four-year transition from NCAA Division II to Division I that finished in 2016. Since then, NKU has seen five teams reach the NCAA Tournament. The men’s basketball team won the Horizon League Tournament in 2017, 2019 and 2020. The Norse led Wright State in the league championship in Indianapolis in the second half before falling.
NKU Head Coach Darrin Horn pointed out the Northern Iowa Panthers men’s basketball team has won NCAA Tournament games. That is something the Norse hope to do sometime.
The Panthers are 5-8 all-time in the NCAA Division I Tournament. The last win came 75-72 against the University of Texas in the first round in 2016. The Panthers made the Sweet 16 in 2010 after knocking off top-seeded Kansas, 69-67.
“I think the thing that’s exciting about Christina is she brings a wealth of experience in all the areas that are important,” Horn said. “She’s run an athletic program at schools that are in positions to accomplish some things that we aspire to. I think those two things to me really stand out.”
The women’s soccer team made the NCAA Tournament in 2016 and the women’s volleyball team won the Horizon League Tournament in 2019 to make it. Both have veteran head coaches. Bob Sheehan just finished his 25th season coaching the women’s soccer team and Liz Hart finished her 12th season with the volleyball team in the fall.
“I’m excited about her – proven leader, winner,” Hart said. “To be able to have a Director of Athletics that’s supervised 14 sports including women’s volleyball at UNI, which is an incredible program. I think to have a leader and mentor you can look up to and ask questions is very in-tune in what the NCAA is changing and evolving to. I trust her and am looking forward to getting to know her and see how she can help us grow our program and the entire athletic department.”
The recent changes with the Names, Images and Likeness (NIL) in which college athletes can receive financial payments is relatively new. It brings all sorts of challenges to teams.
“NIL I believe is here to stay so it’s a matter of embracing it for what it is and whatever it will turn out to be,” Roybal said. “NIL I think at a mid-major institution can still see opportunities that it does at the larger institutions. It’s just an opportunity for student-athletes to market themselves. Are other institutions using it to pull other student-athletes away or to recruit from high schools? Yes. It’s there. We’re going to continue to educate our student-athletes on the NIL process and educate the community on what is permitted. We’ll find the correct way to do it to allow the student-athletes the opportunity their images and likeness while still being a student.”
Horn noted figuring NIL out is important, especially what is most beneficial for the student-athletes. The Norse have seen some student-athletes benefit from it.
“The game is changing. There is a lot going on in college basketball,” Horn said. “Obviously, she’s well-versed and committed to making sure that we not only keep up, but get ahead of the curve and do things with it that benefit our student-athletes and improve Northern Kentucky athletics.”
In terms of the region, Roybal is aware NKU is competing with the University of Cincinnati and Thomas More University. But it is similar at Northern Iowa with the University of Iowa and Iowa State University.
“They’re at a different level, but still competing,” Roybal said. “That’s absolutely what we can do here at NKU. We have many great institutions nearby. We’re going to compete. We’re going to recruit and we’re going to do great things here.”
One challenge for teams is the transfer portal. NKU has benefitted from it and seen others leave. The Norse women’s basketball team welcomed Lindsey Duvall after three seasons at the University of Louisville then saw 2018 Campbell County graduate Taylor Close transfer to Thomas More where she helped the Saints to a National Association for Intercollegiate Athletics national championship.
“Do we want our student-athletes to stay? Absolutely,” Roybal said. “But the transfer portal gives them the right to transfer is they so choose to. We hope the experience that we provide them is the absolute best experience that they have if they’re willing and desiring to continue to stay here. But at end of the day, it is their right to choose and we just hope that they choose to stay with us.”
The NKU men’s basketball team generally has good crowds. Roybal would like to see more people at other sporting events.
“I think it’s a lot about being visible. The more that the student-athletes, myself, our staff are out, the more we’re visible and engaged in the community,” Roybal said. “That’s where they’re going to feel that connection and they’re going to come in and support our teams and programs. It is about staying connected with our alumni long after they’ve left. If we embrace our community, the community is going to embrace us and is going to fill those seats.”
The NKU teams consistently field players from the Tri-State. The 2021 volleyball roster listed six of the 15 players from the area.
“We have a tremendous group of coaches,” Roybal said. “Some of them have been here quite some time and some that are newer. But they are well-versed in recruiting. We’ve seen some success in the programs and so I have every bit of confidence in their abilities to recruit both from the region and beyond as well. Knowing that we are in a region with strong talent is obviously a benefit, but I’m confident in their abilities. It’s been proven they can recruit very well.”
Roybal has a Bachelor of Arts in health, physical education and recreation degree from Saint Mary’s College (California) in 2003. She holds master’s degrees from Fresno State in Kinesiology in 2006 and Business Administration in 2013.
She has two children. Her son Bailey is on the wrestling team at South Dakota State. Her daughter Nicolette is in the eighth grade.