Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Athletics

Kristie Bowers, Ph.D. was appointed Associate Vice Provost and Director of Athletics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in August 2023. Bowers joined RPI following four years as Senior Associate Athletic Director and Senior Woman Administrator at Boston University, becoming the first woman in Institute history to lead the Department of Athletics.
 
"It is my pleasure to welcome Kristie Bowers to RPI," said President Marty Schmidt, Ph.D. '81, at the time of her appointment. "Her record of helping student-athletes achieve both athletic and academic excellence makes Dr. Bowers the perfect fit for our community. She is committed to fostering healthy, well-rounded student leaders, and we look forward to the continued growth of our programs and new heights of success for our athletes under Dr. Bowers' leadership. We are also very proud to celebrate our first-ever female athletics director."
 
Since arriving in Troy, Bowers has led one of the most successful and transformative periods in recent RPI Athletics history. During her first three years, the Engineers have captured eight Liberty League team championships, produced 31 national All-Americans, qualified 71 student-athletes for NCAA Championships, and earned 17 NCAA team tournament appearances. RPI teams have also amassed 121 All-Liberty League/ECAC major award selections, 291 All-Liberty League honorees through championship competition, seven Liberty League Performers of the Year, 11 Rookie of the Year awards, and nine Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year honors.
 
The Engineers have continued to excel nationally under Bowers' leadership. During the 2024-25 academic year, six teams advanced to NCAA postseason competition while 50 student-athletes qualified individually for NCAA Championships. The following year, the women's tennis program earned its first NCAA Tournament berth in school history, joining the nationally ranked men's cross country team in postseason competition.
 
Academically, RPI student-athletes have continued to distinguish themselves in the classroom, combining for 868 conference All-Academic selections over Bowers' first three years, including 266 honorees in 2024-25 and 233 in 2025-26. The department has also maintained its commitment to developing the complete student-athlete through leadership, career development, and community engagement initiatives.
 
Bowers has also overseen unprecedented philanthropic growth across the department. Annual RPi Giving Day support has climbed from $306,063 generated through 1,960 gifts in 2024 to $317,301 from 2,467 contributions in 2025 before reaching a record-setting $530,739 through 2,231 gifts during the 2026 campaign.
 
In addition to annual fundraising success, Bowers has helped secure transformational philanthropic investments that will impact RPI Athletics for generations. In November 2025, the Institute announced a record-setting $500,000 anonymous multi-year commitment supporting the men's and women's lacrosse programs. One month later, longtime benefactors Robert R. Jojo '87 and Linda Pitzi Jojo, B.S. '87, M.S. '92, made a landmark gift establishing the Carol Stiff Endowment for Women's Basketball, enhancing annual operational support for the program, and launching a challenge initiative to create the RPI Sports Performance & Wellness Department, a multidisciplinary program designed to advance student-athlete performance, health, and overall well-being.
 
Bowers has also emerged as a respected national leader in Division III athletics. In July 2026, she was elected Chair of the NCAA Division III Management Council and will begin her term following the 2027 NCAA Convention.
 
Prior to RPI, Bowers served as Senior Associate Athletic Director and Senior Woman Administrator at Boston University, where she oversaw sport performance, wellness, academic support, leadership, and character and career development of student-athletes. She managed a significant endowment for the personal and professional development of student-athletes, staff, and coaches; a large summer financial aid budget for coursework; and a fueling station budget for student-athletes. She also coordinated the use of the NCAA Student Assistance Fund (SAF) to support additional medical and educational expenses of student-athletes. During the 2021-22 academic year, all 24 BU teams posted a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0, seven teams earned perfect Academic Progress Rates, and the department achieved a 95 percent Graduation Success Rate. As a sport administrator, Bowers oversaw two Patriot League Tournament championships, four regular-season conference championships, and consecutive runner-up finishes at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championship Regatta.
 
Prior to Boston University, Bowers served as Assistant Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Support and Development at Binghamton University, where she directed academic support programs for approximately 400 student-athletes while overseeing academic awards, eligibility, and degree progress. She helped the men's basketball program achieve perfect 1,000 Academic Progress Rate scores in both 2017 and 2018.
 
Previously, she served as an academic advisor for the men's soccer and softball programs while administering a $30,000 NCAA CHOICES grant focused on reducing risk-taking behaviors among student-athletes. Bowers also helped secure a $500,000 gift to enhance student-athlete facilities and support services, contributing to the highest departmental GPA in Binghamton Athletics history during her final semester.
 
Bowers additionally served as sport administrator for women's tennis and co-led the Bearcats' Athletics Leadership Institute while managing tutoring and mentoring resources through the Student-Athlete Opportunity Fund. Earlier in her career, she spent five seasons as an assistant women's soccer coach at Binghamton, helping develop a defense that recorded seven shutouts and allowed fewer than one goal per game during her first season.
 
As a student-athlete, Bowers was one of the most accomplished goalkeepers in Binghamton women's soccer history. She helped lead the Bearcats to their first conference championship and NCAA Tournament appearance before finishing fifth nationally in save percentage the following season. She remains the program's career leader in saves (383) and minutes played (6,544). Following graduation, she played professionally for the Rochester Ravens (2005-06) and Rochester Rhinos (2007) of the United Soccer League's W-League Northern Division.
 
Bowers also served as graduate assistant coach and goalkeeper coach at Western Carolina University, helping guide the Catamounts to the 2008 Southern Conference Championship and an NCAA Tournament appearance.
 
She earned a Ph.D. in Community and Public Affairs from Binghamton University, a Master of Arts in Teaching from Western Carolina University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Human Development from Binghamton. Bowers is married to Leah Bowers (Binghamton '02, '04), a member of the Binghamton Athletics Hall of Fame.