Daemen University Athletics

A dedicated administrator with more than 30 years of experience working in intercollegiate athletics, Traci Murphy has led the Division of Athletics at Daemen University since her appointment in August of 2018. In that time, she has overseen an athletics program on the rise in the ranks of NCAA Division II, leading to her promotion to Vice President for Athletics in May 2024.

Daemen teams have combined for 37 top-three finishes in their respective conference standings while raising 15 conference championship banners to the Lumsden Gymnasium rafters. Additionally, the Wildcats have earned a combined 19 berths to their respective NCAA Division II Championship tournaments, winning a total of five East Region championships along the way. 

Under Murphy’s leadership, the Wildcats’ achievements have not been exclusively relegated to the fields of competition. In the classroom, Daemen student-athletes have posted a collective grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher in each semester of Murphy’s tenure, including a 3.41 during the Spring 2020 semester - the highest such GPA since the tracking of academic stats became commonplace several years prior. The accomplishment was further highlighted by the fact it came during an unprecedented semester that was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic which forced a transition to fully remote learning. 

Murphy played an important role in bringing Daemen's brand new turf sporting field, Royal Park, to life in collaboration with Daemen University and the Town of Amherst. The new home of Daemen men's and women's soccer, women's lacrosse, men's and women's tennis, and women's flag football (Spring 2028), Royal Park officially opened up in the summer of 2025 with the first Daemen home game being played as the women's soccer home opener in September 2025. Royal Park features include a multi-use, synthetic turf field built to meet NCAA Division II standards with a new field house building that includes locker rooms, athletic training room, storage space, concessions & ticket office, public handicap accessible multi-use restrooms and family toilet room. The project also added six tennis courts; two pickleball courts, a splash pad, shelter/picnic pavilion and a walking path with provisions for future adult fitness trail. An existing inclusive playground constructed in 2018 was relocated inside the park, with additional climber play equipment installed. 

Murphy additionally serves as a cabinet member for Gary A. Olson, president of the university. She has also been a member of the university’s Strategic Plan Steering Committee, an experience that helped to shape the development and launch of Daemen Athletics’ Strategic Vision for 2026-31, a document entitled The Wildcat Way. 

Murphy’s presence with leadership positions at both the conference and national levels has also served to raise Daemen’s profile. She was the chair of the East Coast Conference Athletic Directors Executive Committee, and just finished serving term as the President of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Division II Athletic Directors Association. She also served on the NCAA Division II Implementation Committee. A graduate of the NCAA Pathway Program, Murphy serves as a mentor with NACDA's Women and Minorities Mentoring Program. Her work has not gone unseen: Murphy was named the NACDA Athletic Director of the Year following the 2024-25 school year and was also named a 2025 Buffalo Business First Woman of Influence. 

No stranger to Main Street, Murphy came to Daemen following a 13-year stint less than five miles down the road as the associate athletics director/senior woman administrator at Canisius University. While there, Murphy was integral in the administration of an NCAA Division I athletics program that included 18 intercollegiate programs. Among the various committees she served on, Murphy was vice-chair of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (Metro) Committee on Athletic Administration. She also served on the Metro Women's Basketball and Gender Equity/Student-Athlete Welfare Committees, as well as NCAA committees for Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving and Initial Eligibility Appeals. 

Prior to her arrival in Western New York, Murphy served as director of compliance, academics, and student-athlete support services/senior woman administrator at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, where she previously held the position of associate head athletic trainer. Prior to her tenure at ULM, she was head athletic trainer and director of intramurals and wellness at St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

Active in the community, Murphy is a long-time volunteer with Western New York Girls in Sports, which empowers young girls to be healthy and confident through participation in sports and physical activity. She also serves as the advisory council chair of the Buffalo Sports Commission and is on the Board of the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. 

Murphy earned a master’s degree from the University of Arkansas and a bachelor’s degree from West Chester University. While at WCU, Murphy competed as an NCAA Division II student-athlete in the sport of swimming. A member of College Women Leaders, she is also a graduate of Women Leaders Institute for Administrative Advancement.

A native of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, Murphy resides in Amherst. Her two children, Sean and Sarah, are both graduates of Amherst High School; Sean is a graduate of Belmont University and is currently a graduate student at the University of Southern Mississippi and a faculty member in music at Pearl River Community College. Sarah is currently attending the University of South Alabama and is completing an internship with the East Coast Conference.