Rider University Athletics

Now in her 24th year at Rider, Karin Torchia serves as the senior associate director of athletics for external operations and development and senior women's administrator. In this role, she serves as the sport administrator for field hockey, softball, women's lacrosse, and volleyball and acts as an advocate for all of Rider's women's athletics programs. In addition, she is primarily responsible for the promotion and marketing of all of Rider's 21 NCAA Division I varsity sports, oversees the department's social media, branding, and licensing efforts, coordinates advertising and corporate sponsorship fulfillment for the athletics department, and plans the annual Rider Athletics Golf Gala, National Girls and Women in Sports Day, Kid's Day Out, MAACness and Hall of Fame events. Torchia also directs the department's community relations efforts, serves as a liaison between the athletics department and various on-campus and external committees, and is responsible for overseeing the efforts for all ESPN3 and ESPN+ productions of Rider's home athletic event broadcasts. She also oversees all spirit groups at Rider (cheerleaders, dance team, pep band, and mascot) and the sports communications department.  Torchia also coordinates the department's DEI efforts as the Athletics Diversity and Inclusion Designee (ADID) and serves as the athletic department's liaison to the University's Title IX office.  She also previously hosted a feature show on BroncVision (via the athletics website gobroncs.com) called "Broncs Hot Seat, " showcasing some of Rider's teams, student-athletes, and coaches. 

Torchia is currently in her second year as a member of the Athletic Advisory Board for "Team Impact" which is an organization that matches children with serious or long-term illnesses or injuries with college sports teams to create life-changing experiences for everyone involved. She was recently named the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference's (MAAC) representative to the International Collegiate Licensing Association (ICLA), is serving her second term as the MAAC's representative to the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA), and held the position of Vice Chair of the MAAC Committee on Athletic Administration during the 2010-11 academic year. Torchia also acted as the volunteer coordinator for the 2006 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball First and Second Rounds and the 2009 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship Trenton Regional, both of which were co-hosted by Rider and the MAAC and held at Trenton's Sovereign Bank Arena (now the Cure Insurance Arena). 

In addition to her duties within the athletics department, Torchia is also very active on campus. She currently teaches a sports marketing and communications graduate-level course for the University's Master's in Athletic Leadership program while serving as a member of the MABC (Master of Arts in Business Communications) advisory board. She recently appeared as a supernumerary in the Wesminster Choir College of Rider University's opera performance of "Suor Angelica" and serves as the advisor to the Rider University Dance Team. Torchia has also served Rider's Greek Community in her duties as the current advisor to Zeta Tau Alpha sorority and formerly as advisor to Delta Phi Epsilon sorority from 2009-11 and to Zeta Beta Tau fraternity from 2002-07.  She was named Rider University's Chapter Advisor of the Year in 2005 for her work with the young men of Zeta Beta Tau. Additionally, for her efforts outside of athletics, Torchia was the 2007 recipient of the University's prestigious Nancy Gray Award honoring her for outstanding institutional leadership, University spirit, and community service, and was presented with Rider's Frank N. Elliott Award for distinguished service in December 2022.

Prior to joining the Rider staff in May 2000, Torchia spent five years with the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). She served two years in the role of director of championships before being promoted to assistant commissioner for championships and marketing, a position she then held for three years. She was primarily responsible for the administration and operational aspects of the conference's 24 championships in those roles. Torchia also directed the MAAC's community relations projects consisting of the MAAC W.A.Y., MAAC Gives Back, and NCAA YES Clinic programs while developing league schedules and in-season and championship policies for several sports. In addition, she coordinated the MAAC's awards, promotions, and merchandise programs and was the meet director for the 1998 NCAA Men's and Women's Cross Country Northeast Regional Championship. 

Torchia also previously held the positions of administrative intern and assistant to the commissioner at the Atlantic 10 Conference. During that time she was responsible for the league's official's program, coordinated all meeting and travel arrangements, assisted the conference's financial officer with budget management, and helped with the administration of the league's 18 championships. 

Also active on the conference, regional, and national levels, Torchia is currently a member of the NACMA (National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators) Small School Committee and the NACMA "Best of" judging committee and was a member of the NCAA Division I Field Hockey Committee from 2010-2014 while chairing the Mid-Atlantic Regional Advisory Committee within that role. She was a member of the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Committee from 1997-2001 and chaired the Northeast Regional Advisory Committee as part of that appointment. Torchia currently serves as a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference's (MAAC) Strategic Planning, Gender Equity, Awards, Marketing & Television, and Women's Basketball committees.  She formerly chaired the MAAC Field Hockey Committee and served on the ECAC Championships Cabinet, and the ECAC Softball Championship and All-Star Selection committees from 1997-2000. 

A resident of Newtown, Pennsylvania, Torchia earned a bachelor's degree in sport management and a master's degree in sports administration from West Virginia University where she spent three years as a member of the women's lacrosse team and worked as an undergraduate student assistant and then graduate assistant in the WVU Sports Communications office.