Motion Sports is excited to welcome Christina Roybal as a Senior Advisor, bringing one of the most valuable perspectives in college athletics today to its growing team.
Roybal most recently served as Vice President and Director of Athletics at Northern Kentucky University, where she led the department through a period of strong growth across competitive success, academic achievement, and fan engagement.
During her tenure at NKU, multiple athletic programs won conference championships and advanced to NCAA postseason play. At the same time, student-athletes reached record-setting academic performance, including the highest department GPA in school history. The department also saw some of the largest crowds ever at Truist Arena (men’s basketball) and Regents Hall (women’s volleyball).
But beyond the wins and milestones, Roybal’s experience is grounded in the day-to-day reality of running a Division I athletic department. Managing budgets, supporting overextended staff, and balancing compliance, operations, and the student-athlete experience. In short, always finding ways to do more with less.
That perspective is a big reason Northern Kentucky University became a Motion customer during her time as Athletic Director.
“Christina understands this space in a way you can’t replicate unless you’ve lived it,” said Motion Co-Founder / CEO Jay Townsend. “She knows what actually matters inside an athletic department, and where things break down. That’s the kind of insight we want shaping how we grow.”
Before NKU, Roybal spent six years at the University of Northern Iowa as Senior Associate Athletic Director for Sports Administration, where she oversaw 14 sports and served as Senior Woman Administrator and Deputy Title IX Coordinator. She also spent a decade at Fresno State in a range of athletic leadership roles across operations, compliance, and administration.
She has been actively involved at the national level as well, including work with the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics and Women Leaders in Sports.
As a Senior Advisor, Roybal will work closely with Motion’s leadership team on product direction, innovation, customer experience, and overall strategy. Her role will be a crucial component ensuring Motion builds solutions that truly align with how athletic departments operate.
“Having served as an AD, I understand the pressures departments are under right now,” Roybal said. “Under pressure both financially and operationally. That’s what stood out to me about Motion—their vision to help bring accessible solutions to these athletic departments. I’m excited to get to work and support what they’re building.”
Roybal’s addition reflects how Motion approaches building. The team stays close to the people doing the work every day, builds alongside them, and focuses on solving real needs, not assumptions.