Board of Directors

M. Dianne Murphy, Ph.D.

Senior Partner, The PICTOR Group

Dr. M. Dianne Murphy presided over one of the most successful periods in Columbia University Athletics history during her 11-year tenure (2004-2015). She also served as the University Advisor on Athletics Issues until retiring from
Columbia on June 30th, 2016 where she joined The PICTOR Group as a senior partner.

During the 2014-15 academic year, six Columbia coaches were named Ivy League Coach of the Year, the men and women’s squash programs finished with their best national finish in school history, the men’s tennis program finished the season ranked 14th in the country, advancing to their second straight NCAA Sweet 16, the baseball team won its third consecutive Ivy League title, and the Columbia Fencing team earned the program’s 14th NCAA Team Championship.

In December 2013, Columbia Athletics completed the largest fundraising effort in the history of the athletics program, The Columbia Campaign for Athletics: Achieving Excellence. During the Campaign, Columbia Athletics raised more than $100 Million in support of People, Places and Programs. Columbia dedicated The Campbell Sports Center in October 2012. The Campbell Sports Center, the lynchpin of the Campaign, is the first new building built for athletics at Columbia in more than 60 years.

A prominent and active administrator on the national collegiate athletics landscape, Murphy was named to the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee in February 2011. She also developed an elite leadership-training program for college women’s basketball coaches, The Center for Coaching Excellence, in conjunction with the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).

Columbia teams excelled during her tenure as Columbia won a total of 30 Ivy League titles in 11 different sports including baseball, men’s cross country, women’s cross country, men’s fencing, women’s fencing, men’s golf, women’s golf, women’s soccer, women’s indoor track and field, men’s tennis and women’s tennis.

Murphy began her athletics administrative career in 1987-88 as the assistant athletics director at Kentucky State University. From 1986 to 1988, she chaired the school’s Division of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, and served as an associate professor.

Prior to becoming an athletics administrator, Murphy coached basketball for 13 years. She was the head women’s basketball coach at Shorter College (1973-76), Florida State University (1976-79) and Eastern Kentucky University (1979-86).

Murphy was named the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Administrator of the Year in 2004. She chaired the NCAA Division I Basketball Issues Committee from 2002 to 2004 and served as a member of the State Farm Wade Trophy Women’s Basketball Player of the Year Committee from 2003 to 2013. She also served on the NCAA Certification and Diversity Committee and the Board of Directors for the Women’s Collegiate Sports Awards, the organization that presents the Honda Award and the Honda-Broderick Cup.

She is active in several national organizations, including the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators (NACWAA), the National Association of College Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and the WBCA. She was named NACWAA’s Lifetime Achievement Honoree in 2016, the Division I (Football Championship Subdivision) National Administrator of the Year in 2008 and was selected NACWAA’s Division I AAA National Administrator of the Year in 2001. She served as NACWAA’s president during 2002-03. In 2004, NACDA honored her as the General Sports Turf West Athletics Director of the Year. The All-American Football Foundation has presented her with the Senior Sports Administrator Award and the General Robert R. Neyland Outstanding Athletics Director Award in 2007.

At Columbia, she helped initiate the University’s Sports Management master’s degree program and has served as a member of its faculty. She was also instrumental in developing The Center for Coaching Excellence.

Murphy holds a Ph.D. in administration and curriculum from Florida State (1980), and master’s (1973) and bachelor’s (1972) degrees from Tennessee Technological University. The Tennessee Tech Alumni Association honored her with its 2005 Distinguished Alumna Award. Florida State presented her with its “Grad Made Good” award at its 2005 Homecoming.