Koller Honored with SUNYAC Retiree Award
Buffalo State Sports Information Department
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) has honored Tom Koller with its Retiree Award after he retired from Buffalo State in June of 2021. The Retiree Award is presented to personnel of full member institutions or the conference office with a minimum of 15 years of service within the conference.
Koller assumed the role of officer in charge of intercollegiate athletics at Buffalo State effective July 1, 2020 following the retirement of long-time director of athletics Jerry Boyes. Koller has been a vital part of the Bengals' athletics department since 2001 when he was first hired as assistant athletics director for external affairs and was later promoted to senior associate athletics Director in 2010.
Prior to coming to Buffalo State, the Western New York native enjoyed 11 years at the University at Buffalo, first as the director of sports information and later as assistant athletics director for marketing and corporate relations.
At Buffalo State, his duties have included supervision of five offices as well as several athletics programs. He is the department's chief development officer, which includes liaison to the university's institutional advancement office as well as oversight of team fundraising, the Bengal Club, major gift solicitation and the annual Bengal Club Golf Classic. Responsible for corporate relations, Koller has developed and implemented partnerships with local, regional and national companies to raise more than $1.6 million since his arrival. He is also responsible for marketing and promotions, and has oversight of camps and clinics. Koller also serves as chair of the Buffalo State Athletics Hall of Fame and for many years was the chair of the Buffalo State Homecoming and Family Weekend. In addition, he has served as master of ceremony for the college's annual Scholarship Gala, which raises some $300,000 annually, has been lead speaker at first-year Convocation and is an adjunct professor in the communication department specializing in media writing, sports journalism and oral communication / public speaking. The past two years he has served as campaign coordinator for the college's SEFA / United Way campaign.
He recently concluded his third year as president of the prestigious Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. A graduate of Buffalo State (journalism, 1980) with a master's degree from UB (administration of higher education, 1999), Koller began his professional career as a sports writer at the Rome Daily Sentinel before spending 12 years at the Niagara Gazette in Niagara Falls where his primary beats included the Buffalo Bills and Niagara University athletics. Koller and his wife, Linda, have two children, Caroline and Laurie Beth
Koller will be recognized by the conference and the Governing Body along with the other 2022 award recipients at the SUNYAC Awards Banquet in Syracuse in May.
