Inside Athletics

Michael Kobylanski is in his second year as Director of Athletics at Albertus Magnus College in the 2023-24 academic year. A veteran with nearly 25 years of collegiate athletic administration experience, Kobylanski assumed the role in July, 2022 after almost four years as Director of Athletics at the University of Connecticut Avery Point. In his present role, Kobylanski has oversight of the Falcons’ 17 intercollegiate programs and a collective staff of approximately 75 individuals. 

Since taking over as Athletic Director, Albertus Magnus College athletics has unveiled its 17th intercollegiate program – women’s ice hockey – and seen continued success academically, athletically and within the campus and local communities. Albertus and its athletic department have also seen an increased emphasis on fundraising and philanthropic effort over the past two years, highlighted by the inaugural Athletic Department Golf Tournament in October, 2023.

Kobylanski has also immediately engaged as an active member of the campus community. He serves as a member of the College’s Mental Health Coalition and JED Campus Team. Kobylanski also represents the athletic department on the Retention, New Student Orientation, Homecoming, Commencement and Dominican Mission and Ministries Committees. 

His first full year at Albertus Magnus College featured seven programs qualifying for the postseason, including a GNAC Tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearance from the men’s basketball team. Twenty individual student-athletes were recognized by various organizations for their athletic prowess. The department also had 11 GNAC All-Sportsmanship Team selections, while the women’s tennis team earned the GNAC Team Sportsmanship Award.

Albertus student-athletes finished the 2022-23 academic year with an average individual GPA of 3.29, which marked a slight increase from the year prior. Twelve teams closed the year with a GPA of 3.0 or higher. The year also produced 212 Dean’s List selections and 82 GNAC All-Academic Team members.

Keegan Riccio was lauded as the third student-athlete in Albertus history to earn College Sports Communicators Academic All-America laurels, while a single-year record 36 student-athletes earned CSC Academic All-District recognition.

Community service remained an important tenet within the department, as Albertus student-athletes, coaches and staff eclipsed over 1,000 volunteer hours. Kobylanski contributed to this cause with volunteer work on campus – including Albertus Day of Service, Campus Move-In Day and the St. Albert Week Food Drive – as well as in Greater New Haven.

As the AD at UConn Avery Point, Kobylanski was a member of the campus Senior Leadership Team and was responsible for all aspects of the intercollegiate athletics program, along with campus waterfront programming, recreation, and intramurals.  There, he developed and fostered a culture of academic success amongst the student-athletes, which peaked with an average cumulative student-athlete academic year GPA of 3.3. Kobylanski also developed numerous initiatives within the UConn Avery Point athletic department and the larger campus community, while also forging ahead with several new partnerships in Southeastern Connecticut. Athletically, the Pointers achieved success at the regional and national level, including a seventh-place finish from the women’s basketball team at the 2019 NJCAA Tournament.

His stint as UConn Avery Point was preceded by 11-plus years as Associate Director of Athletics at Southern Connecticut State University. Prior to that appointment, Kobylanski served as both Assistant Athletic Director and Sports Information Director at Quinnipiac University for six years.

Kobylanski was instrumental in developing key initiatives and elevating the internal and external communications efforts during his time at SCSU. His areas of oversight included media relations, social media, broadcast production, publications, marketing, promotions, community relations, CHAMPS Life Skills, licensing, and corporate sponsorship. He also served as the sports supervisor for several programs.

Extremely active within the local community, Kobylanski is a former co-chair of the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce Sports Council Steering Committee and a past co-chair of the March of Dimes’ annual Elm City Legends’ event. He is a current member of the Knights of Columbus and a former member of the New Haven YMCA Youth Center Board of Managers. Kobylanski has also been a volunteer within Cheshire Youth Baseball for several years.

He was recognized for his volunteer work by the College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA) for the last nine years (2015-2023) as a recipient of its “Volunteer 15” award. He also assists with CoSIDA as a member of 2YSIDA, a group of athletic administrators and communications professionals at two-year institutions. Kobylanski is a current member of the CSC Mentoring Program and the CSC Job Seekers Committee, where he assists with providing mentorship to aspiring professionals in the field. 

In addition, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation lauded him as one of “New Haven’s Finest” in the summer of 2016 for his cumulative professional and personal efforts.

A proven mentor, Kobylanski has guided nearly 40 young professionals to various positions across all three NCAA Divisions, the NJCAA, MLB, NHL, and NFL franchises, along with local and regional media outlets, and Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex.

Prior to joining the SCSU staff, he served as both Assistant Athletic Director and Sports Information Director during a six-year run at Quinnipiac University. In that role, Kobylanski was responsible for the publicity and media relations for 21 Division I programs and oversaw the daily operations of the Sports Information office.

A member of both CSC and the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), Kobylanski was also elected to a pair of two-year terms as chair of the Northeast Conference Sports Information Directors Committee during his time at Quinnipiac.

Kobylanski graduated cum laude from the University of Massachusetts with a bachelor’s degree in communications. He earned a master’s degree in journalism from Quinnipiac University in 2005 and was awarded a second master’s degree in management of sport industries from the University of New Haven in 2008.

An active educator, he has also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Connecticut, Quinnipiac University, Southern Connecticut State University, and the University of New Haven.