Riverdale, N.Y. — Raven James, the current director of women's basketball operations, has been appointed to the role of Associate Director of Athletics for External Relations, Athletic Marketing and Senior Woman Administrator it was announced by was Athletic Director Irma Garcia. James has officially started in her new role as of today.
"Manhattan College Athletics is fortunate to have a leader like Raven James who has a proven track record of working in college sports and using her talents to help support student-athletes," Garcia said. "Raven will now be an advocate for every student-athlete on campus and will get to showcase her passion for Manhattan College on an even bigger scale."
James has been at Manhattan since June 2022, serving as director of basketball operations for the Manhattan Women's Basketball program under current head coach Heather Vulin. With women's basketball, James assisted with coordinating travel arrangements, social media, organizing special events, budget management, fundraising, and other administrative responsibilities. In the two seasons with James on staff, Manhattan advanced to the MAAC Championship Game in 2023 and posted an 18-11 record this past season.
"First off, I'd like to thank Coach Heather Vulin for her guidance and unwavering support. She is always a shining example of leadership and continues to be a wonderful mentor to me," James said. "I am truly grateful to our Athletic Director Irma Garcia, Deputy Director of Athletics Anthony Kurtin, and Senior Associate Athletic Director, Compliance Ann Gulino for this amazing opportunity to serve in this new role. Their confidence in me is both humbling and empowering."
In her new role, James will report directly to Garcia and will be responsible for the overall leadership and supervision of external operations, with special emphasis on the integration of athletics communication, marketing and promotions, ticketing and overall brand development.
Before arriving in Riverdale, James spent one season as a graduate assistant for the James Madison Women's Basketball program. During her time with the Dukes, James played a role with scouting, player development, recruiting, and overseeing social media programming.
"Her leadership, creativity, and talent will be a wonderful addition to our administrative staff," said Vulin.
James is a graduate of Villanova University having played a five years on the Wildcats' women's basketball team. While on the Main line, James played in 107 games and made 53 starts. James led all Wildcat players in assists in each of her last two seasons (2019-20 and 2020-21).
A native of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, James is an alum of Paul VI Catholic High School in Fairfax, Virginia where she was ranked a Top 150 player in the country by Prospect Nation and Blue Star Media. At Paul VI, James helped lead the girls' basketball program to back-to-back Washington Catholic Athletic Conference titles and four consecutive VA Independent Schools Athletic Association state titles.
