Carlineo Relishes Opportunity to Return to Buffalo State

Buffalo State College Director of Athletics Renee Carlineo almost became an engineer. That’s the direction she was heading going into her senior year of high school. An internship with her high school athletic director in Corning, New York, however, changed that. 

“I just loved what I was doing,” she said, of the internship. “I didn’t want to be an engineer. I wanted to work in sports somehow.”

After serving as an assistant women’s lacrosse and head strength and conditioning coach at Buffalo State from 2007 to 2012, and stints in the athletic departments at Elmira College and the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Carlineo made her way back to Buffalo State in June 2021. This is when she was named the successor to longtime Athletic Director Jerry Boyes. 

“I love Buffalo State,” she said. “I love our students; I love what we do here. I wasn't going to pass up the chance to come back.”

Taking over for Boyes, who served as the athletic director for more than 20 years, had its pros and cons, Carlineo said. Taking over in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic presented other challenges. 

“It wasn't just the immediate change of leadership.” she said. “There was this huge pause in athletics, and all these other things. I think everybody was really ready for some energy and to start trying to move forward.”

Before coming back to Buffalo State, Carlineo served as the associate vice president of athletics at Elmira College, starting in 2019. At Elmira, she was responsible for 22 NCAA Division III programs in addition to varsity clubs, campus recreation, intramurals, and physical education. She also served as a member of the President’s Senior Leadership Cabinet and the NCAA Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) for women’s lacrosse.

She also served as an associate athletics director at RIT   where she was responsible for the scheduling, event management, transportation, travel budgets, and daily operations for the institutions 21 NCAA Division III and two NCAA Division I programs. 

Carlineo also has a background in development, serving as the leadership giving officer at Ithaca College before being promoted to the director of family giving within the development office. In her time there, she successfully closed major gifts that established the first endowment for a women's athletic program, as well as transformational gifts from alumni and parents to support Ithaca's endowment, annual fund, financial aid, and intercollegiate athletics. 

Working in that capacity as a fundraiser was beneficial, Carlineo said, adding
“It’s really helped in my athletic director role.” 

In her current role, Carlineo is looking at what the future holds for athletics at Buffalo State. 

“That involves defining what our culture is going to be like, what our goals are, and how we're going to operate as a team,” she said. “I approach this position just like I would as a coach. We have a team of people, and we’ve got some goals. Winning is one, but there's so much more that goes into what produces the wins.”

Going forward, Carlineo said she knows there will be bumps in the road. She looks at those as opportunities for growth. 

“I'm thankful that I understood a lot about this department coming into it,” she said. “I think my time at Elmira gave me an opportunity to learn. I made some mistakes, but I think it's important to learn from those mistakes. I'm a big believer in education, and development never stops.”

Top photo: Renee Carlineo, who was named director of athletics for Buffalo State College in June 2021, is shown here with a group of senior female athletes in 2012. At that time, Carlineo served as assistant women’s lacrosse and head strength and conditioning coach.