New Mexico State University Athletics

One of the first great NM State volleyball players in the 1990s, Maria Roth made her presence felt night in and night out while competing for the Roadrunners both in non-conference and Big West action. 

Roth reeled in All-Big West acclaim on two occasions, gaining Second Team honors in 1994 and First Team laurels in 1995. The 1995 season was a special one for Roth as she became just the third Roadrunner to earn AVCA All-Region recognition. Roth secured District Seven honors at the conclusion of the 1995 campaign.

Few outside hitters in NM State history put up the kind of numbers Roth did through her tenure in a Roadrunner uniform. To this day, Roth remains among the program's top-ten in career kills (sixth, 1,309), career kills per set (eighth, 3.37), total attack attempts (fifth, 3,476) digs (eighth, 1,141) and digs per set (seventh, 2.94). 

Roth's affiliation with college athletics continued long after she received her NM State diploma. From 1997-02, the Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, native served as an assistant coach for NM State's volleyball team. With Roth on sidelines, NM State laid claim to the 2001 Sun Belt Western Division crown - the program's first conference title in the modern era. 

Athletic administration was Roth's next move and in July of 2002 she was named an Assistant Athletic Director and Senior Woman Administrator (SWA) at NM State. In August of 2009, Roth was elevated to the position of Associate Athletic Director. Her contributions to NM State athletics were many during her time as an administrator as she helped the institution add women's soccer and equestrian as varsity sports. In that role, Roth had direct oversight of as many as nine of NM State's men's and women's NCAA Division I programs.

As well as her day-to-day role in NM State's department of athletics, Roth served as the tournament director for the WAC Men's and Women's Basketball Tournament which were hosted inside the Pan American Center in 2007 and 2008. She played a major part in getting the WAC Tournaments to the Land of Enchantment for those two seasons, presenting the case for the league to send its conference tournament to the Aggies' home. 

A champion for women's athletics, Roth aided in the creation of NM State's 10-year gender equity plan, served on the NCAA Division I softball committee from 2008-12, lobbied the State of New Mexico legislature and contributed to NM State athletics' strategic plan beginning in 2005. 

Roth made the move to the University of Memphis in 2013 where she was installed as the institution's Senior Associate Athletic Director for Sport Services as well as its SWA. Through her time at Memphis, Roth also served on the NCAA Division I Championships and Sports Management Cabinet as the American Athletic Conference (AAC) representative. She returned home to her native Canada in order to be with her family in 2014.