Texas A&M Professor’s Passion Helps Bring U.S. Paralympics Competition to Aggieland

On April 6 and 7, many of the nation’s top Para-cyclists competed in the U.S. Paralympics Road Cycling Open at the Texas A&M University-RELLIS campus in Bryan, Texas in hopes of getting one step closer to the 2024 Summer Paralympic Games in Paris.

Bringing this prestigious event to Aggieland was a project two years in the making, initiated by Dr. Lisa Colvin of the College of Education & Human Development’s Department of Kinesiology and Sport Management. Since arriving in the summer of 2022, she proposed bringing para-athletic events, research collaborations and educational opportunities for Paralympians to her department and the University.

Colvin credits colleagues in her department and the Huffines Institute for Sports Medicine & Human Performance with helping shepherd her goal. With their help, she connected Texas A&M with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, highlighting the university’s commitment to education and research, and its reputation as a top veteran-serving institution.

Dr. Lisa Colvin

Colvin said her passion also stems from a promise she made to one of her former graduate students. Warren Strickland was a U.S. Handcycling athlete who died following an accident during one of his on-road training sessions. Colvin says Strickland inspired her to learn about elite para-cycling, so she set out to keep his legacy alive by bringing a national para-athletic event to her home university. “When the possibility of bringing U.S. Paracycling to our community was proposed, I knew that I was at the right place at the right time to keep my promise to Warren,” she said.

With Aggieland firmly on the road to Paris, Colvin says her aspirations go beyond 2024. She aims to establish Texas A&M as the “go-to” site for para-athletics training, research and development ahead of the 2028 Summer Paralympic Games in Los Angeles. “I want to solidify Texas A&M as the place where athletes want to live, train, raise their families and continue their education before and leading into the 2028 games,” she said.

Texas A&M and the City of Bryan co-hosted the U.S. Paralympics Road Cycling Open.

For media inquiries, contact Ruben Hidalgo.