Lydia Bell is Director of Research and Policy at the NCAA. In this role, Lydia develops and oversees research projects on the academic and social experiences of collegiate student-athletes and works directly with NCAA staff, NCAA membership and other relevant parties to apply research findings to inform policymaking for the roughly 1,100-member organization. A strong public speaker and data storyteller, Lydia’s areas of expertise include trends in higher education, intercollegiate athletics, collegiate transfer pathways, student retention and persistence, campus engagement, and student-athlete psychosocial well-being. She has over a decade of experience in large-scale research design, quantitative and qualitative analyses, grant management and survey design.
Prior to joining the NCAA, Lydia was an assistant professor of practice in the Center for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Arizona. She has also held roles in academic advising and student affairs at Pima Community College (Tucson, AZ) and Bowdoin College (Brunswick, ME).
Lydia has served as a committee co-chair for the Allisonville Elementary PTO since 2018 and anticipates supporting the Eastwood Middle School PTO in 2023-24. She is also a member of the American Education Research Association, Women Leaders in College Sport, and serves as a member of the Australian Football League Industry Mental Health and Wellbeing Research Collaborative Group.
Originally from Fairfax, Vermont, Lydia received her Ph.D. in Language, Reading and Culture and M.A. in Higher Education from the University of Arizona, and an A.B. in Government & Legal Studies and Sociology from Bowdoin College. She has resided in Indianapolis since 2013. In her free time, she likes to travel, cook, dabble in mixology and explore America’s national park system with her family.