Travis Williams ’92 counts his time in the Gamma Omega Chapter as some of the best times of his life. The road to ATO began in the spring semester of his freshman year after he and some friends decided to go through recruitment after a semester in Penn State’s dorms.
Travis found that the brotherhood his father experienced as an ATO was the drawing point for him to join Gamma Omega. “I started [recruitment] late in the cycle, and ended up calling ATO and speaking with Russell Troutman ’90,” stated Travis. Russ invited Travis to a social where he and Damion Spahr ’92 spoke for two hours and they invited him into the chapter. “Living in the house was great. I lived there for about two-and-a-half years. It was neat living with such a diverse group of people, especially since we all got along quite well. I will always remember my friendships and experiences from ATO.” It didn’t hurt, of course, that the house was beautiful after having been re-founded just three years prior.
During his junior year, Travis had a change of heart in terms of his educational path. He realized how much he enjoyed people and business and soon switched his major from engineering to a pre-law focus in international politics. After graduating from Penn State, Travis enrolled in law school at Duquesne University, the same place his future wife, Nikki, attended pharmacy school. After graduating from law school, Travis married Nikki and started practicing law at Reed Smith L.L.P., where he primarily focused on corporate law but held a small, niche practice in sports. He served as outside counsel for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Buffalo Sabres, and Fox Sports Net on a variety of matters and also acted as counsel to Heinz and Mellon Bank in connection with the naming rights deals for Heinz Field and Mellon Arena, respectively.
In 2008, Travis was approached by the Penguins organization to join them as general counsel and to oversee the construction of CONSOL Energy Center. Under his guidance, the arena project was finished on time and under budget. Travis is now the chief operating officer and general counsel of the Penguins, overseeing finance, legal, technology, human resources, arena operations, and development projects. One of his current projects is the redevelopment of the 28- acre former Mellon Arena site.
He is also the proud father of six children and has become a “hockey dad” for his two oldest sons, Anthony and Mario. He spends time supporting his two daughters, Lucia and Sofia, in their ballet, cheerleading, and musical theater activities, while also keep- ing track of his two youngest sons, Gino and Bruno. Travis, Nikki, and the kids live in Nevillewood, south of downtown Pittsburgh.
Travis and Nikki recently entertained several ATO alumni at a Penguins home game. They had a wonderful evening with mike Walter ’90, Len Wiles ’90, PJ McGuigan ’92, Corey Cavada ’91, mike Troese ’92, bill Posey ’92, and mike Trask ’94. It was great seeing all of them and catching up on their lives, particularly since they hadn’t seen many of them since Travis graduated from Penn State. You can e-mail Travis at [email protected].