Athletics Never Looked Better

By Kim Wunner, November 21, 2025

This Athletics Creative Media student is also an official Buffalo Bills photographer.

The 10 managers of the IC Athletics Creative Media Team. Photo Credit: Creative Media

Last weekend, Rayahna Tryka ’26, a sports media major, spent Saturday at her college campus job, photographing Ithaca College football as they beat Cortland in the 66th Cortaca Jug for IC’s Athletics Creative Media. On Sunday, she was at her other job, working as a photography assistant for the Buffalo Bills. That’s right—she’s an NFL photographer.

Ithaca Athletics Creative Media, a co-curricular program overseen by the Roy H. Park School of Communications, is what made Tryka want to come to Ithaca College. She had attended a meeting about the sports media department on Accepted Students Day, and Creative Media representatives were there. None of the other schools she was looking at had that kind of program. “I basically came to the sports media department and came to Ithaca College to have that hands-on experience with Creative Media,” she said.

A great example of the artistry and technical abilities of IC's Creative Media. Photo Credit: Creative Media

The caliber of work coming from Creative Media is wowing everyone who comes across it. Their photos, video and graphics capture the moment, full of action and emotion. Their work tells professional-level stories, bringing the heart and soul of athletics to life—the drama, the victories, the dedication, and the personalities.

Tryka says it best: “It’s incredible because we are already doing what we want to do for a career, pretty much. So … it’s an amazing, amazing thing that we have at this school, because for us to have this experience, many other Division III schools don’t have the resources or the athletics department willing to do so."

Tryka is an assistant photographer for the Buffalo Bills. Photo submitted.

Tryka grew up in Buffalo, NY, loving sports. She was drawn to the stories, learning about the histories of teams and the lives of the players she watched—especially the Buffalo Bills. She got a camera and started shooting her high school’s football games, falling in love with capturing moments and memories that bring people together.

Bills blood runs deep in Tryka’s family of die-hard fans, where Bills Mafia (the dedicated fanbase) is a family affair. They have held season tickets since the 1988. She was with her family celebrating the 4th of July in North Carolina when the call came from Ben Green, the manager of photography for the Bills, offering her the job. Now, she gets to photograph the season ticket holders, Bills Mafia, sponsors, and the games. One of her photos of quarterback Josh Allen spiking the football in the end zone after tight end Dalton Kincaid scored a touchdown went viral. “You know, it’s insane to see my photos being posted on Instagram for Ithaca Athletics, and then the next day, I’m shooting a Bills game, and my photos are being posted on the Buffalo Bills Instagram.”

Creative Media photo and graphic of IC's women's hockey. Photo Credit: Creative Media

For Tryka, it’s all about moments and memories. Her favorite game she has ever shot? The 2024 Field Hockey team’s Liberty League Championship win—the first in program history. She had been watched them work hard, only to fall short the year prior. Seeing the team come back and win 2-0 on their home field was a moment she recalls vividly.

“It was, like, surreal for me.,” Tryka said. “The rain literally started falling with minutes to go in the game, and I just … I have this one photo of them with the trophy, with the Athletics and Events Center behind them. And my fellow senior, Reese Abrahamson, she was a senior captain this year. She’s … holding up the trophy, and they’re all screaming.”

“And I just realized, like, in that moment, I just captured something for them and for myself. The team means so much to me, too. I captured something for them that means so much, and that they’re going to look back at 20 years from now and be like, ‘Wow, I’m so happy we have this photo. I’m so happy we have this image.’”

Rayahna Tryka

What’s on the horizon? Tryka hopes to work in a sports league where she can uplift people and create a sense of belonging, specifically in women’s sports. Her passion is already evident in her burgeoning career, serving as President of the Association for Women in Sports Media on campus.

For now, she gets to finish her senior year while blazing her own trail in sports media.

Always ready to take the shot.

The Roy H. Park School of Communications offers hands-on opportunities, in the action, like Creative Media so that you are on, from day one.