About Travis Roy

Travis Roy was an American ice hockey player who became well-known for his resilience and advocacy after a tragic accident. Born on April 17, 1975, Roy was a promising young hockey player who attended Boston University on a hockey scholarship. However, his life changed dramatically on October 20, 1995, just 11 seconds into his first shift in his first collegiate game for Boston University, when he crashed headfirst into the boards, fracturing his fourth and fifth cervical vertebrae, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down.

Following his injury, Travis Roy became an advocate for spinal cord injury research and founded the Travis Roy Foundation in 1997 to help other individuals with spinal cord injuries. The foundation provides grants to researchers working on spinal cord injury treatments, as well as financial support to individuals with spinal cord injuries to help improve their quality of life.

Travis Roy passed away on October 29, 2020. Throughout his life, he inspired countless people with his positive attitude, resilience, and dedication to helping others facing similar challenges. The Travis Roy Center for Enhanced Independence continues the foundation’s mission to accelerate functional independence and quality of life for people with severe paralysis.