There was no doubt in Dr. Gary Ransdell’s mind when he recognized what classes and degrees his son was pursuing in college that one day Patrick Ransdell would become an athletic director.
Western Kentucky’s president at the time saw his son work in the school’s athletic department for a few years before he decided to pursue his master’s in sports administration and an MBA, at the same time, at Ohio University. Dr. Ransdell told his son, who was in his early 20s, to chart his course, climb his way up the ladder while working at institutions with duties that matter and put himself in a position to be ready when the right opportunity came along.
Among Ransdell’s colleagues, in recent years, it was a matter of “when” he’d get an athletic director job. Not “if.”
“For the last year or two, he believed that he was ready to be an AD but he wanted to be pretty darn selective,” Dr. Ransdell, who was WKU’s president from 1997 to 2017, said. “When this one came open, he talked to his friends around the country who said this was a great opportunity. He recognized that and called and said ‘I’m going for this one.'”
After 20 years of helping grow brands while raising millions of dollars in top-notch athletic departments nationally, Ransdell was selected as Missouri State’s athletic director.
More: Why Missouri State football coach Ryan Beard believes new AD Patrick Ransdell is a home run hire
Ransdell is tasked with leading the Bears athletic department into the most transformational period in its history when it joins Conference USA and the FBS ranks next year.
“He’s worked hard and each move he’s made has been inching up that career ladder with more and more responsibility,” Dr. Ransdell said. “This is just terrific.”
In Dr. Ransdell’s eyes, the same ones that led Western Kentucky to become an FBS program in 2008 and transition to Conference USA in 2014, there are three things main things that make his son the perfect person to lead Missouri State at this time in its history:
His passion for what he doesHis personalityHis upbringing around higher education
“Those three things make him particularly suited,” Dr. Ransdell said. “In addition to his education and experience.”
Patrick Ransdell is passionate about athletics and improving those around him
In the days before Ransdell was officially announced as Missouri State’s next athletic director, he had coffee with a former employee who still calls him her boss to this day.
What Katie Pate, a former assistant women’s basketball coach at Marshall and Georgia State, learned from Ransdell was invaluable when transitioning to the administrative side. She’s now the senior associate AD and director of development at George Mason.
“The thing I loved about Patrick was that he invested in me at Appalachian State and he’s been a huge proponent of professional development,” Pate said. “I never had to wonder if it was OK to do this or if I step out of the box a little bit. He really allowed each of us to stretch in our own space and then pushed us in our space. Getting uncomfortable is actually a good thing.”
Pate heard the enthusiasm in Ransdell’s voice as he became a first-time AD. She listened to him talk about his approach to the job and his plan to push Missouri State into the future. He shared his vision for Plaster Stadium, the partnerships he wants to create and how to get the people of Springfield and Missouri State fans involved.
More: New Missouri State AD Patrick Ransdell contract details: Salary, buyout, incentives
“I would be stunned if he’s not completely excited to actually build the plan to achieve those goals,” Pate said. “He wants to put those pieces together to get Missouri State where it wants to go. His listening, his evaluation, his assessment of processes and combined with ‘How can we get this done as quickly as possible and do it right?’ I’ve taken a lot of those pages from his book and applied it with the campaigns and things I’m trying to do at George Mason.”
Ransdell is also as competitive as they come, Pate said. She felt comfortable losing her mind when watching football and basketball games with him, only to be reminded they were on the clock. Maybe the former college athlete who worked his tail off at Clemson baseball camps and one day developed into a baseball player at Western Kentucky was coming out of him.
He brings that competitiveness to achieving department goals. Pate said if goals aren’t being met, he has the empathy to sit down with his team, remove emotion, to try to solve the problem.
“He’s a wonderful leader,” Pate said. “He and his family are your neighbors. At the same time, he’s a competitive junkie.”
Patrick Ransdell will be personable with the Springfield, Missouri State community
Finding someone to say something bad about Ransdell is a difficult task. He’s beloved by his former subordinates and other colleagues he’s worked with over his career.
“Patrick, first of all, is a wonderful human being,” Scott Carr, the athletic director at Florida International, said. “He’s a very good person. He’s a great person. Just a high-integrity, high-character person.”
The two worked together at the University of Central Florida under current Tennessee AD Danny White who is becoming a kingmaker of athletic administrators. The highest-paid public school AD wanted to hire aspiring athletic directors for his staff. Ransdell, Carr and former Louisiana Tech AD Eric Wood all worked together under White at UCF.
More: Can Missouri State AD Patrick Ransdell get Mizzou to Springfield? What he said about scheduling.
“(Ransdell) understands engaging student-athletes and he knows what the position entails from having to engage the community,” Wood, now the Senior Deputy AD at Ole Miss, said. “The guy was practically born on a college campus, right? He knows what this is supposed to look like.”
Ransdell has promised he’ll be seen everywhere from Missouri State sporting events down to ribbon-cutting ceremonies at local businesses. Pate said he’s a good golfer who will get donors on the course. He’ll figure out their favorite drink and that a bottle of bourbon will show up on their doorstep. “He knows how to play the political game.”
“He’s very in tune with what’s happening in college athletics,” Carr added. “A lot of times, he would come into my office and break the news to me. He’s a great relationship builder. That’s so critical in fundraising.”
Patrick Ransdell will use his up-bringing around higher education to his advantage
Since Ransdell grew up with his dad always a higher-up in higher education, he stopped to talk to someone different everywhere he went because everyone knew his dad. Since Ransdell found himself in different athletic departments, his kids are doing the same.
Ransdell’s higher education background is a unique aspect that his colleagues believe will help him be successful.
“He’s got a different approach to the job where many of us are learning, or had to learn when we became senior associates and deputies, what that looks like and working with our campus and liaisons whether that’s in conduct, registrars, marketing, communication and all of the different areas,” Wood said. “He understands where we fit as an athletics department within a university mission. He’s grown up knowing that and he’s grown up with that perspective. He gets to hit the ground running a little.”
It could also give Ransdell a leg up with Missouri State’s upcoming move to Conference USA when it becomes an FBS member in football come 2025.
Ransdell’s dad, who made the same transition nearly 20 years ago, knows how difficult the task can be and is a phone call away. His advice to sit in on every meeting, whether it was negotiating television contracts, scheduling, etc. and take notes will only prepare his son more for the years ahead.
Invaluable advice led Ransdell to UCF where he worked under one of the best athletic directors in college athletics. Under White at UCF, they helped build the program into one nationally known before landing an invitation to the Big 12.
He has colleagues around the country, one being the AD at Florida International and another who was the AD at Louisiana Tech, who believes he can lead Missouri State’s successful transition.
“There is nothing like the reality of not being able to throw money at things,” Wood said. “He’s been at places, particularly in the Group of 5, where he’s had to be very strategic and intentional about using resources, how to grow fanbases, how to build bridges with university administration, how to market your athletic brand and serve as an extension of the university.”
Ransdell, at 44, has been preparing for this moment. His success at Missouri State will come down to the three big things his father thinks make him perfect for this job — his passion, personality and upbringing.
“He sets goals and he holds himself accountable and he holds with whom he works accountable,” Dr. Ransdell said. “I’ve always had a saying, and I think he uses it, too, that ‘Nobody works for anybody else. We all work for Missouri State. That’s who we work for. We work with each other.'”
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Publish date : 2024-09-07 21:04:00
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