Citing his experience in raising funds and filling student positions, Missouri State University announced on August 28 the selection of Patrick Ransdell as its new athletic director.
The recommendation of new MSU President Richard “Biff” Williams was ratified by the Board of Regents in a special meeting. Ransdell will be introduced during a press conference at 10 a.m. Friday in the Plaster Student Union.
“Patrick is the right person to lead Missouri State University athletics as we prepare to join Conference USA next year,” Williams said in a press release. “His experience and leadership style will help Missouri State reach the next level of competition.”
During a community forum on August 16, Ransdell began by saying he wanted to involve his wife, Brooke, and two children in the Springfield community, referring to this in a statement:
“I look forward to working with our talented student-athletes, coaches, staff, passionate alumni and enthusiastic fans,” Ransdell said in the release. “With Missouri State’s history of success, solid foundation and growth opportunities for both the university and the surrounding Springfield community, I could not have dreamed of a more ideal place for the Ransdell family. We are ready and excited to begin this journey together.”
Ransdell is expected to start work in September. His contract will initially run for five years. His salary was not immediately disclosed.
Former athletic director Kyle Moats, who held the post for 15 years, announced in June that he had accepted a similar position at Eastern Kentucky University.
Important position for upcoming conference postponement
The new hire comes at an important time for the university: In May, MSU announced that it had been accepted into Conference USA, a move that will allow the university’s football program to compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision – its highest level of competition.
Because of this move, hiring a new athletic director was considered an important decision. Search committee members were looking for someone who had experience with such conference jumps, as well as working out name, image and likeness agreements and raising funds to develop the football program.
Williams said in July that the university is looking for someone who looks both “outward and inward” – someone who can help garner community support to develop the university’s programs and, in turn, explain how its graduates and resources contribute to community building.
“We really need to look for a person who looks outward and inward, who knows all the details, who knows how to implement the NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) agreements in the portal, how to hire coaches and make sure that academics come first,” Williams said in July.
“But we also need someone to go out and raise money, to share the student-athlete experience with the community, so the community knows what’s happening at Missouri State and how our intercollegiate athletic program really benefits students here.”
Ransdell emerges from a large pool of applicants
Ransdell was chosen from a pool of 54 applicants and narrowed down to three finalists. Roger Denny and Vince Volpe were also invited to interview. Brent Dunn, the executive vice president who chairs the selection committee, said in early August that more finalists could have been included if someone hadn’t been the best fit in that first round.
Ransdell is currently the assistant athletic director at Appalachian State University, a Sun Belt Conference school in Boone, North Carolina. Ransdell has held the post since 2021. He previously served as the senior administrator for athletics at the University of Central Florida from 2017 to 2021. (Full resume available here.) Combined with his experience at Miami (Ohio) University, the University of North Carolina-Wilmington, Coastal Carolina University and the University of Mississippi, he has approximately 20 years of leadership experience at NCAA D1 schools.
At Appalachian State and UCF in particular, Ransdell gained experience at the highest level that will be useful to MSU as it moves to Conference USA. Appalachian State advanced to the NCAA’s FBS in 2014, while UCF has played at that level since 1996.
His resume lists a number of achievements in fundraising and crowdbuilding, including:
- Leading efforts at Appalachian State that resulted in record-breaking football season ticket sales in 2022 and 2023 and season ticket sellouts for three consecutive years, significantly increasing the previous record of 9,400 to 13,015.
- Football ticket revenue at Appalachian State rose to a record-breaking $6.6 million, more than $1 million above the previous record. According to his resume, the university is on track to earn $7 million in 2024.
- Records for season tickets and revenue for basketball and baseball at Appalachian State.
- Establishment of “internal” teams at UCF for international ticket sales and corporate sales.
- Establishing name, image and likeness agreements at Appalachian State.
He highlighted these and other successes in a forum with community members on August 16. About 40 people attended, and Ransdell introduced himself and answered questions for about 50 minutes.
During the meeting, Ransdell said MSU has the advantage of excellent facilities for other sports that already meet or exceed Conference USA standards. But D1 football is a bigger caliber: Plaster Stadium will need to be significantly expanded to meet the expectations of other football programs, he said.
MSU officials have already noticed the deficiencies in football, and the university is working on a $4.2 million renovation of its training centers and locker rooms for the football program. The floor of the McDonald Arena will be converted into a weight training center.
Future projects include upgrading the seats on the west side of the stadium and improving the press box.
Funding such expansions costs money that a university must raise on its own, and Ransdell said fundraising is one of his special skills. Ransdell said he has advanced his career through marketing development and corporate sales and that he understands how to build strong partnerships based on community building, even with larger companies like Bass Pro and Prime Trucking.
“It’s all about building relationships,” Ransdell said. “I’m not going to walk into one of these offices the first time and ask them for money, because then I’ll never be invited back… We have to go out and build a relationship with the entire community, because that’s where the fundraising starts.”
During the community forum, he said he would increase staff numbers so that important work is done in person. He also raised the possibility of an in-house marketing department once a marketing contract with Learfield Sports expires after the 2025-26 school year.
Ransdell’s expertise in fundraising and building community excitement will be tested early and often. Williams said in July that the stadiums, training centers and other aspects of the D1 football programs need a lot of support.
“If you look at some of these FBS teams, their facilities are never stagnant,” Williams said in July. “We’re going to need our community. We’re going to need them at the games. We’re going to need them to help us raise money and to really advocate for this change, and I think that’s what they’re going to be.”
Ransdell earned his bachelor’s degree from Western Kentucky University – where he played on the baseball team for four years as a student-athlete – and holds two master’s degrees from Ohio University.
Ransdell and his wife Brooke have two children, Walker and Collins.
