Missouri State University announced Aug. 28 that it had selected Patrick Ransdell as its new athletic director, highlighting his experience in fundraising and filling seats.
The recommendation of new MSU President Richard “Biff” Williams was approved by the Board of Trustees during a special meeting.
Former athletic director Kyle Moats, who served in the position for 15 years, announced in June that he was taking a similar position at Eastern Kentucky University.
The new hires come at an important time for the university: Michigan State announced in May that it had been accepted into Conference USA, which will allow the school's football program to compete in NCAA Division I's Football Bowl Subdivision, the school's highest level of college competition.
The move made the hiring of a new athletic director a major decision, with members of the search committee looking for someone with experience in advancing to such a conference, crafting name, image and likeness agreements and raising funds to develop a football program.
Williams said in July that the university is looking for people who are both “outward-looking and inward-looking” — who can garner support from the community to develop the university's programs and, in return, think about how the university's alumni and resources can help build the community.
“What we really need to be looking for is someone who can look out and look in, know the details, know how to execute NIL (name, image and likeness) contracts in the portal, how to hire coaches and make sure academics come first above all else,” Williams said in July.
“But we also need people who can go out and raise funds and share the experiences of our student-athletes with the community so the community can learn about what's going on in Missouri and how our intercollegiate sports programs are actually benefiting the students here.”
Ransdell was selected from a large number of applicants.
Ransdell was selected from a field of 54 applicants, which was narrowed down to three finalists — Roger Denney and Vince Volpe were also called in for interviews — and Vice President Brent Dunn, who chaired the search committee, said in early August that the company could have selected more candidates as finalists if no one had been qualified in the first round.
Ransdell is currently the associate athletic director at Appalachian State University of the Sun Belt Conference in Boone, North Carolina. He has held the position since 2021. Previously, he was the senior athletic director at the University of Central Florida, where he worked from 2017 to 2021. (See full resume here.)
Ransdell gained valuable high-level experience at both schools as MSU transitioned to Conference USA. Appalachian State moved up to the NCAA's FBS in 2014, while UCF has played at that level since 1996.
His resume lists numerous fundraising and audience-gathering achievements, including:
Led efforts at Appalachian State University to break football season ticket sales records in 2022 and 2023, selling out season tickets for the third consecutive year; A significant increase from the previous record of 9,400 tickets to 13,015 tickets; Increased football ticket revenue at Appalachian State University to a record $6.6 million, beating the previous record by over $1 million; According to his resume, the university is on track to generate $7 million in revenue in 2024; Breaking basketball and baseball season ticket and revenue records at Appalachian State; Established an “in-house” team at UCF for outbound ticket sales and corporate sales; Signed a name, image and likeness agreement at Appalachian State University;
Ransdell spoke about these accomplishments and more at a forum for local residents on August 16. About 40 people attended, and Ransdell introduced himself and answered questions for about 50 minutes.
Patrick Ransdell answered questions from Missouri State University community members during a forum on Aug. 16. (Photo by Joe Hadsall)
During the session, Ransdell said Michigan State has the advantage of having excellent facilities for other sports that already meet or exceed Conference USA standards, but D1 football is a bigger issue: Plaster Stadium needs a major expansion to meet the expectations of other football programs, he said.
The football deficiency has already been noted by Michigan State officials, as the university is working on a $4.2 million renovation of its training center and locker rooms for the football program, and the floor at McDonald Arena will be renovated into a weight training center.
Future projects include upgrading seating on the west side of the stadium and improving the press box.
Such expansion requires funding that the university must raise on its own, and Ransdell said fundraising is something he particularly excels in. Ransdell said he has progressed in his career through marketing development and corporate sales, and he understands that strong partnerships are built on a foundation of community building, even when they are with large corporations like Bass Pro and Prime Trucking.
“It's all about relationship building,” Ransdell said. “I'm not going to go into any office first and ask for money because I'll never be invited back. We have to go out and build relationships with the whole community, because that's where fundraising begins.”
At the community forum, he said he would increase staff numbers so key work could be done personally and also hinted at the possibility of creating an in-house marketing department once the marketing contract with Learfield Sports ends after the 2025-26 school year.
Ransdell's fundraising and community mobilization expertise will be put to the test early and often: Williams said in July that the stadium, training center and other features of a D1 football program will require significant support.
“If you look at FBS teams, their facilities have never been stagnant,” Williams said in July. “We're going to need the community. We need them at the games. We need them to raise funds and we're going to be the real agents of this change, and I think they will be.”
Ransdell earned his bachelor's degree from Western Kentucky University, where he played baseball for four years, and earned two master's degrees from Ohio University.
Ransdell and his wife Brooke have two children, Walker and Collins.
Joe Hadsall
Joe Hadsall is an education reporter for the Springfield Daily Citizen. Hadsall has covered the Ozarks for more than 20 years for The Joplin Globe, Christian County Headliner News and 417 Magazine. He can be reached at (417) 837-3671 or [email protected]. More articles by Joe Hadsall
