Dr. Rob Ramseyer is in his seventh season at Friends University and now carries the title of VP of Athletics and Strategic Expansion.
This past season, the Falcon programs continued to progress under Ramseyer's leadership. A few notable accomplishments from the 2023-24 campaign include:
* Football Falcons achieving their first winning record since 2014
* Women's Basketball recording its most wins in six years
* Men's Golf Falcons winning their second consecutive KCAC championship
* Women's Wrestling featuring their first-ever NAIA All-American (Gianna Moreno)
* Men's Wrestling program producing their first-ever NAIA national qualifier (Gunnar Henderson)
* Women's Soccer Falcons making their third NAIA National Championship tournament appearance in the last five years
* Men's Indoor Track & Field Falcons bringing the KCAC championship back to Wichita for the first time since the 2020-21 season.
A new project Dr. Ramseyer recently initiated is the Impactful Coaching Project, launched last winter with men's golf head coach Dustin Galyon as a co-founder. The Impactful Coaching Project focuses on training coaches to develop the whole person. It has also birthed a podcast entitled "Beyond Coaching" and has already attracted 5,000 listeners. Two books from the project are also in the works, highlighted by a book Dr. Ramseyer co-authored with Galyon entitled "Coaching the 21st Century Athlete."
Dr. Ramseyer continues to be duly recognized for his high-level work guiding the Friends University athletic department by being selected as a Cushman & Wakefield NACDA Athletic Director of the Year two seasons ago. He was one of only 28 winners of the prestigious honor and was presented with the award at the 58th Annual NACDA & Affiliates Convention at the World Center Marriott Resort in Orlando, Fla.
In 2022-23, the Competitive Cheer Falcons captured their second straight KCAC championship, while the newly revitalized Men's Golf Falcons won the KCAC title in just their second year back on campus.
Under Dr. Ramseyer's leadership, the athletic department recently facilitated a major renovation of the Garvey Center. Titled the "Garvey Capital Campaign", the renovation included a new weight room, training room, administrative offices, and the main entry lobby.
This past season, the Competitive Cheer Falcons broke through and won their first-ever KCAC championship which resulted in the program's initial NAIA national championship appearance.
The Women's Wrestling Falcons, in just their second season as a new program, finished a KCAC-leading 26th in the nation and boasted two NAIA national qualifiers (Bailee Nelson, Gianna Moreno).
Academics are and continue to be a major priority under Dr. Ramseyer, with the women's teams recording a 3.19 cumulative GPA and five men's teams reaching or clearing the 3.0 threshold.
The athletic department continues to be a safe haven to host national competitions, as for the third straight season, Friends University Athletics proved a capable host of the NAIA Opening Round men's and women's basketball games under Dr. Ramseyer's direction.
Dr. Ramseyer has also been instrumental in the development of a new partnership with Supplement World that includes a refueling station in the new weight room for student-athletes.
In the 2020-21 campaign, the men's and women's indoor track and field teams each captured the KCAC championship. It was the seventh straight indoor league title for the Falcon women, who went on to finish fourth at the NAIA meet to tie their best national finish in program history.
He recently received the prestigious "40 under 40" honor from the Wichita Business Journal and oversaw the development of a new athletic department and student-athlete handbook.
Dr. Ramseyer is also now a 3D Institute Research Fellow and facilitated a robust partnership with 3D Institute for the athletic department. The 3D Institute provides a model for coaches to deeper strategize how they manage every detail of their program from practices, games, character building, and personal interactions.
Named the KCAC Athletic Director of the Year for the 2019-20 season, Dr. Ramseyer's impact on the Friends University athletic department has been evident from day one.
In the 2019-20 campaign, the Men's Soccer Falcons captured the KCAC tournament championship for the first time since 2007 while qualifying for the NAIA National Tournament. The Women's Soccer Falcons also advanced to the NAIA tourney for the first time in 15 years, while the Women's Indoor Track & Field Falcons kept their dynasty ticking by claiming the KCAC Indoor Championship, which was their combined 11th straight conference title spanning both the indoor and outdoor seasons.
On the academic side, the Falcons boasted a cumulative GPA of 3.24 in the 2019-20 season. The programs also had solid representation on the KCAC Scholar-Athlete list, including leading the conference in Women's Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field, Volleyball, Women's Tennis and Baseball.
Under Dr. Ramseyer, the Athletic Department recently added a Graduate Assistant Intern program, supplying the Falcon athletic programs with a graduate assistant intern coach. The program also includes an Administrative and Sports Information Graduate Assistant Intern.
An intern program with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) is another addition that Dr. Ramseyer overseen. This agreement allows for scholarship money to be available for FCA students at Friends while also providing an FCA staff member on campus for 20 hours per week to assist with mentoring the FCA student interns and connecting with student-athletes.
Dr. Ramseyer also facilitated a partnership between Friends University and the City of Wichita for use of the West Side Athletic Field. Now the permanent home of the Baseball Falcons, Friends University has overseen improvements to the field, including installing artificial turf on the infield.
In April 2019, a new IronTurf was installed on Adair-Austin Stadium, meaning the Falcons joined the New England Patriots and Sporting KC of the MLS on the short list of teams that sport the new turf.
Dr. Ramseyer has also oversaw Falcon athletic facilities upgrading with new scoreboards while a new sponsorship program was started from scratch and now includes over 20 business partners.
He is an active member of organizations such as the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics, NAIA Athletic Directors Association, Wichita Collegiate Alumni Board, University of Kansas Sports Management Board of Directors and the Collar Club Board.
Dr. Ramseyer came to Friends from Hesston College (Kan.), where he had most recently served as the school’s athletic director and vice president of student development.
As the athletic director at Hesston, Dr. Ramseyer oversaw an Athletic Department that featured 14 teams.
Under Dr. Ramseyer, the first Athletic Department handbook was created and student-athlete retention increased.
He led an expansion of athletic rosters while developing and leading the implementation of the first philosophy of faith formation and athletic core covenants, in conjunction with crafting evaluation procedures to ensure successful execution.
He also guided the implementation and execution of live streaming athletic events along with promoting professional development by facilitating recruitment training for coaches in partnership with Tudor Recruiting Services.
A native of Wichita, Dr. Ramseyer also has significant coaching experience, as he held the role of head baseball coach at Hesston from 2011-15.
On the diamond, Dr. Ramseyer propelled the Hesston Larks to a 95-86 overall record during his four-year tenure and earned Region VI Baseball Coach of the Year in 2013 and 2014 after leading the team to the school record for wins in each of those campaigns.
He was also an assistant baseball coach at MidAmerica Nazarene University for four seasons while being in the role of recruiting coordinator and adjunct professor at the school.
Dr. Ramseyer finished his bachelor’s degree in History at MidAmerica Nazarene in 2006 and earned a Master of Science in Education in Sports Studies from the University of Kansas in 2010. He recently earned a Doctorate of Education in Interdisciplinary Leadership from Creighton University.
Dr. Ramseyer and his wife Charlie have two daughters, Jane and Molly and two sons, Robert and Tad.
