MSU hires 11th athletics director

SBJ file

Patrick Ransdell joins MSU from Appalachian State.

Three weeks after a trio of finalists were named in the search process for Missouri State University's next athletics director, a winning candidate has emerged.

Patrick Ransdell is expected to start in the role early next month, according to a news release. He succeeds 15-year leader Kyle Moats, who exited this summer for a job at Eastern Kentucky University.

"My family and I couldn’t be more excited to join the Missouri State family and serve as your next director of athletics," Ransdell said in the release. "With Missouri State’s history of success, solid foundation and the opportunity of growth for both the university and the surrounding community of Springfield, I could not have dreamed up a more ideal place for the Ransdell family."

Ransdell joins MSU from Appalachian State University, where he's been the Boone, North Carolina, school's deputy athletics director for external relations since late 2021. At Appalachian State, Ransdell has helped lead the Mountaineers to set record attendance numbers amid higher donor participation and ticket revenue, according to the release.

He previously spent five years at the University of Central Florida, ultimately serving as executive associate athletics director, and his career includes a stint as assistant director of development and assistant athletics director at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

At MSU, Ransdell is taking over an athletics program that is joining Conference USA in summer 2025 after being a member of the Missouri Valley Conference since 1990, according to past reporting.

“Patrick is the right person to lead Missouri State University athletics as we prepare to join Conference USA next year,” MSU President Biff Williams said in the release. “His experience and leadership style will help Missouri State move to the next level of competition.”

Ransdell's initial five-year deal was approved by the MSU Board of Governors during a special meeting yesterday. He's scheduled to be formally introduced during a news conference tomorrow, at which time his contract will be made available, officials say.

Ransdell was announced as a finalist in early August along with Roger Denny of University of Illinois and Vince Volpe of Arizona State. The search committee reportedly reviewed 54 applications for the role, and Ransdell was on campus for interviews Aug. 16-17.