U Sports Gets to Know CBU A.D. John Ryan

• Name: John Ryan
• School: Cape Breton University
• Position: Director of Athletics and Student Life
• Seniority: 16 years
• Previous job/position: Branch Manager - Royal Bank of Canada
• Hometown: Sussex, N.B.

1. How did you get to your current position, and what do you enjoy most about our job?

I was working at RBC but was off with a ruptured Achilles tendon when I saw the advertisement for the Director of Athletics position at Cape Breton University. This was my alma mater and with my high-performance athlete and business background I thought it might be a good decision to apply and the rest is history. At the time of hire, I was 29 years of age and I think the youngest Director of Athletics in Canada. I love the opportunity to work with a great high-performance team and student-athletes that amaze me on a daily basis. I take great pleasure in seeing my alma mater succeed at the highest level of competition.

2. Who has had the most influence on your career?

Dr. Carl "Bucky" Buchanan was the first Director of Athletics at Cape Breton and he was the athletic director when I was a student-athlete. I look to him for guidance and direction and he has been a role model to me since I took this position. Also, Jack Drover, former athletic director at Mount Alison University, is someone that I hold in high regard. A man of principle who always held the well being of our student-athletes in his decision making. He took me under his wing as a new AD to teach me the ways of university sport.

3. What is your greatest sporting moment or achievement?

Personally, having the opportunity to represent my country at a World Championship as a junior with Canada. Basketball. Professionally, the opportunity to watch two of our teams reach the pinnacle of competitive sport and win the national championship for our university. It gives me great pleasure to see all the hard work rewarded with the gold medal and seeing our student-athletes celebrate after the final whistle. It makes all the hard work well worth it.

4. How would you define a Cape Breton University student-athlete?

Creating champions. The relentless pursuit of success is our vision and this is what we try to have our student-athletes achieve. We want them to become champions in the classroom, on the field of play and in our communities. We want them to continue to chase excellence and to never be happy with the status quo. We can always be better!

5. What does success look like for the Cape Breton Capers athletics program?

We want to build a Capers brand that both our university and community can be proud of. We want our student-athletes to graduate and become high-achieving alumni for CBU. Winning does matter in competitive sports and we want our student-athletes to continue to win in the classroom and chasing banners and medals in their field of play.

6. What's the biggest challenge you face in today's sports world?

The biggest challenge we are currently facing is the ever-changing landscape around student-athlete health and wellness and the appropriate services needed to properly manage these challenges. Today's student-athletes put so much pressure on themselves to perform at such a high level in all areas of university life. Due to these pressures, we have seen an increased need in acquiring the appropriate level of services to support our student-athletes. In a small university, sometimes these required services are not readily available so we need to reach out to our community for support.

7. Where would you like to see Canadian university sport in the next three to five years?

I would like to see U SPORTS become a brand that is recognized by all stakeholders and one that partners want to be associated with moving forward.

8. If you could sit down for dinner with one person in the sports industry (athlete, coach or manager), who would it be? Why? What would you talk about?

Greg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs. I think he would be a great person to have a conversation with as he has held both head coaching and executive positions in the front office. With this unique experience and skill set, he has been able to excel at both for a number of years in the NBA.

Also, the Spurs are one of the model franchises in all of professional sports. They are considered a small market team but they have been so successful for so many years by having a strong vision on who they are and making strategic decisions that have kept them within the top 10 of the NBA for 20 plus years. An outstanding accomplishment! I would love to talk to him about how he has made this happen. At a small University such as CBU, I envy their ability of this prolonged stretch of excellence.

9. What would you say to a sports fan who's never watched a U SPORTS game/tournament/competition?

I would tell them they are missing out on the chance to watch future leaders playing a sport they love. What these student-athletes are able to complete in a 24-hour day amazes me and we need to continue to improve on how we tell their stories to our communities to attract new fans to our events. I think once someone has a chance to attend an event and ascertains the level of play and commitment our student-athletes provide, they become attached and come back to future games.

10. What do you enjoy doing when you're away from work?

I spend most of my downtime with my wife and two daughters. The last number of years I have become more involved with coaching with Basketball Cape Breton and school teams both at the middle school and high school level.

Sports have been so good to me in allowing me to attain a strong education and the background needed for my current position. I want to give back to today's youth so that I can share my experiences with them and provide them with an environment to succeed and grow.