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Like many sports information professionals, 2014 Rising Star Award recipient
Ryan Klinkner gained his start in the business as a student assistant, in the Athletic Media Relations office at Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota.
As a first-year college student, Klinkner’s entry into the profession took a slight detour as he spent Saturday afternoon’s working in the kitchen at the Saint John’s cafeteria and was unable to attend a single football game during his first year on campus.
Since that year of washing pots and pans, Klinkner has been a mainstay in the football press box at SJU’sClemens Stadium and other athletic venues at Saint John’s, which is an NCAA Division III school located in the scenic rolling hills of Central Minnesota – about 85 miles northwest of Minneapolis-St. Paul.
As a sophomore in college, Klinkner soon gained a prominent role as a student assistant in the Athletic Media Relations office at Saint John’s working under the leadership of sports information director Michael Hemmesch, who now serves as the Director of Media Relations at Saint John’s.
As a senior, Klinkner was exposed to the unique experience of covering Saint John’s national championship run in football during the 2003 season. Klinkner also had an opportunity to work with legendary Saint John’s football coach John Gagliardi during that season as he broke the NCAA record for career wins at 409 – surpassing Eddie Robinson at Grambling.
Those collegiate athletic experiences had him hooked and before he walked for graduation in June of 2004, Klinkner knew where his career path would take him.
“As an undergraduate, I had an opportunity to experience some very historic moments for our athletic program at Saint John’s,” Klinkner said. “These experiences really gave me a taste of what our profession is and it inspired me to consider a career in sports information.”
Klinkner’s next step toward becoming a SID took him toward nearby St. Cloud State University, where he served as a graduate assistant under the direction of CoSIDA’s legends Anne Abicht and Tom Nelson, and received his master’s degree in sports management in 2006. He worked for one semester at SCSU before a newly-created position at Saint John’s provided an opportunity for him to return to his alma mater as that school’s first full-time athletic media relations director in December of 2005.
Since that time, Klinkner has established himself as a respected leader on campus and in the ranks of CoSIDA. His duties as a one-man shop includes coverage of all the athletic teams at Saint John’s, overseeing and mentoring his student work force and also serving as the publicity chief for the Gagliardi Trophy, which is presented annually to the nation’s top Division III football player.
“In a short eight years, Ryan has accomplished what for some might be called a career, including honors and awards, an advanced degree, working with legendary coaches and handling all publicity for a national Division III award,” Hemmesch said. “From his first day in the office, Ryan has done an amazing job with all aspects of the job. His research has made SJU’s game notes, website and feature stories some of the most detailed in all of Division III athletics.
“Ryan is a hard worker, excellent writer, at the forefront with emerging technologies and an effective communicator with media outlets and fans. He does a great job understanding and showing how SJU athletics and the role of the student-athlete fits into the overall mission of the university.
“He is regarded as one of the very best in his profession. SJU probably receives more media attention for its athletic programs than any other
Division III program in the country and Ryan has successfully been the institutional link with the media and has done it with professionalism, class and respect.”
An active member of CoSIDA since the beginning of his career at Saint John’s, Klinkner has received numerous publication awards and has served as a vice chair of the CoSIDA Goodwill and Wellness Committee along with Sam Atkinson of Galludet since 2007.
Klinkner and Atkinson have been a driving force in the annual community service projects that take place each year during the CoSIDA workshops. The pair have helped grow the community service component at the workshops, which annually helps local charities and organizations in cities where the workshop is located.
“Our first plans of action were to set up a local service project during the workshop and collect donations for various charities,” Klinkner said. “We added a 5k run to the workshop in 2011 (Marco Island), in which all of the registration proceeds benefit the local charity we are working with that year. We typically touch base with the local chamber of commerce to see what the area’s greatest needs are and we then try to help meet those needs.”
Both Klinkner and Atkinson will be honored at the upcoming 2014 CoSIDA Convention for their service to CoSIDA and the profession - Klinkner with the college division Rising Star honor and Atkinson with the Bob Kenworthy Community Service Award.
Along with his work with the Goodwill and Wellness Committee, Klinkner has hosted several NCAA playoff games at Saint John’s and an NCAA Division III wrestling regional. He has helped work numerous Minnesota State High School League championships in baseball, softball, basketball and football during his career.
“The sky’s the limit for Ryan in the SID profession. I knew from the first day he worked in the SJU sports information office as a student employee that this is a profession that Ryan would excel in. He takes very serious the responsibility to mento
r student employees in the office and has successfully helped numerous graduates find internships or full-time work in the sports industry,” Hemmesch said.
“Being active within CoSIDA and with the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference SID’s shows Ryan’s commitment to not only his
professional and personal growth, but his desire to help others.”
Nelson, who nominated Klinkner for the Rising Star Award, added: "I have had the opportunity to work with Ryan as a co-worker and colleague and I have always been impressed with his work ethic and professionalism. The future of this industry is certainly in good hands with people like Ryan Klinkner."
As Klinkner looks into the future, he knows that change will be a constant in a profession that continues to meet the communication needs of college athletics.
“It is really amazing how this profession continues to evolve,” Klinkner said. “I am truly in awe of what the people in the sports information business are capable of doing.
“The work we are doing has really multiplied during the time I have been in the profession. We are really our own ESPN, especially at the small-college levels. Thanks to the advances in technology, we have the ability to tell our own stories now through the web and social media…and as daunting as that task seems, this profession keeps finding a way to figure that out.”
A native of New Ulm, Minn., Klinkner currently resides in St. Joseph, Minn. with his wife, Jaclyn, and twosons, Brayden (4) and Evan (2).