College Sports Information Directors of America

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Katie Ryan – University of Southern California, Director of Football Communications

Rising Star Award – University Division

by Tim Tessalone – CSC Special Awards Committee member // USC Sports Information Director (retired)

What will Katie Ryan do for an encore?

In 2022 in her first year as the director of football communications at USC, Ryan:

• helped new head coach Lincoln Riley navigate the Los Angeles media market;
• was part of a strategic communications team that developed a successful public relations and promotional plan to help quarterback Caleb Williams win the 2022 Heisman Trophy;
• promoted Williams and four other players to All-America first team honors;
• and handled PR efforts for a Trojans’ team that won seven more games than the previous year, played in the Pac-12 Championship Game and in the Cotton Bowl, and was in the running for a CFP berth.

Not bad for someone debuting as USC’s primary football contact while operating on college football’s national stage.
 

It’s no wonder that Katie was named recipient of a 2023 CSC Rising Star Award, presented to athletics communications professionals with 10 full-time years or less in the industry whose service, dedication, energy and enthusiasm make that individual a “rising star” in the profession.

“I was shocked, honored and humbled when I found out about the Rising Star Award,” Ryan said. “Athletic communicators are behind-the-scenes people, so it was very special to have my work recognized. 

“And it meant so much that the phone call about the honor came from my former boss, Tim Tessalone, who is my mentor and taught me everything I know. It was a full circle moment.”

USC football coach Riley noted Ryan’s Rising Star honor is “very much well-deserved,” while USC athletic director Mike Bohn added that “we’re proud of the work Katie and our communications team does behind the scenes to help our program be successful.”

“It was an incredible first year with Coach Riley and his team,” said Ryan. “It was a privilege to be part of it. I couldn’t ask for a better head coach and players to work with.”

Katie began her career at USC as a summer intern in the sports information office in 2013 and 2014, while she was still enrolled at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. At Cal Poly, she founded a blog about the Mustangs’ football team, competed on the women’s volleyball team (she also played the sport as a student-athlete at North Carolina State) and earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and public relations in 2014.

“I always wanted to work in sports, especially football,” said Ryan. “I grew up reading the USC football blog. It was my home page in middle school and I read it religiously.

“My junior year, I reached out to Tim about being a summer intern. USC, to me, was the pinnacle of college football. I just wanted to be around a program like USC and learn.

“When he brought me on, I was up for any task—clipping newspapers, stapling game notes, whatever—and I wanted to do it better than anyone. If media were around, I was always close by and watching how the SIDs interacted with them.”

After graduating, she continued as a full-time intern at USC in 2014 and 2015 (she helped produce a comprehensive media training program for Troy’s athletes during that time), then was hired on full-time with the Trojans in the summer of 2015. Ryan was primary contact for women’s tennis and rowing and had backup duties on football and men’s volleyball.

She then earned her master’s degree in strategic public relations from USC in 2022.

I am proud to write this feature about my mentee, Katie. When I retired in 2022 after a 43-year career (retirement was announced mid-fall of 2021), she was appointed director of football communications.

Katie hit the ground running, as she was tasked with developing a media plan for Riley’s hiring, including the introductory press conference in late November of 2021. It was an elaborate event, with several hundred media, university officials and donors in attendance atop the Coliseum press box on a brilliant Southern California afternoon, with the Los Angeles skyline as the backdrop. Ryan even moderated the presser.

“I was asked to plan out the first 72 hours of media experiences for whoever was going to be the future head coach,” Ryan said. “When Coach Riley was hired, he was all for the plan I put together, which included the Coliseum press conference, appearances on Scott Van Pelt and Colin Cowherd, various print and TV interviews and other opportunities.

“Since Coach Riley’s arrival, there really hasn’t been a break,” Ryan noted. “He keeps us busy. We went right into recruiting and signing days, spring football, pro day, and the regular season. It has been a baptism by fire, but in the best way possible.

“I never felt unprepared, and I credit that to Tim and the USC sports information staff. My previous nine years at USC was the finest case study I ever could have hoped for.”

As a youngster, Ryan was a dancer and theater performer. But she was always surrounded by sports because of her father, Randy, a longtime sports entrepreneur who founded the Wooden Classic and vice chaired the Wooden Award.

It wasn’t until she was 13 that she watched her first football game - the televised 2005 USC-Notre Dame classic that became known as the “Bush Push” game. 

“That’s when my obsession with football began,” she said.

Throughout her young career, Ryan has learned valuable lessons.

“Be tenacious, keep knocking on doors and one will eventually open,” she said. “Launch yourself into any task, no matter what it is, big or small. Make yourself invaluable so that either your employer can’t afford to lose you or someone else will see your efforts and want to hire you. Learn constantly, ask questions, admit that you don’t know everything. Put up with the long hours, because if you love your job it will all be worth it.”

So, what is Ryan planning for an encore?

“The USC football team has goals for 2023 like winning the Pac-12 (championship) and getting to a CFP (College Football Playoff) game, and I’d like to do my part in their communications efforts, as well as help Caleb get back to New York City,” Ryan said. 

“The bar has been set so high after last season. But that’s what happens at USC, the bar is never low. Whether you are a player or coach or administrator or SID, the bar is always set high and you want to exceed those standards.”