On Tuesday, Virginia Tech athletic director Brian White hired Chris Ryder as the executive associate athletic director for capital projects, facilities and operations.
Ryder comes from Florida Atlantic, where he spent seven years as the Owls' senior associate athletic director for facilities and event management.
"Chris is an exceptional addition to our leadership team and someone I have tremendous confidence in," White said in the school's release. "Having worked alongside him at Florida Atlantic, I saw firsthand his ability to lead complex projects, solve problems and create first-class experiences for student-athletes and fans.
"Elevating the gameday experience is a major priority for us, and Chris understands what it takes to deliver an exceptional experience from the moment fans arrive on campus. His expertise across facilities, operations and event management will be invaluable as we continue to raise the standard for Hokie Nation and make gamedays in Blacksburg among the very best in college athletics."
Ryder will be the Hokies' senior facilities and game operations executive and will be on White's executive leadership team.
He'll serve above Cara Walters (senior associate athletic director, game operations) and Casey Underwood (senior associate athletic director, facilities maintenance and capital projects), who have managed the facilities, game operations and grounds department for the last five years. They were promoted in 2021 after the retirement of longtime senior associate AD Tom Gabbard.
Ryder started at FAU in 2019 and handled athletics capital project planning and coordination, daily facility maintenance projects and game management responsibilities, while being on the department's emergency management team.
Before that, he was at Duke for eight years, where Brian White's father, Kevin, was the athletic director. Ryder oversaw the daily maintenance and operation of athletic facilities and was the primary athletics liaison to facilities management, landscape services, environmental services, sanitation and recycling.
He started in 2011 as an athletic facilities and game operations assistant and received three promotions. In 2013, he was the assistant director of athletic facilities, game operations and championships, before being elevated to associate director of athletic facilities and special events in 2015. He became director of athletic facilities, game operations and championships in 2018.
Ryder previously worked in game operations and facilities at High Point, his alma mater, from 2005-09. In his time at Wake Forest, he handled day-to-day game management responsibilities.
"I am incredibly grateful to Brian and the Virginia Tech leadership for the opportunity to join Hokie Nation," Ryder said in the release. "Virginia Tech has a proud athletics tradition, an extraordinary fan base and tremendous momentum surrounding the department. I have great respect for Brian's vision and leadership, and I'm excited to have the opportunity to work alongside him again as we build upon that momentum.
"Facilities and operations touch virtually every aspect of the student-athlete, coach and fan experience. I look forward to listening and learning, building relationships across campus and working collaboratively to ensure our facilities and operations reflect the championship-level aspirations of Virginia Tech athletics. My family and I could not be more excited to make Blacksburg home."
Ryder is the fifth new addition to White's executive leadership team:
• Ryan Gottlieb (deputy AD, chief strategy officer)
• Brad Bell (executive associate AD of advancement, executive director of Hokie Club)
• Mary Giardina (deputy AD, chief of staff)
• PJ Mullen (deputy AD, chief marketing officer)
• Chris Ryder (executive associate AD, capital projects, facilities and operations)
There are five others on the executive staff, who were retained from Whit Babcock's administration:
• Danny White (deputy AD, chief operating officer)
• Reyna Gilbert-Lowry (executive associate AD, competitive and student-athlete excellence)
• Chris Helms (executive associate AD, sport administration)
• Derek Gwinn (executive associate AD, regulatory strategy and governance)
• Brandon Hall (executive associate AD, chief financial officer)
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