Ryan Berryman -

Curious Conversations

I've known Ryan for over ten years. I watched him serve as Student Regent, overseeing an entire university institution before most people his age had figured out what they wanted to do with their lives. Now he's running one of the most storied athletic programs in the Mountain West. To put his age in context — the only Athletic Director in the NCAA younger than Ryan is SJ, the real life younger brother from the family depicted in The Blind Side. Ryan is two months into the job, a child on the way, and he is exactly who he has always been.

That last part is the story worth telling.

Ryan worked at Walmart in high school and college. Not reluctantly — he tried to be the fastest bagger on the floor. He wanted to make something mundane into something excellent. From there he went on to fold laundry for the Men's Basketball team at UNM. Same instinct, different building. Most people treat the small jobs as something to survive until the real ones arrive. Ryan treated every level like it was worth doing well. He just kept going — floor by floor, role by role — until one day he was running the whole place. That instinct compounds. It doesn't leave you when the title changes.

When I asked him what his recipe was — what he was doing differently — his answer was disarmingly simple. There's always been a sincerity with the people he interacts with. Genuine relationships. Working hard and treating people the right way. Then he said something that should stop you: a lot of people do one but not the other. They work hard but burn people. Or they're liked but not reliable. Both halves matter. Most people are only bringing one.

His dad, an electrical lineman, left home at 3AM in the snow to turn the power back on for strangers. His mom ran her own business and gave everything to her kids. Ryan absorbed all of that and arrived at a conclusion that most people in positions of power never reach — what really matters is how you treat others. His title didn't change who he is. That's the whole point. And if you're waiting for permission to chase something bigger — Ryan folded laundry. He just never stopped.