In Kelly Ryan’s favorite photo, she is dressed in her father Mark Ryan’s gray Syracuse University sweatshirt. The sweatshirt nearly swallows her up. Still a toddler, Kelly all but disappears into it.

Likewise, no photo in the family’s albums has someone without Syracuse apparel on.

Mark Ryan’s vanity plate says “SYRAQZ,” his golf clubs have Syracuse covers and his iPhone lock screen is the Syracuse logo. Within a year of his graduation from graduate school, he took a job as an alumni representative and stayed with it for nearly 35 years.

He is also the head of an informal dynasty — two of his three children, including Kelly, attended SU as undergraduate and graduate students. 

“I think that he took so much from his education and overall experience at Syracuse that he can’t help but let that show through in all that he does,” Kelly said.

The fairy tale did not start smoothly. Ryan started his freshman year as an engineering major. He tried to wrestle competitively, even as he struggled in calculus and chemistry. Eventually, he quit wrestling and transferred into the Martin J. Whitman School of Management as a finance and accounting major.

One day, during his sophomore year, he ran into a freshman named Laurie on the stairs in E.S. Bird Library. It was raining, and she could see he was on his way home.

When he asked her if she was leaving, she said yes. Though he lived in Booth Hall, he walked with her to her residence hall on the Mount.

That walk led to a date sledding down the hill in front of Crouse College on metal trays stolen from one of the dining halls and later, nearly 35 years of marriage.

Ryan waited until a year after his graduation, after he’d accepted a job offer, to propose to Laurie. He was ready emotionally “a long time before that,” but wanted to be able to support a family.

But his time at SU didn’t stop there. He later returned to SU for graduate school.

During graduate school, he took a human dynamics course. The professor ran “fishbowl exercises,” which required students to give presentations while the rest of the class tried to intimidate and distract them. Ryan was the youngest student in the class, but proved himself.

The professor praised Ryan for “challenging parameters,” despite being under pressure, and said the skills he’d demonstrated “would go far.”

“That sincere praise triggered a lot of confidence,” Ryan said. “I remember running from the class. I couldn’t wait to share it with my girlfriend.”

The moment was a “pivotal kind of experience,” something he wanted others to be able to have.

Since then, he has served on an advisory board for Whitman and donated up to $100,000 to the school, starting from when he received his master of business administration.

He has also built a display case of SU memorabilia in the basement of his home, holding anything from golf balls to pennant banners.

His two prized possessions are the Sports Illustrated book featuring the 2003 national championship team and a basketball signed by Jim Boeheim for his 700th win as the men’s head basketball coach.

Her father, Kelly said, is much more than a typical Syracuse fan. He not only follows the basketball and football teams, but always seems to know how the women’s basketball, soccer and field hockey teams are doing at any time.

During this year’s March Madness, he kept up a group chat with Kelly, her brother and her uncle — all SU alumni. Intently watching the game on television, the group scrutinized each play and cheered when the team squeezed out a win.

Ryan’s devotion to SU has been a beacon for students in his area applying to the school. Ryan is almost always on call as an alumni representative, the go-to guy for writing recommendation letters for kids in his neighborhood hoping to apply to SU.

Complete strangers have called him requesting interviews for their children. Ryan usually obliges, conducting the interviews in his office.

Said Kelly: “It is a known fact in my small town of Hingham, Mass., that the Ryans bleed Orange, and Mark Ryan leads that charge.”

Published on April 23, 2013 at 2:39 am

Contact Natsumi: najisaka@syr.edu