Getting to know the new athletic director

By Ryan Pickle ‘24, staff writer 

Lebanon Valley College’s new athletic director has big shoes to fill. He’s ready for the challenge.  

A native of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Patrick Ratke grew up involved in sports. He played basketball and baseball but was sure to mention that many other sports also interested him. 

Time to go to college, Ratke made the decision to attend The Catholic University of America (Catholic), where he majored in political science, hoping to eventually go to law school or work on Capitol Hill. Ratke didn’t play a sport during his time at Catholic, but sports would eventually make their way back into his life. 

“I took a job working in the athletic department, kind of living vicariously, just working on the games, setting up,” Patrick Ratke, LVC’s new athletic director, said. 

As Ratke began working, he was fortunate enough to receive guidance from two mentors to help him be where he is today. 

“My A.D. Mike Allen, and our former director of facilities Tyler Fleming, showed me that you could make a career out of this, and I just didn’t know that was possible,” Ratke said. “I go through college, I graduate, and I knew I wanted to work in sports.” 

After graduation, Ratke’s former athletic director got him a job working in admissions at Catholic recruiting from many states in the Mid-Atlantic region.  

“It was a really good way to enter higher education,” he said. “I got to learn how a college or university functions.” 

After working in admissions for four years, Ratke then transitioned over to the athletics side of higher education at Catholic as a compliance and recruiting coordinator. It was his hope that this would eventually guide him into the facilities side of athletics.  

“I had some really cool opportunities at Catholic, building a new soccer and lacrosse stadium, building a track,” Ratke said. “I love the building… I love the project management side of it as that was what my master’s was in.” 

Ratke then realized that he had reached a ceiling in his current role and began exploring external options outside of higher education. 

“I took a job with the Washington Nationals with logistics and command for them through their guest experience side for about seven years,” he said. “I also got a World Series ring, which was pretty cool.” 

Ratke then realized again that there was more room for growth in his career. After many conversations with friends and family, he began his career at Colby College in Maine. The college needed someone with meaningful experience to run and organize a $200 million dollar building project and they hired the right man for the job.  

Despite facing many challenges during his time at Colby, he has been able to learn from these experiences and apply them in his daily life. 

“Little did I know that all of the challenges that were going to develop during that time between Covid and opening a new building, we still got through that,” Ratke said. 

Ratke felt that he reached a peak at his position at Colby College and believed that he was ready to search for an Athletic Director position.  

“I had to find the right fit and I wanted to be there for the long haul,” he said. “That’s what led me down here.” 

Being a Pennsylvania native and envisioning the great potential in LVC athletics, it made LVC feel like home to him. 

“I liked what LVC had to offer,” Ratke said. “All the pieces and components are here it just needs a little bit of organization and modernization. I want to bring that all together.” 

LVC has a master plan to revamp all athletics facilities in the upcoming years, and Ratke has goals in place and wants to assist in all ways possible to turn this master plan into action. 

“The goals are pretty lofty,” he said. “The cool thing is all the footprints are here, so it’s just a matter of choosing what we want to upgrade and take them to the next level.” 

When in Maine, he fell in love with ice hockey. With the Middle Atlantic Conference starting a new ice hockey conference, Ratke wants to make getting an ice hockey arena on campus a priority. He wants LVC to be the first school in the conference with an arena on campus. 

“I think that an ice hockey rink on campus would be a huge opportunity,” Ratke said. “There is no reason why LVC cannot be an ice hockey powerhouse, and this would help build our men’s and women’s programs.” 

Ice hockey is not the only LVC sport that has intrigued Ratke in his time as the athletic director. Ratke hopes to see every team play and engage with all the student-athletes on campus. 

“I haven’t missed a game yet,” he said. “I want the student-athletes to not only be successful on the field, but in life and beyond.” 

Ratke also added that he is especially excited to get out to McGill Field this spring to watch the baseball team play but also to get out to the Hershey rink to watch women’s ice hockey with his oldest son, Everett. 

“We have two little boys, Everett who is three and a half, and Wyatt who is 17-months,” Ratke said. “Everett loves women’s ice hockey so I will enjoy popping around.” 

In Ratke’s free time he enjoys spending time with his two kids and is looking forward to coaching them in the future. Ratke also says he and his wife, Rachel, love to flip houses. Ratke is a big fan of the Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Phillies, but has developed a soft spot for the Washington Nationals after his time working for them.  

Ratke left things off with some words of wisdom for the student-athletes at LVC. 

“We are all on one team,” he said. “Everyone who is here is here to ensure your success.” 

Ratke is excited to be on campus and encourages students to stop by his office. His door will be open, and he is happy to hear what the LVC community has to say.