The RoundHouse | 8/14/2019 9:25:00 AM

By Paul Suellentrop

Larry Rankin shepherded some of Wichita State's most successful teams through their media duties over the past 25 years. His work documenting those seasons and coordinating coverage provides highlights of his resume.
 
Rankin also shepherded co-workers and students through their introduction to the media relations profession. His good humor and even-keeled manner provided a springboard into the career for many with a blueprint for balancing work and family life. 
 
"What I loved most about Larry in the two years that I was a GA on his staff was his care for all of us," said Todd Zeidler, assistant director of athletics/communications at Gonzaga. "He gave us endless opportunities to grow and succeed, and his door was always open when we needed someone to talk to. He showed me that caring for your employees as people outside of the job makes everything inside of the job that much more meaningful and fulfilling."
 
Rankin, 51, died on Friday after two-year battle with esophageal cancer. He started at Wichita State in 1992 as an assistant sports information director. He became an assistant athletic director in 1998 and worked mostly with baseball and basketball during his career, including a 1996 trip to the College World Series and the 2013 men's basketball trip to the Final Four.
 
Rankin's pipeline into the profession landed people at places such as Gonzaga, Drake, the Memphis Grizzlies, the Mountain West Conference, Triple-A baseball, the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference, Oklahoma State, Newman and more. The list includes Wichita State employees such as Tami Cutler, associate athletic director/strategic communications, Dr. Mike Ross of the sport administration department and director of communications Bryan Holmgren.
 
"I maybe saw him raise his voice one time in 19 years," Cutler said. "That's saying something in this profession. He was always so easy-going and got along with everybody. There wasn't anybody who couldn't talk to Larry."
 
That personality helped him navigate the relationship among media members, coaches and student-athletes. On social media and on the radio, journalists around Wichita remembered working with Rankin through stressful times, exciting moments, big stories and road trips.
 
His relationship with colleagues is reflected in the number of condolences from people at Missouri Valley Conference schools and area universities. MVC staff members Mike Kern and Jack Watkins plan to attend Wednesday's visitation service.
 
"He was good with smoothing things out and being a good listener," Cutler said. "People want to be heard. And if you show you can listen to them, that comes across as somebody who can smooth things out and make things better."
 
Rankin showed his co-workers how to survive the long hours with humor. The staff competed in putting contests, played Guitar Hero, Mario Kart and Nerf basketball. Ross, soon after the department moved into renovated Koch Arena in 2003, hacked a divot into the carpet (still present) in the media relations suite during a chipping contest.
 
"That was kind of frowned upon, so soon after the new building opened," Ross said. "That was symbolic. (Larry) was a people person and if you were going to work 12-, 13-, 14-hour days . . ."
 
Rankin threw Halloween parties and invited co-workers and their families. One year, he dressed as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, wearing a blue-and-white dress and ruby shoes. Another year, his gorilla costume included a grass skirt.
 
"He loved Halloween," Cutler said.
 
Those who worked for Rankin praise the example he set with his family - wife Denise and children, Garrett, 23, Bailey, 19, and Wyatt, 11. He made them a priority and that made an impression on younger co-workers.
 
"He always found a way to make time for his family and be part of their activities," said Jordan Korphage, a former student and graduate assistant. "While I was working at WSU, he loved coaching Garrett and Bailey in baseball and softball. He was, and I know he still is, very proud of them and all that they have accomplished. There were many times that after a long day at the office, Larry went straight to baseball practice and led that until 8 or 9 at night."
 
Rankin and his staff often took inexperienced students and groomed them into professionals.
 
In 2003, Rankin visited Derby High School in search of student help. Through a journalism class, he found Korphage, who worked for Rankin for almost six years. Fifteen years later, Korphage is an assistant director of media relations at Tulsa and works with men's basketball.
 
He values Rankin talking him through his reaction to a difficult loss to Vanderbilt in the 2005 NIT to give him a lesson in perspective and emotion. He remembers Rankin's sense of humor lightening the mood during the long days, describing him as a combination of the best parts of Michael Scott, Jim Halpert, Stanley Hudson and Creed Bratton from the TV show "The Office."
 
"He put me in my place when I needed to be put in my place, and he helped me develop and gave me room to grow when I was ready for it," Korphage said. "Larry taught me to be a professional. That might sound simple, but jobs in high school were not what you would call a professional setting. I literally have no idea what I'd be doing in life right now had Larry not walked into Derby High School in 2003."
 
John Meyer came to Wichita State in 2010 after working as an intern in Triple-A baseball. After an unsuccessful job search, he chose Wichita State to earn his master's degree and work in a media relations office. In 2012, he moved to Drake, where he works as assistant director for athletic communications with women's basketball, soccer, softball and rowing.
 
In 2011, Rankin sent Meyer with the men's basketball team on an exhibition trip to Brazil to give him an important professional and personal experience.
 
"Larry took a chance on me when I had zero experience in college athletics," Meyer said. "While at Wichita State I was able to work with several different sports and I gained valuable experience working with and for them and I gained skills and knowledge from Larry and others in our small department and the entire department as a whole."
 
Lisa Johnson, communications coordinator for the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers, spent nine years as a sports reporter at the Des Moines Register. She started at WSU in 2010. In 2013, she went to work in Oklahoma City.
 
"I came to the WSU athletic department as a non-traditional graduate assistant, hoping to learn the other side of the business," she said.  "Larry gave me numerous opportunities to gain experience in all aspects of media relations, while demonstrating to us the importance of patience, kindness, calmness and maintaining a sense of humor through all of the hard work and long hours involved."
 
Kim Melcher, assistant commissioner for the Mountain West Conference, graduated from Wichita State in 1990 with a finance degree. In 1994, she returned to Wichita State to work on a master's degree in sport administration. Rankin found her when he met with a class during his search for volunteers in what was then called the sports information department.
 
She entered the job with no journalism experience and no experience working at college athletic events. She wrote features for the basketball programs and worked as the main contact for sports. In 1995, Rankin asked her to organize the department's albums of pictures, letters and clippings from the 1970 football plane crash, an assignment that taught her about the connection between sports and a community, amidst a few teary afternoons in Levitt Arena's storage area.
 
"Larry taught me some basic (sports information) skills to get me started, and then continued to provide guidance as I gained experience and took on additional responsibilities," she said. "It's hard to quantify the skills I learned under his tutelage, but it's safe to say I wouldn't be where I am today without him taking a chance on me."
 
Melcher appreciated the tone Rankin set as she learned the job in a male-dominated field.
 
"His only concern was whether or not you could do the job," Melcher said. "More often than not, I was the only female in the press box at WSU baseball games, and not once did I feel disrespected, harassed or unwelcome. I did, however, realize that regardless of gender, respect was earned not given, and individuals who worked hard and knew their craft should expect to be treated accordingly."
 
A visitation is scheduled from 5-7 p.m. on Wednesday at Resthaven Mortuary (11800 West Highway 54). Funeral services are at 10 a.m. Thursday at Resthaven.

Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.