Photo by Heather Belcher
The WVSSAC Board of Directors today announced the appointment of Wayne Ryan as its next Executive Director. Ryan will assume the position on July 1, 2025, following the retirement of current Executive Director David Price.
“I appreciate the board of directors’ confidence in me,” Ryan said. “It is an honor to serve in this position, and I am humbled by this opportunity. I am looking forward to working with the board and all stakeholders to continue to serve our student-athletes and our member schools. Our staff will work very hard to better serve and support our member schools and help advance the mission of education-based athletics.”
“The Board is confident that Wayne’s extensive background and unwavering commitment to education-based athletics will serve the WVSSAC well as he steps into this new leadership role,” said Trent Sherman, Board of Directors President. “We look forward to the continued growth and success of interscholastic activities under his guidance.”
Ryan currently serves as Associate Executive Director of the WVSSAC and previously held the role of Assistant Director from 2016 to 2023. In these positions, he has overseen multiple sports—football, basketball, baseball, wrestling, and track—and played a key role in structural improvements to sport administration and tournament processes. His responsibilities have also included sanctioning, ticketing, academic scholarships, awards, hotels, and school reimbursements.
Throughout his career, Ryan has served in various leadership capacities, including president of the West Virginia Athletic Directors Association and member of the WVSSAC Board of Directors. He also contributed to the WVSSAC Basketball Coaches Advisory Committee, Basketball Restructuring Committee, and Technology Committee, and he served on the NFHS Officials Advisory Committee.
A 1982 graduate of Hinton High School, Ryan was a standout multi-sport athlete and is a member of the Bobcat Hall of Fame. He played collegiate baseball at Alderson Broaddus, where he received the Phi Epsilon Outstanding Student Award in 1986. He later earned a master’s degree in communications from West Virginia University and a professional administration certification in educational leadership from Salem International University. He is also a Certified Athletic Administrator through the NIAAA.
Ryan spent 30 years in the Summers County school system as a teacher, coach, athletic director, and assistant principal. As head coach of the Summers County girls’ basketball program, he led the team to six state championships—including five consecutive Class AA titles from 2007 to 2011—and a state-record 105-game winning streak. He was named the West Virginia State Coach of the Year by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association in 2010 and the West Virginia Athletic Director of the Year in 2015.
Ryan and his wife Robin Hannah Ryan, a registered nurse and a Clinical Solutions Delivery Consultant for Philips, have been married for 31 years. They have two adult children, Lindsay (29) and Matthew (27).
