UW-Whitewater names Ryan Callahan as Director of Athletics

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - On Friday UW-Whitewater announced current interim athletic director, Ryan Callahan will be the Warhawks next Director of Athletics.

Callahan has served as interim AD since May of 2019. Before then, Callahan was an assistant director from 2017 to 2019. A UWW alum, Callahan played baseball at UW-Whitewater from 2004 to 2008 before spending four seasons in the San Francisco Giants and Minnesota Twins organizations.

“I’m going to be here for awhile. This is where I want to be and I’m going to start putting that culture in perspective and going back to what made us great,” Callahan told NBC15 sports over Zoom on Friday.

“We always said with coaching kind of going back to basics and I think that’s what we have to do right now,” he said. “Just kind of get back to basics and ultimately all have the same plan. You know we’re all fighting for the same goal. We’re all fighting for some wins and making sure that our student athletes are graduating at a very high percentage. “

“The first thing is just getting back to that power by tradition culture both in the classroom and also on the field.”

Callahan will assume the role of athletic director on July 1.

As interim, Callahan led projects like the building of the new tennis locker room and expansion project, replacing the turf at Perkins Stadium and helping secure gifts from donors for women’s athletics and wrestling. Callahan also led the athletic department from the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure safety and well-being of the student-athletes and staff at UW-Whitewater.

Callahan was inducted into the Warhawks Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019.

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