Staff Directory

Ryan McGuire

Title:
Senior Associate AD/External Relations
Email:
Phone:
515-294-4638

***Updated August 2026***

Ryan McGuire, who has played a key role in Iowa State’s record-setting athletic fundraising performance for more than a decade, celebrates his 21^st year with the Cyclones and fourth as Senior Associate Athletics Director for External Relations after serving as the department’s Associate Athletics Director for Major Gifts from 2016-2022.

In his current role, McGuire has oversight of the Cyclone Club’s annual fund, major gifts, premium seating sales and service, ticket operations and special events. He is also the department’s liaison to the ISU Foundation and the Cyclone Gridiron Club, and coordinates postseason travel.

Thanks to the incredible support from nearly 8,000 donors, Iowa State’s Department of Athletics generated a school-record $52.7 million in gifts, including a record $21.1 million in annual fund giving through the Cyclone Club, during the 2025-26 fiscal year. Overall, total fundraising production for the recently completed fiscal year was $52,7 million, breaking the previous fundraising record of $41.7 million set in 2020. Some 7,814 fans made 26,707 gifts to the ISU Athletics Department last year, including 48 gifts of $100,000 or more.

The Cyclone Club has topped $10 million in annual support for 12-consecutive years, establishing new records in each of the last six years. This year’s total of $21.1 million broke the previous record of $19.7 million set in fiscal year 2025.

Prior to being promoted in 2016, he worked as ISU's Assistant Athletics Director for Major Gifts from 2011-16 and as Assistant Athletics Director for Special Events and Letterwinners Club from 2009-11. McGuire first joined the Cyclone staff as Director of Special Events and Letterwinners Club in 2006.

Before joining the Iowa State staff, he served as Athletics Director, Sport Management instructor and Assistant Baseball Coach at North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) from 2001-06. He oversaw and provided leadership to a 13-sport program with a $340,000 annual budget.

On his watch, the athletics department created the NIACC Athletics Hall of Fame, developed a corporate partner program to generate new revenues and introduced six new men's and women's sport programs over a four-year period—men's and women's soccer, cross country and track & field.

A 1997 graduate of the University of Northern Iowa, McGuire earned his master's degree in Exercise and Sport Science (Sport Management) from Iowa State in 2000. He began his professional career as Assistant Director of Sports and Operations for the Iowa Games in May 2000 before moving North on I-35 and into the Athletics Director's chair at NIACC a year later.

Ryan and his wife, Mandy, reside in Ames with their children, Abby and Tommy.