Ryan Shumaker just finished his fourth year as the Sports Information Director at UT Tyler during the 2023-2024 season.
Shumaker joins the Patriot Athletic Department after spending three years at Eastern New Mexico University, which also competes in the Lone Star Conference, and has extended ties to the East Texas region. He spent three years at Eastern New Mexico, during which time he was promoted in the summer of 2019 to an Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing, Events, and Sports Information role after his first year as Sports Information Director.
In the summer of 2022, the UT Tyler Sports Information Department was honored as the inaugural Lone Star Conference Sports Information Staff of the Year. Shumaker and his staff oversaw the media relations operations for the 2022 and 2023 Lone Star Conference Softball Championships, the 2022-24 NCAA Division II Softball Regionals and the 2022-24 NCAA Division II Softball Super Regionals. In the spring of 2021, Shumaker oversaw the media relations efforts for the 2021 Spring Lone Star Conference Volleyball Championships.
At ENMU, Shumaker was instrumental in the growth of the department's social media outreach, with the department Twitter account recording 2.9 million impressions during the 2018-19 athletic year for a 123 percent increase from the previous year. The ENMU Athletics Facebook page also produced a 14 percent increase in followers compared to 8 percent growth the year before his arrival. He also was involved in the planning and event operations when Eastern New Mexico hosted the 2019 Lone Star Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
He spearheaded the re-design of both the Eastern New Mexico University Athletics website and athletics promotional materials, including game programs, flyers and social media graphics. He also oversaw the department's marketing and sports information efforts and served as the liaison for the Corporate Partnership Program for the athletic department.
Prior to Eastern New Mexico, Shumaker spent two years as the graduate assistant for athletic communications as well as serving as the assistant men's and women's golf coach at his alma mater, Northwestern Oklahoma State University. He contributed to the statistical and media relations duties at Northwestern and assisted with game operations and facility management.
Shumaker also assumed the role of Assistant Men's and Women's Golf Coach following a two-year golf career for the Rangers, and helped lead the men's team to a 10 stroke improvement and to the team's best finish in program history at the Great American Conference Golf Championships in 2018.
A native of Denison, Texas, Shumaker attended Paris Junior College before completing his undergraduate studies with a Bachelor of Science in Health and Sports Science at Northwestern Oklahoma State University. He played golf at Paris Junior College and Northwestern Oklahoma State following a standout prep career at Denison High school.
He also completed his Master of Education degree in adult management from NWOSU in 2018. He currently resides in Tyler and enjoys playing golf, hunting and spending time with friends and family in his spare time.
