Marianne Vydra: “Athletics is a relationship endeavor”

Marianne Vydra, who has dedicated the last 28 years to assisting, overseeing and mentoring Oregon State student-athletes, coaches, alumni and staff will leave her position as Deputy Athletic Director for Administration and Senior Woman Administrator (SWA) on Oct. 30, 2020.

Vydra leaves Oregon State Athletics as one of the longest-tenured and most-decorated administrators in the department's history.

"It has been an honor to serve nearly 3,000 student-athletes that graced the campus at Oregon State University," Vydra said. "I have been able to meet and team up with extraordinary coaches and administrators during my tenure. I have also had the luxury of longevity, which allowed me to facilitate the weaving of generations of former student-athletes back into our fold.

"I am especially grateful for my troupe of mentors and friends that have allowed me into their lives along the way. Athletics is a relationship endeavor and I am grateful for everyone who has touched my life in some manner, especially our student-athletes."

Vydra was appointed to several NCAA committees, won numerous awards, served as Oregon State's interim Athletics Director two times and, most important, established a relationship with coaches and student-athletes that will last forever.

"Over her career Marianne has made significant and lasting contributions to intercollegiate athletics both nationally and at Oregon State," Beaver Vice President and Director of Athletics Scott Barnes said. "She is a true citizen of our industry, giving of her time and talents to various NCAA and conference committees over the years. Her vibrant passion and care for our student-athletes and coaches will be one of her many lasting legacies."

The Beginning
The legend of Vydra's long run at Oregon State began in 1992 when she arrived in Corvallis after previously serving as an Academic Counselor at the University of Maine, a position she held as a graduate assistantship.

"When I arrived on my first day of work, I immediately immersed myself in developing a strategic plan for the Academic Services Unit," Vydra said. "As I recall, there were four computers in the study hall area upstairs in Gill Coliseum when I started. I became heavily involved nationally in the National Association for Athletics Academic Advisors (N4A) and was able to bring valuable resources to the unit as we grew."

Vydra credits Margaret Zillioux as "a formidable mentor who taught me to understand my work from my center, which was based on an ethos of fairness and social-justice and providing opportunities for student-athletes at every turn. She introduced me to the great teachings of Dr. Harry Edwards."

She is also grateful to Mary Alice Stander, her direct supervisor, and former Senior Woman Administrator's Patti French and Robyn Sharp "who all mentored me during those early years and were strong women who I learned different aspects of the industry from."

In 1997, Vydra received OSU's Women's Center Woman of Achievement Award for advancing gender equity and social justice measures in athletics, as well as on campus.

"During this same time, the membership of the President's Commission on the Status of Women provided immeasurable personal and professional support for me," Vydra said. "Dr. Janet Lee, Dr. Stephanie Sanford, Dr. Laura Rice, the late Dr. Alexis Walker and countless other powerful women came together during this insanely divisive, yet extremely radical time in OSU's history. As I look back on this era during the state-wide and local anti-gay ballot measure period, it was a hard time for the students and staff and we came out stronger in the end because of the strong support on campus and in this community. I look at the Pride Center on campus today, as culminating evidence of what a community can do together for the common good of everyone."

"Marianne Vydra's OSU legacy is hard to put into words," said former Oregon State women's soccer player Claire Brown. "It supersedes the trophies, awards, the titles and victories. She was not only a trailblazer, she was a fierce and powerful mentor for so many of us. She was the reason we went back to OSU to visit. She was the reason we donated to the programs. She was the glue that kept us all together. Her departure will leave a void that I'm certain OSU will never be able to fill."

Marianne as Senior Woman Administrator 1998-2020
In 1998, Vydra was promoted to the Director of Academic Services and named the Senior Woman Administrator by Mitch Barnhart, the current Athletics Director at the University of Kentucky. Vydra leaves her position behind only Arizona's Rocky LaRose and Washington State's Marcia Saneholtz as the second-longest tenured SWA in the Pac-12 Conference.

"I owe Mitch much gratitude for believing in me and giving me a chance to spread my wings," Vydra said. "I always say he was the paddle that shocked our hearts when he hired Dennis Erickson. Mitch had a vision and one that included winning. I loved that about him."

"In 1998, Oregon State was blessed by the presence of a young man that Coach Riley recruited in Ken Simonton," Vydra added. "We asked a lot of Ken both on and off the field. It was Ken who would inspire us to create programming for black student-athletes and allow them to build community, break bread and host conversations on topics of the student's choosing. It was Ken and Dr. Larry Roper, former Vice President for Student Affairs, who really spearheaded this early programming. Larry provided financial support to get the vision off the ground."

"Twenty-eight years is a long time to serve any vision and yet it still feels too soon to see Marianne go," said former Oregon State football standout Ken Simonton. "I cannot think of many meaningful programs or original concepts that didn't pass through her door. She has been faithful to the vision of Beaver Nation and always supported the goals and vision of many student-athletes along the way. I count myself amongst those ranks. Marianne will forever be cherished."

As the Senior Woman Administrator, Vydra was asked to oversee several sports, in addition to the Academic Services Center. She used her experience as a former volleyball student-athlete and manager at Missouri State University, and took the lessons she learned from AVCA Hall of Fame Coach Linda Dollar, the late Hall of Fame Administrator Dr. Mary Jo Wynn and Hall of Fame Women's Basketball Coach Cheryl Burnett.

"I was in the right place at the right time to be able to learn from these strong women who were also extremely competitive," Vydra said. "Their records speak for themselves and we shared a common determination. Cheryl reached the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Final Four, twice; quite the accomplishment for a mid-major program. What I learned from her is the obvious in that you can always outwork people; and, the most important aspect of winning, IS the people you put on your team. I got to reach back to my years as a student-athlete and set into motion all of the aspects I learned from these women to assist the coaches at OSU.

During Marianne's tenure as the SWA, she would represent the conference for 16 years on different NCAA Championship Committees.

Vydra credits NCAA Softball Championship staff members Chris Pohl and Sharon Cessna for expanding their reach of the NCAA Softball championship in Oklahoma City and with its relationship to the University of Oklahoma and long-time administrator Lindy Roberts. She is very appreciative of the work Carol Stiff, Vice President of Programming at ESPN, did to expand the national exposure of the Women's College World Series.

"I met so many wonderful coaches and student-athletes in this time period, it's hard for me to fathom it all," Vydra said. "All of the sport administrators and coaches that served and are serving on that committee have done amazing work for the student-athletes, the coaches, and that sport."

Vydra was appointed to the Women's Soccer Committee in 2007 and selected to the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Committee in 2013.

"I joined the Women's Gymnastics conversation at the right opportunity to influence the new format for the current NCAA Gymnastics Championship," Vydra said. "I cannot overstate the vision that ESPN's Carol Stiff and Megan Aronowitz have had for that sport for quite some time to bring elite women's gymnastics into our living rooms. Tanya and Michael Chaplin spent hours with me to help me understand the goals of the Collegiate Coaches' Association."

Beavers Without Borders 2011
Of the many highlights in Vydra's illustrious career at Oregon State, the best might have been the creation of Beavers Without Borders, a service-learning study abroad program developed as a collaboration between OSU Athletics and OSU International Programs. Former Oregon State football player Taylor Kavanaugh had the idea. Former Oregon State Athletics Director Todd Stansbury was its champion. Vydra made it happen. The first trip took place in 2011, after just six months of planning.

"With the help of Michele Justice who made this happen from a campus perspective, we were on a plane to Guatemala with Rashaad Reynolds, Marcus Wheaton, Johnnie Hekker, Lance Mitchell, Yvenson Bernard, Mandi Rodriguez, Brittney Belshe, Kyle Bjornstad, and Taylor Kavanaugh's camera and crew, in short order," Vydra said.

Beavers Without Borders has since engaged countless student-athletes to this day.

"I thank Kimya Massey (Senior Associate Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Development) for carrying the ball. I also want to thank Dr. David Bernell (College of Liberal Arts) and Julie Walkin (OSU GO) for their support of the program as well."

"MV was a great partner of mine as we developed the Everyday Champions program at OSU," said Todd Stansbury, the current Athletics Director at Georgia Tech University. "Marianne was a champion for any opportunity to enhance the student-athlete experience. Beavers Without Borders is a great example of the projects we collaborated on. Her sheer passion, energy and commitment to the student-athletes made it happen."

Winning 2011-2020
In 2015, Vydra was named one of the Top 10 Senior Woman Administrators in the NCAA by CollegeAD.com.

"I want to thank Chris Hoyles, Chris Dawson, Gloria Nevarez and Teresa Gould for their mentorship and guidance in my career," Vydra said. "They have done things behind the scenes at the Pac-12 that have bolstered all of our women's basketball programs in the conference and across the country. I want to thank Scott Rueck, his staff and all of the student-athletes who gave me the memory of the win over Baylor during that Final Four run."

"I have fond memories of building the strategic plan that's resulted in the recent elite performance of the Pac-12 Women's Basketball programs in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament. My fellow SWA sisters disrupted the status quo in NCAA Women's Basketball for sure; these women are the most talented administrators in college athletics and I feel so blessed to have worked with them. Lisa Peterson (SWA at UO) and I have had the shared vision for elite women's basketball in the state of Oregon for quite some time. I will miss her and our frequent lively rivalry banter."

"I have been fortunate for nearly 20 years to call Marianne Vydra both colleague and friend," said Teresa Gould, who is the Senior Associate Commissioner, Sports Management & Institutional Services at the Pac-12 Conference. "She has inspired me and so many others through her unwavering commitment to supporting student-athletes, advocating on their behalf, and encouraging their holistic development. Marianne has served tirelessly on various committees on the Oregon State campus, within the Pac-12 Conference, and across the NCAA. She has left an extraordinary legacy through the decades of colleagues she has influenced and generations of student-athletes she has mentored. Our industry has benefitted from her leadership immeasurably and she will be greatly missed."

"The name Marianne Vydra will forever be associated in the Pac-12 Conference with Oregon State athletics and student-athlete advocacy," said Lisa Peterson, who is the Deputy Athletic Director/SWA/Deputy Title IX Coordinator at the University of Oregon. "We might have been rivals on game day, but Marianne was a kindred spirit who never lost sight of the big picture: our shared ideals of student-athlete welfare and advocacy for women in college athletics. We will miss her unforgettable laugh, we will miss her voice when decisions were being made, and we will miss her leadership that paved the way for so many who followed in her footsteps."

Vydra was appointed Oregon State's interim Athletics Director in 2015 and again in 2016, while the university interviewed candidates to lead the athletic department. She received the Beaver Champion Award from then-Oregon State President Dr. Edward Ray in 2018. "I want to thank Dr. Ray for his friendship and believing in me my entire career," Vydra said.

She most recently became just the second woman nominated to serve on the NCAA Division I Baseball Committee. She also served more than 10 years as the sport supervisor for Oregon State's three-time national championship baseball program. "I want to thank NCAA Staff member, Randy Buhr, for his long-time support of my career; I consider him a friend. And I have fond memories of Ray Tanner, the AD from South Carolina who was our Chair my first year; he might have one of the more complex jobs in the industry and he has a grace about him that I really enjoyed."

"One of my most enjoyable experiences at Oregon State was assisting Pat Casey and the team with the 2018 NCAA National Championship," Vydra said. "It was a whole team effort. I think my time here is summed up best by Kyle Nobach's famous quote: 'I'm smiling too hard, I think I'm going to break my face.'"

"Facilitating pinnacle experiences on and off the courts and fields for young people as they are shaping their full identities is a true privilege. I love seeing student-athletes and coaches shine when everything comes together for them."

Three of Oregon State's most successful coaches have nothing but the utmost respect for Vydra and the work she has done for Beaver Nation.

From former Oregon State baseball coach Pat Casey:

"Marianne has always been a dedicated and committed advocate of advancing student-athletes to the very best. That started a long time ago when I was coaching and she was the academic advisor. I truly appreciate the time I had working with her. She has always been great and Oregon State will miss her."

From Oregon State gymnastics coach Tanya Chaplin:

"Marianne has had a positive and lasting impact on our student-athletes and staff. Her compassion, loyalty and innovation has been a constant source of energy throughout the years. It has been a privilege and an honor to work with her for the last 24 years. She has imparted a legacy of excellence and success on our department and program. I am deeply grateful for her leadership, mentorship and guidance she has provided me over my career."

From Oregon State women's basketball coach Scott Rueck:

"Throughout our decade together, Marianne has consistently been there for our women's basketball program, and for me personally, through every high and low with understanding, encouragement and wisdom. She saw something in me that led her to believe a Division III coach could get the job done at the highest level of college athletics, and then did everything in her power to set us up for success.

"It is difficult to overstate Marianne's unique impact on our program and our department overall. She had the time and energy for each person associated with our program, and used her relentless positivity to lift each of us higher. A constant encourager, Marianne gave each of us every ounce of energy she had. I consider it a blessing to have worked with her, and I want to thank Marianne for her sacrifices and investment in each of us. I will miss her and am excited to follow her next adventures."

Next Adventures
As for her next chapter, Vydra shared this: "I have a lot of gas in my tank. I think a vacation is still 100 miles in the woods with a pack on my back with no Mountain Dew in sight. I am blessed with an incredible network, and I am taking some time with my family and friends and to be still and listen. This is a pivotal time for the industry, the country and for the planet."

Marianne Vydra: “Athletics is a relationship endeavor”

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