Ken Ralph, now in his second year as director of athletics at Colorado College, accepted the position in July 2007 after serving as AD at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute since 2002. An energetic, visible and approachable leader with a knack for crunching numbers and utilizing common sense, Ralph has injected renewed enthusiasm into the department with his own work ethic, spearheading the behind-the-scenes planning and fundraising efforts for a new fitness and recreation center on the CC campus. Also, during his short stint in office, the school has successfully launched a new, dynamic athletics Web site and implemented live video streaming of home games for nearly half of its 20 varsity sports.

Like Colorado College, Rensselaer is a Division III school with two Division I programs, so Ralph was no stranger to CC's multi-divisional status when he took over his current position. He was involved in January 2004 when the NCAA voted overwhelmingly in favor of amended legislation that permits both schools and six other Division III institutions to continue granting financial aid to student-athletes who compete on their Division I teams. The outcome preserved men's ice hockey and women's soccer at the Division I level at Colorado College as well as men's and women's Division I ice hockey at RPI. Other schools affected were Clarkson University, Hartwick College, Johns Hopkins University, Rutgers-Newark, St. Lawrence University, and SUNY-Oneonta.

At CC, the 39-year-old Ralph now manages a department with a budget of more than $5 million.  A member of the Colorado Springs Sports Corporation board of directors, he served as tournament director for the 2008 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey West Regional at the World Arena. CC and the Sports Corp were co-hosts of the event. He also ran two previous hockey regionals - in 2004 and 2006, in Albany, N.Y. - while at RPI.  

Prior to his years at RPI, Ralph served as senior assistant athletic director, head swimming coach and head water polo coach at Connecticut College; director of aquatics, head swimming coach and physical education instructor at University of Evansville; assistant swimming coach and physical education instructor at the U.S. Air Force Academy; director of aquatics and head swimming coach at Kutztown University; director of aquatics and head swimming coach at Georgetown University; assistant swimming coach at the University of Missouri; and assistant swimming coach at the University of Alaska Anchorage. He has served on committees for ECAC Hockey, USA Hockey, and the Liberty League.

Ralph is a 1991 graduate of Alaska Anchorage, where he earned five NCAA Division II All-America awards in swimming, was twice named UAA Swimmer of the Year, and was a USS Senior National Qualifier. In 2005, he was inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame. He earned his bachelor's degree in political science. He and his wife, Mary, celebrated their 13th anniversary in June.