Staff Directory
- Title:
- Assistant AD/Community Outreach
- Email:
Rachel Ripken is in her 14th year as a member of CU athletic department, dating back to when she was a freshman in school in 2008 and earning her way into several promotions since. Most recently, on July 1, 2021 she was promoted to the assistant athletic director for community outreach. She had been named director of community outreach on August 1, 2018, which entails most of her duties as Community Outreach Manager, which she has done since being promoted on July 1, 2016.
In her current role, she manages all of the athletic department’s community outreach initiatives and popular programming such as Read with the Buffs, Chip’s Kids Club and Ralphie’s Kids Roundup. She manages the Ralphie live mascot program and oversees CU’s spirit groups, which include cheer, dance and the costumed mascot, Chip. She also coordinates coach and student-athlete appearances and Leadership Through Service opportunities in the community and is the staff advisor to CU’s Student-Athlete Advisory Board (SAAC), and has an active role with the group in coordinating the annual CUSPY’s (CU Sports Performers of the Year).
Ripken, 31, has spent her entire professional career with the Buffaloes, as she was appointed as a marketing and promotions associate following her graduation from CU in 2012. Shortly thereafter, she was hired full-time as a community outreach coordinator.
She graduated from the University of Colorado in 2012, with a double major in History and Communication while earning a minor in Dance. She worked as a student assistant for four years in the men’s basketball office under head coaches Jeff Bzdelik and Tad Boyle while earning her degree.
She was born November 22, 1989 in Baltimore, Md., and graduated from St. Paul’s High School in Brooklandville, Md., where she was a member of the school’s dance company. Her hobbies include skiing, hiking, traveling and going to sporting events. Her family has famous baseball lineage, most notably her father, Cal Ripken Jr., the Baseball Hall of Fame infielder who played 21 seasons in the majors, all with the Baltimore Orioles (and set the record for most consecutive games played with 2,632). An uncle, Billy Ripken, also played in the majors for 12 seasons, and a grandfather, the late Cal Ripken Sr., was a player, coach and manager in the Orioles organization for 36 years. Her younger brother, Ryan, is currently in the Orioles’ minor league farm system (AAA ball with the Norfolk Tides of the International League).
