A Football Legacy

Mankato native Ryan Schlichte has played a big role in
Minnesota State's success the past four years

A legacy always has to start somewhere. 

RyanSchlichte, a senior quarterback on the third-rated Minnesota State football team, came to the Mavericks with probably more knowledge about the program than most of his teammates.

A three-year starter at Mankato West, Schlichte racked up over 2,000 yards passing and 25 touchdowns as a sophomore and junior with the Scarlets. His senior year of high school, in which he threw for 3,141 yards and 45 touchdowns, he earned Minnesota High School Gatorade Player of the Year, Minnesota AP Player of the Year, Big 9 Player of the Year and USA Today Minnesota Player of the Year honors.

The connection with the local NCAA DII football program came with Ryan’s father, Dave, a defensive back and quarterback for the Mavericks in the early 1980s. Dave, a native of Wilmont, Minn., native who prepped at Worthington High School, served as offensive coordinator under Minnesota State head coach Dan Runkle following his college playing career.

“From as long as I can remember, our family went to the games at The Blake. It seemed like every Saturday the Mavericks had a home game and in the back of my mind it wasn’t me watching the Gophers, but it was me watching the Mavericks play. That kind of transitioned as to what I was playing when I was younger and into high school. My dad was a coach and always had great insight. I didn’t always listen to it first, but I’ve come to appreciate his knowledge of the game and for what he’s done for me as a player and for a young man as well,” Schlichte said.

“As a young man he definitely helped me mature and to treat everyone that I would like to be treated,” said Schlichte. “My dad treated everyone with respect and treated everyone the same. That’s how I’ve always kept that open mind and try to get to know as many guys as I can. I try to find something about someone on the team if I don’t know everyone on the team. I’ve always tried to be a leader and pick people back up when they are down.”

Following a redshirt year on 2015, Schlichte saw action in seven games as a freshman in 2016 prior to assuming the starting role for the Mavericks as a sophomore, helping guide the team to a 13-1 record as they claimed an NSIC Championship and advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament. Sharing starting duties with J.D. Ekowa in 2018, Minnesota State again posted a 13-1 record.

Dave Schlichte feels Ryan’s exposure to the Mavericks and the college football culture likely has played a role in Ryan’s success at Minnesota State. 

“Being a part of a team was one of the best moments I had at college and I thought it was something that would be good for him to be exposed to,” said Dave. “I think the ups and downs we had when we played made our group closer and that’s what being a part of team is all about.”

 In playing for his college coaches, Dave learned that there’s more than one way to get things done in understanding Al Sandona and Dan Runkle very different coaches and how they not only wanted their teams to play, but also how they worked with their players. “Sandona was more defensive than an offensive style and Runkle was more offensive than defensive,” said the senior Schlichte.  “It was an adjustment switching everything around between the two coaches, but we were able to overcome all of the years that we were struggling to winning the conference championship within a five-year span.”

On becoming a college coach right out of college, Dave felt that it was something he was ready for, even if it was a young age. “Runk’s staff was allowed to voice your thoughts and opinions on what to do. Sometimes as a team we were trying to figure out a way to be competitive. The hardest thing about changing from a player to coach was that it wasn’t about you anymore it was about the players and what their future holds. It also was about their families and what was best for them. Sometimes the mindset changes completely and it can’t be about you."

A football family, which besides Ryan and Dave includes Ryan’s mother Jody and brother, Jay, who was a tight end at Minnesota Duluth, you know where you’ll be able to find the Schlichte’s in the fall.  Most likely they’ll be at a football game.

                          - contributed by Mason Tonsager, Minnesota State Athletic Communications intern

           

Home is Where the Heart is

Freshman quarterback Ryan Schlichte is one of several
Mankato natives currently playing for Minnesota State sports
teams

For most college students, going away to school is the start of a new challenge and begins to define who they will be as adults.

The unique challenges of discovering a new town, new social groups, and new routines is a normal part of the college experience.  There are however exceptions to the standard college experience of going away.  What about the students who choose to stay in their hometown for college, who continue to play sports for the school that has been a part of their very background since they were children?  What would compel them to stay in Mankato, perform in Maverick athletics, and reach out to the next generation of local athletes?  Fortunately, there are many answers to these questions and they all start with home, Mankato Minnesota.

Growing up in Mankato is a pretty similar experience, regardless of which of the rival high schools people attend.  Ryan Schlichte, a redshirt freshman quarterback for the football team who attended Mankato West High School, said of Mankato, “It is a big city that feels small because of the genuine family connections.”  

The fact that the city is so tied into Minnesota State University makes it feel like the entire city is always rallying behind you as an athlete, according to Nicole “Coley” Reis, a senior softball pitcher who owns the school single-season strikeout record and attended Mankato East High School prior to joining the Mavericks.  Many of the first experiences with sports for these athletes came from attending Minnesota State Maverick events or youth camps.  Logan Bristol, a sophomore track and field athlete who grew up a short walk away from the Maverick campus, has fond memories of going to his first Maverick hockey game as a child and knew from that moment that he, “…always wanted to be a Maverick.” 

Family history also plays a vital part of the decision making process for these student athletes.  For Erica Ellstrom, a sophomore middle distance freestyle swimmer who attended Mankato East High School, having an opportunity to swim with her older sister was a major factor in her choice to go to Minnesota State University.  Schlichte's father, Dave, is a former Maverick football stand-out who went on to serve as an offensive coordinator for the team.  As a result, Ryan was a part of the program from an early age and said the he felt he had “…been a Maverick my whole life.”  

Coley remembered the visits to campus for events and how she viewed the college athletes as role models as she looked up to them growing up.  Now the experience has flipped and she is in that role, as a senior who has made a very positive impact on the program, she realizes how much those high school and middle school kids are looking up to her as a role model.  She always wanted to give back in her college experience, to her parents (her mother is a former Maverick women's tennis player) who travelled hours so she could participate in summer leagues, and to her friends and family who now get to watch her pitch for her hometown university.  For Erica, a program like Swim with the Mavericks is one of the ways she can give back to her home town.  The team gets the opportunity to teach children from age 2-12 and are always happy to see how excited the children are.  Seeing the kids outside of the events around town really shows how the experience at Minnesota State is impacting more local children.

The campus life is still an amazing experience for these local athletes.  Getting to be the local tour guide to all the Mankato hot spots and best restaurants helps the out-of-town students feel connected to the town.  The campus itself still feels isolated enough that the student athletes have the ability to still have a traditional feeling college experience and the new social groups created within the Maverick athletic family are lifelong, as Logan stated, “MavFam is not just a hashtag, it’s are real thing and there is a mutual respect among all the sports.”

That is the true lasting connection among all of the local student athletes at Minnesota State University, the feeling of family; with one another, with Mankato, and with the entire Maverick student body.  There are other current Mavericks hailing from the Key City including Alex Goettl (football), Claire Ziegler (women's basketball), Savannah Quandt (women's hockey) and Sydney Writz (women's swimming). Being a student athlete in their hometown lets them give back to their families and the community that made them the people they are today and sets an example to future generations of Mankato children.

- contributed by Benjamin Camp, Athletic Communication intern