One of the most decorated swimmers in the history of the UAA program, Ken Ralph [1988-90] becomes the second member of the Seawolf Hall of Fame in his sport.
Ralph’s five All-America certificates in 1989 and 1990 were the second-most ever for an individual swimmer at UAA, and he set 10 school records – 5 individual, 5 relay – in his two seasons. He was part of the 1990 squad that won the Heartland Conference title – the program’s first-ever league championship – and was a qualifier for the U.S. Senior National meet in both 1989 and 1990.
His time of 1:50.99 in the 200 butterfly stands permanently as the best mark for a Seawolf in that event. Ralph served one season as an assistant at UAA and earned his bachelor’s degree in political science, before going on to a stellar head-coaching career at Georgetown (1992-94) and Kutztown (1994-96) universities, and the U.S. Air Force Academy.
At Kutztown, his teams broke a total of 32 school records in two years, earning him 1996 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors. At the Academy, Ralph won the Moyer-Nike Award for Excellence in Coaching Women, plus the Air Force Award for Organizational Excellence in 1997.
The Salem, N.H., native later returned to his New England roots, becoming swim coach and senior assistant athletic director at Connecticut College. There, he helped secure a gift of $500,000 to renovate the college’s natatorium and oversaw a 26-team NCAA Division III program.
In 2002, Ralph took over his current post of athletic director at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., where he is in charge of 23 sports, including Division I hockey.
He and his wife Mary live in Ballston Lake, N.Y.
