Greetings Bear Fans!
 
The fall season is upon us.  Our football, volleyball and soccer teams have already reported to campus and are actively preparing for their upcoming seasons. The rest of our teams will be here very soon and will be ready to get rolling!
 
Looking back on my first year leading the Bears, I can't help but appreciate everyone's warm reception. I continue to be energized by our limitless potential and our willingness to push our programs into a new era.  Our success last year was a great start for what we can do every year. We had four MVC regular-season championships and one MVC tournament championship. Football had a tremendous eight-win season and spent most of the year ranked in the Top 25. These are accomplishments we will never take for granted. 
 
As we turn the page to 2025-26 and our first season of Conference USA, I get excited every time I hear people around the state tell me how excited they are about this year and the decade ahead for Bears Athletics.  One reason to get excited is our early sales returns!  We have already surpassed the most football season tickets we have sold in nearly a decade, and we aren't done yet!  So many people have helped put us in a position to be ready for this new era, I can't possibly thank all of them. The people here are special, and we will be ready to go!  
 
Since my last update, the House Settlement has been finalized, and Missouri State has officially launched the Competitive Excellence Fund (CEF).  The CEF will allow us to position ourselves for success in this new era of intercollegiate athletics by providing a vehicle to share revenue with our student-athletes.  Make no mistake, the success of the CEF will have a direct correlation to the success of our programs. If you are wondering how to directly impact our success, donating to the CEF is the number one way to accomplish that! I'll make it easy for you, just CLICK HERE.
 
Making the move from FCS to FBS in football is certainly one of the most ambitious moves a school can make in college athletics.  The commitment from our administration and the Board of Governors has given us a chance to be competitive right out of the gates.  Before we kick off against nationally-ranked SMU on Sept. 13, we will have replaced our field, installed new LED lights, renovated specific premium spaces, installed a new TV production docking station, replaced all our bleacher-back seats, painted and cleaned many stadium areas, added a Boulevard Brewing Deck to the east side of the stadium and put the stadium through a deep cleaning.  That is just year ONE!  There has never been such an investment in one off season like we have shown this summer.  I am extremely excited for you to visit Plaster Stadium this fall, and we need everyone to show up loud and proud on Sept. 13.
 
I will leave you with one significant point to ponder as we enter this new era: We need our fan base, our alumni and the greater Springfield area to buy into Missouri State athletics and support our teams like never before. Our university profile has expanded to a national level, and our student body is energized like never before.  Ticket sales can help support that transition in a visible and valuable way. If we can fill Plaster Stadium and Great Southern Bank Arena, we will have the opportunity to make a great first impression on the national stage and make our new era the most memorable in our history.

I look forward to seeing you this fall, Go Bears!
 
Patrick Ransdell
Director of Athletics