Ho to Head Athletic Performance Department

by Wade Steinlage

Oskaloosa–William Penn Athletics Director Nik Rule is proud to announce the hiring of Ryan Ho as the University’s new Director of Athletic Performance.

Ho is being promoted from his position as graduate assistant within the department, a role he held since the fall of 2018. He was named the WPU’s Interim Director in March, replacing Jon Haugen who left for another career opportunity.

“Ryan has progressed a great deal as a professional and is an exceptional coach,” Rule said. “He has a high level of respect among our coaches and student-athletes. I am excited to see how he continues to enhance our high-achieving athletic performance department.”

During his graduate assistant tenure, Ho was in charge of prescribing and implementing strength and conditioning programs for several teams, including baseball, football, women’s basketball, men’s volleyball, and men’s wrestling.

He was also the Director of Athletic Performance at Lynnville-Sully HS as well as the Assistant Athletic Performance Coach at Oskaloosa HS. Ho taught a weight training class during the 2019-2020 school year as well.

“I am truly grateful for the opportunity to step into the Director role within the Athletic Performance department,” Ho said. “The University has given me the opportunity to advance my career and I am excited to get started and help forge the way for our student-athletes.”

Prior to his time at WPU, Ho tallied three years as an assistant strength coach at Kamehameha HS in Hawaii, and also the summer of 2018 at Performance Enhancement Professionals in Arizona.

A 2015 graduate of Duquesne University in Pennsylvania with a degree in Psychology, he was a four-year starter on the football team. He earned his Master’s of Business Leadership from WPU in 2020.

Ho has his National Strength and Conditioning Association certificate and is certified in CPR and AED.