Impact Of A Scholarship: Student Managers

When legendary head equipment manager Ron Ohringer, better known around Maryland’s campus as Ronnie O, retired over the summer after nearly 40 years at Maryland, he left behind an incomparable legacy in many ways. Not only did he become a beloved member of the Maryland community for his tireless work as a manager ever since he first started as a student, he also helped pave the way for others to follow in his footsteps.

To honor him and his immense contributions to the school, The M Club is in the process of starting a scholarship endowment named after Ronnie O for future student managers. 

“It’s hard for everyone else to do their jobs without the managers,” Ronnie O said. “Managers are the ones who set up the field for practice, who are moving bags and gear, the student managers do a little of everything for everyone. That’s why coaches consider them part of the team.”

As someone who got his start in the business as a student manager on scholarship at Maryland, Ronnie O  can’t overstate its importance.

“That scholarship made a huge difference,” Ronnie o said. “I had to pay a lot of my college costs and having the manager scholarship helped a lot with that. The time commitment is similar to having a part-time job and it’s really hard to be a manager, go to school and also have a part-time job if you’re worried about funding all of your education. It’s invaluable that we have these scholarships to help the managers.”

Ronnie O began his journey as a student manager for the football team, a role that paved the way for all his future success. 

“You make connections for a professional career the whole time you’re there working as a student,” he said. “I had good relationships with everybody and, as I was graduating, the head equipment manager needed somebody in Cole Field House working that equipment room and I got hired there right away.” 

Two former colleagues of Ronnie O,  Danny Frank and Angie Perry, were also Maryland student managers on scholarship around the same time. The three formed close bonds while at Maryland and today they assist with the fundraising efforts for the Ronnie O scholarship. 

Danny first found his way into being a student manager thanks to a special connection made in high school with Gloria Friedgen, wife of what was at the time Maryland offensive coordinator Ralph Friedgen. With Danny as her teaching assistant one year, she knew he loved football and that he would be a perfect fit as a student manager within the football team. 

“I signed up not knowing any of the details”  Danny said. “I didn’t know it was going to be six days a week working all these long, hard hours. But I got to college and I started and it was like a full-fledged job…and it was so cool to be part of the team as well!”

On his very first day on the job, Danny was asked to help with the football helmets. He went upstairs to assist and ran right into none other than Ronnie O.

Danny, whose daughter Rachel now attends Maryland and works as a Maryland football creative student, stayed with it for the remainder of his time at Maryland—and loved every minute of it.

“Being a football fanatic, being able to be a real part of that team that was, at that time, a powerhouse in the ACC, it was a dream come true and it was what helped my career later in life.”

“If it wasn’t for being a manager and meeting the people I met through that, I don’t know if I would have had the career I have now in sports, entertainment and ticketing.”

The partnership is mutually beneficial. Coaches and players are not able to do what they do without student managers. 

“Student managers are an integral part of a successful football program,” former Maryland football head coach Ralph Friedgen said. "It would be impossible to function without them."

During the years Danny was in school, only the top two football student managers were put on scholarship. Danny was one of those, for his last two years—something that meant a great deal to him.

“The scholarship made it so it wasn’t just a job, but that there was a real reward for working hard and doing a really good job. It really meant something because you knew you were working hard to get the scholarship and you knew that people recognized your dedication and value provided.”

Angie Perry had a similar experience as a football student manager herself when she started in 1982—albeit with the one major difference in that she was not only the first female student manager at Maryland, but in all of Division I athletics. 

Angie recalls getting a letter from a girl at the University of Miami who was inspired to become a student manager herself after seeing Angie on the Maryland sidelines. 

“Being a student manager was exciting,” Angie said. “We were a very good football team that won a lot of games. It was a lot of hard work and being the first woman was hard but the players all made it easy and were very accepting.”

Angie moved on to other ventures after her time as a student manager, but the experience left a lasting impact on her that has motivated her to give back to the university. She went on to become a Terrapin Club board member as well as a Maryland Made mentor. She, Ronnie O and Danny are also all lifetime M-Club members.

The shared experiences over the years have made Ronnie O, Danny and Angie, friends for life. 

“We were all tight knit as managers and that’s still true today,” Ronnie O said. “We still go out to dinner now and then; we still see each other at tailgates. It really is a place where you make lifelong friendships.”

“It was definitely a family,” Angie said. “We worked really hard, we worked long hours and we had to learn to rely on each other. We did a lot of hard work whether it was cleaning helmets, collecting laundry or waking the players up at five in the morning. We had to have each other’s back. It’s really a unique family and we’ve all stayed in touch.”

Those relationships and experiences are part of the reason it's such a big honor for Ronnie O, who is a proud dad to two kids that also went on to be student managers at Maryland, to have this scholarship named after him.

“To me personally, it’s a big honor that they’re creating this and naming it after me.  I hope we can turn it into a good thing for years to come to help managers and to hopefully start a really important tradition.”

And for Danny and Angie, the opportunity to play a role and help with the fundraising efforts for the Ronnie O scholarship is something they treasure.

“A lot of things change,” Danny said. “People change, coaches change, athletic department personnel change, but Ronnie was a staple. Every time I would come back, or any old coach or player or anyone would go back to Maryland, he was always the one consistent. For Ronnie to get this recognition means a lot to those of us who know what he’s meant to the football program and Maryland as a whole. To create a scholarship in his name is an amazing tribute to his legacy and it's something that will live on for years and years and years.”

The goal for this scholarship is that it gives future student managers the same opportunities that Ronnie, Angie and Danny received.

“This will allow someone to not have to worry about where their tuition money or their funding is coming from and just be able to put in the work and be part of a team and be part of a bigger something that they never would have had the opportunity to do if they didn’t have a scholarship,” Danny said. 

“This should be a dream job for kids,” Angie added. “Every kid who likes sports should want to do this. And I hope that this scholarship will allow more kids who may want to go in that direction to be able to do it and realize their passion.”