The first director, Ellis Mendelsohn, was hired in 1953. He held that position for decades before Dale Ramsay took over in 1980. Ramsay retired in November after 41 years and proudly passed the position onto Justin Peterson, while joking Peterson should go for a new record and serve for 42 years.

Peterson completed his undergraduate degree at Michigan Central University, where he was a sports official and supervisor in the Intramural Sports program. He then became a graduate assistant in the Department of Recreational Sports at Indiana State University, where he received a MS in Recreation and Sport Management.

In 2010, Peterson began his career at UofL. As a longtime member of the Cardinal community, he’s well known for establishing the Special Olympics program here in 2016. His dedication to that initiative led to UofL’s unified basketball team becoming the first ever to represent Special Olympics Kentucky at the USA Game.

Peterson’s first title at UofL was coordinator for Intramural Sports. He worked under Ramsey, who quickly became an influential mentor, and was eventually promoted to assistant director of Intramural Sports and then to associate director of Facilities. He’s been involved in nearly every aspect of the Student Recreation Center’s programming.

Now, he’ll be overseeing the people who hold these positions that he once did. His leadership is respected among peers as he’s spent more than 10 years building trust across campus.

“Dale taught me a lot about relationship building because it’s a really big piece of the job. If people don’t know who you are, they’re not going to call on you. But, if they meet you and know that they can call on you, they learn that they can trust you. Being able to have those conversations and doing the small things for people will go a long way,” said Peterson.

Peterson doesn’t just do the “small things” for others, though, he goes the extra mile.  While continuing cherished traditions like the Turkey Trot and Canoe Regatta, he’s also expanding programming to reach more students with varied interests. In this spirit, the name of the SRC’s department was recently changed from “Intramural and Recreational Sports Department” to “Campus Recreation.” 

Their purpose is to “…improve the quality of life and sense of belonging for all members of the University of Louisville community,” so he feels that the new name more accurately represents what they’re about. He’s continuing to broaden the vision of inclusivity by working with other departments to create programs that reach people with interests beyond the fitness center, field and court.

One way he plans to do this is by offering more activities in nature, such as hiking trips, alternative breaks at outdoor recreation spots and community cleanups. 

Peterson is fostering an environment that’s welcoming for everybody, while also addressing the holistic wellbeing of each person. He’s found that recreation can be a unique catalyst for getting students to open up about mental health.

“There are emotional health initiatives that we can do because one of the beauties of the sports setting is that you can break down some barriers. You’ve got people who might not be willing to open up and talk about things, but if you get them out on the basketball court, you can start having a conversation. You get to know a lot about a person and create a connection with them,” he said.

The SRC’s intramural sports teams and clubs have been a great avenue for the UofL community to do just that. There are more than 25 clubs, from ballroom dancing to basketball to badminton, where connections are being formed and students get to explore fitness while having fun.

The connections Peterson has built continue to benefit every program he’s involved in. With his drive and dedication, he may just break that 42-year record. 

The director of Intramural and Recreational Sports recently announced his retirement and will hang up his whistle on Nov. 1. He takes with him a treasure chest of memories, most of which he still remembers with vivid detail, and leaves behind a legacy rarely duplicated by today’s job-hop-happy workforce.

The beginnings of that legacy could be considered a bit serendipitous. Ramsay grew up in a small town in New Hampshire over 900 miles away, and attended Keene State College, which had about 2,000 students at the time. He received his physical education degree and thought he was going to teach PE and coach basketball for a living after graduation.

“Then my senior year, one of my professors called me and said there was an opportunity in Louisville working in the intramural department. I didn’t really know what intramurals was because we didn’t have much at Keene,” he said.

He interviewed over the phone anyway with Dr. Ellis Mendelsohn, who had been UofL’s intramurals director for 41 years, and then agreed to visit campus.

“I came for an interview during Derby week and, as a 22-year-old, I’m like ‘sign me up,’” he joked.

Upon his arrival at UofL, Ramsay became a graduate assistant for two years, then received his graduate degree and became assistant director of intramural sports. The next year, Harold Adams, whom Ramsay calls the “patriarch of student affairs,” made him director. He was 26.

“Mendy [Mendelsohn] was sick and [Adams] knew I’d take care of Mendy,” he said.

Ramsay also earned a faculty appointment, which he held for 34 years teaching sports administration and sports officiating. Over time, he took on additional duties, like managing spirit groups – cheerleaders, mascots and Lady Birds – and student activities. At some point within the past 41 years, he also took on the facilitation of UofL’s free speech policy.

“UofL Had no policy and we had [author/activist] Sister Souljah speak on campus. The local head of the KKK took offense to her speaking and thought he should also be able to speak. They came to me to enforce a free speech policy because they knew I’d make sure people would follow the rules. Also, with my refereeing experience, conflict management was in my wheelhouse,” Ramsay said. “I definitely learned a lot. My point of pride is that we’ve never been sued. We’ve been threatened to be sued a lot, but we’ve never been sued.”

All of these roles have embedded some interesting stories in his memory – about the day Brother Jeb and Brother Rick and “what seemed like a spaceship full of street preachers” descended on campus. Stories about students starting a dumpster fire at 3 a.m. while camping out for football tickets. Stories about a beer keg falling out of the back of a truck while heading to work at the Ball of the Belle. [Ramsay and his fellow Cardinals were able to recover the keg].

He has also created deep relationships throughout his time here. He calls George Howe, who retired last year after 50 years on campus, his best friend, for example.

“I met my wife because of George,” Ramsay said.

Howe also used to be Ramsay’s boss until Ramsay was named director and then became Howe’s boss.

“I learned humility from George. He told me – I’ll always remember this – if you’re in a place long enough, one of your students is probably going to come back and be your boss,” Ramsay said.

As it so happens, Ramsay met Michael Mardis, now dean of Students and VP of Student Affairs, when he was just 17. At the time, Mardis worked for Ramsay as an intramural coordinator. Ramsay now works for Mardis.

In total, Ramsay has worked for six presidents at UofL, six vice presidents and 11 associate vice presidents. But he doesn’t just remember stories about his bosses or his experiences. He’s had hundreds of students work for him, including 14 employees whose parents also worked for him, and he especially remembers those stories.

“I had one kid who worked in a factory and wanted to be a teacher and he just needed someone to give him a break. I believe education is the great equalizer, so I hired him. Now he’s a principal,” Ramsay said. “I had a law student who graduated near the top of his class. He was at UofL for seven years and he wanted to win a t-shirt from intramurals, but he was athletically challenged. That kid had everything going for him and is now an FBI agent, but I’ll never forget how excited he was when he finally got his t-shirt. That’s what all of this is about for me – those connections. The student connections are what has kept me here so long.”

UofL gave Dr. Mendelsohn a chair to mark his four decades of service and Ramsay still has “Mendy’s” chair in his office to remember the lessons he learned from his former mentor. He plans on keeping it there for whomever moves into his office next – a striking reminder of the legacies built by both of them.

In the meantime, he doesn’t plan on being a stranger to UofL and just may visit every now and then. First, however, he plans to enjoy his retirement after recently overcoming a battle with colon cancer. He’s been cancer-free now for 18 months.

“Everybody has a last day. I’m lucky enough to pick mine,” Ramsay said. “And I’ve got a great story to tell.”