University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown Athletics

    Rich Ragan, a three-time NAIA All-District selection and a two-time NCAA All-District choice, left his name in the Pitt-Johnstown record books multiple times as a Mountain Cat basketball player from 1974-78.  Mr. Ragan, the second 1,000-point scorer since Pitt-Johnstown made the transition from a two-year school to a four-year school a decade earlier, broke Don Elzer’s scoring mark of 1,147 points and held the title as the Mountain Cats’ All-Time Leading Scorer with 1,303 points from 1978-92.  He currently ranks eighth on the scoring list.
     As a sophomore, Mr. Ragan led the Mountain Cats with 383 points on his way to garnering NAIA and NCAA All-District Team honors.  Two years later, he broke his personal record and led the team with 386 points and was named NAIA All-District for the third time and NCAA All-District Team for the second time.  Following his senior year, Mr. Ragan was named the Most Outstanding College Senior Basketball Player by the Thompson Club, Pittsburgh.  He was also selected to play in the 1978 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-Star Game in Chicago, Ill., where he shattered a backboard on a dunk in the game.
     Mr. Ragan, the Ohio Northern University Christmas Most Valuable Player in 1977, also received the Johnstown Hall of Fame Basketball Award that same year.
     For more than 20 years, Mr. Ragan was Pitt-Johnstown’s Career Free-Throw Percentage leader at 82.5%.  He was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Saint Vincent College Christmas Tournament three straight years.
 Mr. Ragan graduated with a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering Technology from Pitt-Johnstown in 1978.   He later enrolled at the University of Tennessee and earned his master’s in engineering management in 1992.  Throughout his professional career, Mr. Ragan has held the title of President and Chief Executive Officer of AVL North America (1992) and President and Chief Operating Officer of Arcadis Giffels (2002), both located in Detroit, Mich.
     Today, the Munhall, Pa. native and graduate of Steel Valley High School resides in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. with his wife Carol, two children, Kristen and Lindsay and two step-children, Shane and Alexandria.  He is the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Midddough, Inc., an architecture and engineering company in Cleveland, Ohio.
     For the past 16 years, Mr. Ragan has given back to his community by coaching the St. Patrick White Lake Michigan eighth-grade basketball team.  He is also an active participant on Child Abuse and Neglect Council of Oakland County and volunteers his time with various other non-profit organizations in the Detroit area.
     “Basketball has been, and continues to be a major part of my life,” Mr. Ragan said.  “It’s a game that I truly love to be a part of in all aspects, from playing to coaching.  To be inducted into the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown’s Athletics Hall of Fame keeps me in the game for eternity.  This is truly an honor and one that I share with my family, teammates and coaches who have supported me over the years and have contributed to my success.”