Chadron State College Athletics

Ryan is a Chadron native who lettered in three sports at CSC, and was a particularly outstanding wide receiver and kick returner for the football team. He earned all-district honors as a junior and senior in 1977 and ’78 and was honorable mention All-American as a senior. During his career, “Billy the Kid,” caught 134 passes for 2,134 yards and 19 touchdowns. All three marks were school records until the mid-1990s and still rank among the top five in each category.
During the Boot Hill Bowl his senior year, when he played with an a strip of innertube attached from his belt to his heel on the outside of his pants to help compensate for a pulled hamstring, Ryan caught eight passes for 191 yards, then a school record. Included was a toss of about 20 yards that Ryan carried to the Baker end zone for an 88-yard touchdown. It is the second longest scoring pass in CSC annals.
Ryan also averaged 10.6 yards on 50 punt returns and 24.8 yards on 42 kickoff returns during his career.
He also pole vaulted 15 feet, which is just an inch shy of the school record, and lettered in tennis when it became a varsity sport briefly in the mid-1970s. He has spent his career as a science teacher and coach at Sheridan, Wyo., High School.