RIPON, Wis. - Jack Ankerson '64 is one of the most versatile athletes in Ripon College history, earning All-American honors in two different sports and winning a conference championship in a third. He earned a varsity letter in all three sports (football, basketball, and tennis) during each of his final three years at Ripon, and still ranks among the school's top scorers in both football and basketball, 57 years after his graduation. Ankerson was part of Ripon's second Athletics Hall of Fame class in 1981.
One of the lasting memories of Ankerson, in addition to his athletic prowess, was that he's a winner, which can be summed up just by looking at his senior year when he was a key reason the Redmen won conference championships in all three of his sports. Ripon's football team went 8-0 that season (1963), marking the last undefeated season in program history. As the team's quarterback and kicker, Ankerson set a single season school record that year with 145 points, which still stands today. He followed that up as the second-leading scorer (414 points) on Ripon's basketball team, which won their second of three consecutive Midwest Conference Championships. Ankerson completed the trifecta that spring, helping Ripon's men's tennis program win their first of 19 MWC team championships.
On the football field, Ankerson earned First Team All-American and All-Conference honors in 1963 for his outstanding senior season, which marked his second consecutive First Team All-Conference selection. Currently Ripon's third-leading scorer in program history with 254 career points, Ankerson led the MWC in both scoring and total yardage in both of those seasons. He finished those two seasons with a combined 28 touchdowns, 736 rushing yards and 2,234 passing yards for a total of nearly 3,000 yards. He also kicked seven field goals and 45 extra points in those final two years. Ankerson also ranks second in program history for longest pass completion, hooking up with fellow Ripon Athletics Hall of Famer Dick Bennett '65 for a 96-yard completion against Monmouth (Ill.) in 1962.
Not to be outdone on the hardwood, Ankerson duplicated his All-American status with the same honor on the basketball court during his senior season, which also saw him receive First Team All-Conference honors for the second consecutive year. Ankerson finished his career ranking third in school history for points (1,001), which still ranks 32nd in the 122-year history of the program.
A native of Neenah, Wis., Ankerson earned All-Conference honors on the tennis court as well, where he won the individual conference championship at number three singles as a sophomore in 1962. He advanced to the semifinals and finals of the number one flight during the following two years, respectively.
"I was very fortunate and blessed to have had "Doc" Weiske as my basketball coach, John Storzer as my football coach, and Dean Robert Ashley as my tennis coach and it's plain to see the influence that these three gentlemen had on my athletic career," Ankerson said. "But it was "Doc" (the salesman) who sold my parents and I on the advantages of attending Ripon as opposed to other schools that were recruiting me. While at Ripon, "Doc", as he promised my parents, became my second father."
Ankerson had an interesting college experience to say the least. In addition to his many stats and accolades, he was also a classmate of actor Harrison Ford and a basketball teammate of seven-time Grammy award winning jazz musician Al Jarreau, while throwing passes to future Wisconsin and Washington State Head Basketball Coach Dick Bennett '65. Ankerson also learned a valuable lesson from Coach Storzer, who was often tough on him. When he asked Coach Storzer why he was so hard on him, Storzer responded, "If I stop pushing you, that means I've lost interest in helping you."
After graduation, Ankerson became the 12th and last Ripon College player to be drafted and/or play in the National Football League (NFL). He is the fourth Ripon player drafted into the NFL, selected 220th overall in the 16th round by the St. Louis Cardinals.
That was just the beginning for Ankerson in professional sports. After a brief career with the Cardinals, Ankerson worked in the front office of the Kentucky Colonels of the American Basketball Association (ABA), before being hired as general manager of the San Antonio Spurs, where he was named ABA Executive of the Year by The Sporting News in 1974. He also was General Manager for the ABA's Virginia Squires, where he served as Head Coach for two games in 1976, compiling a 1-1 career coaching record.
Ankerson is on record as saying "Ripon represented four of the best years of my life. My experience in athletics developed a keen sense of fair play, teamwork, sportsmanship, and a wonderful sense of camaraderie."
At 78 years old, Ankerson still uses those core values today, which he learned at Ripon College. He worked for several years as a sports and program director at WTAR radio in Norfolk, Va., before joining the Nofolk Tides, Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets and later the Baltimore Orioles, as the team's director of broadcasting and sales and later as their public address announcer. In addition to his work with the Tides, Ankerson also is the "Voice of the Monarchs" as the P.A. announcer for NCAA Division-I Old Dominion University's football, baseball, and men's and women's basketball teams.
Since 2000, Ankerson has served as Executive Director of the Hampton Roads Sports Commission in Virginia Beach, Va. He was inducted into the Hampton Roads Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.
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