Ricky Ray joined W&M Athletics in January of 2022 as the Tribe’s Senior Associate Athletics Director for external operations and was promoted to Executive Associate Athletics Director in March of 2024. Ray came to Williamsburg after most recently serving as the Deputy Athletics Director at Campbell University in North Carolina.

As head of external operations, Ray serves as the department’s chief business strategist.  He oversees the marketing, communications, creative services, ticketing, and corporate sales efforts. He is responsible for developing revenue generation initiatives, including strategic partnerships and external contracts such as multimedia rights, apparel partner, licensing, and merchandising. In addition, Ray is the sport administrator for men's basketball and women's soccer and handles football scheduling. 

During his six-year tenure at Campbell, Ray increased corporate sales revenue by 142 percent, ticket revenue by 65 percent and licensing revenue by 47 percent.  In the COVID-19 shortened 2020 football season, he put together a four-game series against Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponents and received national television coverage and millions of dollars in exposure. Additionally, Ray served as the sport administrator for football, men’s basketball and men’s soccer.

Prior to Campbell, Ray was the general manager for corporate sales at Troy University and director of external affairs for the Carolina Mudcats.  He was also a radio/television broadcaster for ISP Sports at East Carolina University.  He also worked in media relations and marketing at Georgia Southern University.

In 2023, Ray graduated from Marshall University with a Doctor of Education degree. Additionally, Ray has a Bachelor of Art degree in mass communication from Campbell University and a Master of Science degree in sport science from the University of Central Missouri.