Brothers in Service and Sport - Justin and Brandon Ramos
By Dominique Kropp, KU Sport Management Doctoral Student
As the KU Sport Management program continues to grow, we want to tell you more about the students, past and present, in our undergraduate and graduate programs. To highlight some of the unique backgrounds of our students, we will begin featuring current and former Jayhawks and share their stories. Our first feature tells the story of two brothers from Junction City, Kansas: Brandon and Justin Ramos. The Ramos brothers both served in the United States Air Force before joining the Sport Management program at KU. Brandon graduated from the program in December of 2016 and currently works with the Kansas City Chiefs as Partnership Activation Coordinator. Justin is a senior in our program and is planning to graduate in May of 2018.
When asked about growing up and finding a passion in sports and sport management, the brothers indicated that their father was in the military, therefore, they often moved around. Brandon stated, “The one thing that we could always count on as kids were sports. Growing up with a brother who was only a year and a half younger than me always made things extremely competitive. Whether it was playing sports competitively or watching sports with our father, sports always brought us together. As kids, we always talked about wanting to play a professional sport when we got older. Obviously, you realize really quick how hard that is to do. If I couldn’t go professional in sports, I knew that I wanted to be around it in one way or another. This is where my passion and interest in sports management first started to grow. Sports has just always been a part of my life.”
Before coming to Lawrence, Brandon and Justin both served their country in the United States Air Force. As Brandon is older, he was first to begin this journey. He explained, “9/11 had a real impact on my brother and I as kids. Our family was stationed in Hawaii at the time and saw how things changed that day. Our dad was stuck at work for 72 hours straight and the base was on complete lock down. The next year when we moved to Kansas, my dad was one of the first troops sent over to Iraq. Seeing my dad’s face when he told us he was leaving for Iraq made me realize the love and passion he had for the United States. He wanted to go over there and fight for his country and told us that this is what he had been training his entire Army career for. Ever since then, I knew I wanted to serve my country. I looked into the Army and Air Force and ultimately made the decision of the Air Force. Air Force had the highest percentage of firefighters out of all the branches and knew this was what I wanted to do. I spent six years as an active duty firefighter and served overseas twice during my time. The Air Force has helped shaped me into who am I today and am extremely grateful for that.”
“9/11 had a real impact on my brother and I as kids. Our family was stationed in Hawaii at the time and saw how things changed that day. Our dad was stuck at work for 72 hours straight and the base was on complete lock down. The next year when we moved to Kansas, my dad was one of the first troops sent over to Iraq.”- Brandon Ramos
Thanks to Brandon’s experience in the Air Force, Justin also decided to enlist. He expanded, “I had every intention of playing college football directly out of high school however, things didn’t work out that way. I called Brandon and asked him about the Air Force. After about 10 minutes on the phone I was sold. I was active duty for 5 years, did a nine-month tour to Afghanistan, and I am currently in the Kansas Air National Guard. On December 16th of this year, however, I will completely separate from the military. I was a Joint Terminal Attack Controller for which my main duty was to advise, assist, and control close air support (CAS) for Army ground force commanders. Seeing my father and brother going and serving our country, I felt that it was something I owed to this great nation.”
Brandon explained that his decision to enroll at KU was initially due to his sister attending KU for her undergraduate degree and law school as well. Similarly, Justin decided to follow suit and attend KU upon departing active duty. Both brothers quickly decided to major in Sport Management. In fact, Justin explained that Brandon’s insights and experiences within the Sport Management program at KU were a big part in his decision to select Sport Management as his major.
Upon graduation from KU, Brandon took a job with the Kansas City Chiefs as a Partnership Activation Coordinator. He detailed, “My duties include overseeing the partnership strategy, service, and activation and to engage the creation, measurement, and communication of value for a select group of current corporate partners with the Chiefs. I was extremely fortunate when the position came along. I was thankful enough to be recommended by our professors in the Sport Management program at KU. If it wasn’t for that recommendation that lead to my first interview, who knows where I would be right now. I love what I do and there’s no better feeling than driving to 1 Arrowhead Drive every morning.”
At the end of this academic year, Justin plans to graduate. He would like to follow in his brother’s footsteps and work for a professional sports team in the Kansas City area. Additionally, graduate school may also be an option. When asked to describe his relationship with Brandon, Justin stated, “Brandon and I have been best friends our entire lives. Growing up, we always competed with each other and that competition is still alive and well today. I couldn’t be more proud of Brandon and where he is in his journey. He is paving the way in more ways than one. He is living his dream every day and that is something I strive to achieve as well. His advice and mentoring throughout my journey at KU has played a key role in my success here. I look forward to learning from, and hopefully working with him, for many years to come.”
Brandon had many kind words about his brother as well: “My relationship with my brother is great. He’s my best friend and roommate, so we constantly talk and keep up with one another. We have been there for each other since we were little kids and especially during both of our times in the Air Force. Finally, being able to live under the same roof again is an amazing feeling. When it comes to advice for my brother, I try to lead by example. He has seen the work I have put in over the years to get where I am today and he is doing the exact same. My brother knows he can come to me with any questions or problem and I’ll be there for him. If there’s one thing I always tell him it’s to keep focused and keep your eyes on the prize.”
We have thoroughly enjoyed learning more about Brandon and Justin Ramos as the subjects of our initial feature. We are pleased to share their story and experiences with our readers and are so excited to see them become leaders in the future, as Jayhawks and practitioners in the field of sport management.
