Ross Randall

Position: Director of Golf Operations Experience: 27th Season Alma Mater: San Jose State (1968)

Ross Randall, one of collegiate golf's most respected coaches, stepped down from his position of 28 years as head golf coach at the University of Kansas to become the new director of golf operations last spring.

"It's not really a retirement," said Randall. "It's a different position. Kit (Grove) will be the head coach and I will be closer to more like an assistant coach. I will do a lot like what I have done in helping with the scheduling, travel arrangements, manufacturers relations."

In his final season as head coach in 2006-07, Randall led the Jayhawks to their ninth NCAA Regional appearance in the last 10 years.

Randall guided the Jayhawks in the 2000 season to their second consecutive NCAA Finals appearance and their fourth in a 10-year span.

Randall had the honor of coaching the U.S. Palmer Cup team during the summer of 2000 in England.

Randall engineered one of the most impressive success stories during the 1999 season. Seeded fifth heading into the conference tournament, Randall directed the talented Jayhawk golf team to the school's first conference title in 49 years.

By bringing home the league championship trophy in 1999, KU became the only school outside of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State to claim a conference title since 1985. It marked the first conference title for a Jayhawk team since 1950.

Randall's efforts in the 1999 season did not go unnoticed. He was named Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year, guiding the Jayhawks to a dramatic win in the league tournament.

Randall has coached five All-American selections - John Sinovic (1989), Matt Gogel (1993), Chris Thompson (1998, 1999), Ryan Vermeer (1999, 2000) and Chris Marshall (2002, 2003) - and helped develop 26 all-conference performers. Under Randall's tutelage, Thompson, Vermeer and Marshall became the first two-time Jayhawk All-American selections in golf.

A two-time (1993, 1996) Big Eight Conference and District V Coach of the Year, Randall has directed Kansas to NCAA Finals Tournament appearances six times - 1989, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1999 and 2000 - in the last 16 years.

Competing in one of the toughest conference tournaments in collegiate golf, Randall has directed KU to a top-four league finish 11 times since taking over the program in 1980. In addition, Kansas has placed among the top two teams in the league six times under Randall's guidance.

Randall's NCAA Finals qualifying team in 1989 was the first KU squad to reach the national tournament in 32 years. His 1996 senior-laden team advanced to the final two rounds of the NCAA Championship, the second-best finish in KU history.

A native of Alameda, Calif., Randall graduated from San Jose State University in 1968 with a bachelor's degree in business. Among his collegiate accomplishments are first-team All-America status in 1967 and a second-place NCAA Championship team finish in 1966. He finished runner-up individually in the NCAA Championship in `67 behind Senior Tour professional Hale Irwin. Randall is a member of the San Jose State University Athletic Hall of Fame.

From 1969-76, Randall traveled the rigors of the PGA Tour. He became head golf professional at Ames Golf and Country Club in Ames, Iowa, in 1978. He was named Iowa PGA Player of the Year in his two years in Ames.

During the 1980s, Randall qualified for three PGA Championships. In 1987, he won the Midwest-PGA Section Championship to go along with two previous sectional match play titles. In 1997, Randall won a PGA Senior Winter Series Event at the PGA Reserve in Florida. In addition, he placed second in both the Midwest-PGA Section Championship and Senior Section Championship.

Each summer, kids nationwide attend his Jayhawk Golf Camp. Randall and his wife, Linda, reside in Lawrence.