These are exciting times at Kent Roosevelt High School.
And, as usual, Ben Dunlap is right in the middle of it.
Dunlap, a 1994 Roosevelt graduate and standout on the Rough Riders’ boys basketball team, was offered and accepted the school’s athletic director position for the 2022-23 school year on March 10. With the district in the middle of massively upgrading its athletic facilities, questions surrounding the future of its ice hockey program and rumors that a possible new Portage County League may include Kent Roosevelt, Dunlap is taking the reins of the school’s athletic department at a particularly interesting moment.
“It means the world to me,” Dunlap said of landing the AD job at his alma mater. “I have lived in this wonderful community my entire life. My wife (also a Roosevelt grad) and I decided long ago this is where we were going to raise our family. … I am honored and humbled to serve our student-athletes, our coaches, school and community in this position. I know and understand the history and realize we must honor the past, focus on the present while looking forward to the future and how to best serve our student-athletes and this exceptional community.”
Dunlap was an All-Metro League and All-District basketball player with the Rough Riders and, aside from when he was busy earning his BA in Business Education from Kent State University (class of 1999), he never really left Kent Roosevelt. Dunlap has taught business at Roosevelt for 22 years, serving as department chair the last six, and has been the school’s faculty manager the past 12 years. On the athletics side, Dunlap coached seventh-grade boys basketball in 2000-01, was a varsity assistant with the boys basketball team from 2002-2011 and its head coach from 2012-15.
In between, Dunlap found time to get his MA in Sports Administration from Kent State in 2004.
Considering his deep ties to Kent Roosevelt and the many hats he has worn there, it’s not a stretch to say that Dunlap has prepared to be the school’s athletic director since he was in school.
“I feel very fortunate to have mentors like Cameron Black, Ernie Rutzky and Mark Pfaff who have helped mold me into the person I am today,” he said. “They started this foundation, and I am extremely humbled to follow the foundation they left.”
Here is a look at some of the issues facing the athletic program as Dunlap prepares to officially take over as athletic director Aug. 1.
Major redecorating
After years and probably decades of discussion surrounding much-needed upgrades to the sports facilities at Kent Roosevelt High School, the talk finally turned to action when Kent voters overwhelmingly passed a $25 million bond issue in spring 2021 for facility improvements throughout the school district — including to the athletic venues at Roosevelt High School. Construction is already underway and includes a 14,000-square-foot addition to the north side of the high school building that will house a new gymnasium, locker rooms, athletic storage, entryway, concession stand, ticket booth and a 1,800-square-foot multipurpose space for wrestling.
And a lot more is coming. A synthetic turf field was installed at the stadium last summer, with a new field house currently under construction behind the south end. When complete, the field house will contain home and visitor locker rooms, a training room, concession stands, four ticket windows, public restrooms and a spirit shop. The stadium has already received lighting improvements and an upgraded sound system.
So instead of stepping in as AD wondering how and if Roosevelt can keep up with the proverbial Joneses in the Suburban League, Dunlap will be greeted with a situation his predecessors could only dream about.
“I am extremely excited not only to be in this position (athletic director) but for the student-athletes to have some brand-new facilities for the fall, such as the new competition gym and field house,” Dunlap said. “I can’t thank the citizens of Kent enough for providing our student-athletes with these tremendous facilities. I look forward to showcasing these facilities to the students, families and community beginning this fall.”
No chance for Portage County League
Speaking of the Suburban League, which Roosevelt has been playing in since the 2015-16 school year (currently competing in the league’s American Conference, or “small-school” division), Dunlap said the school has finally found a home after league-hopping for the better part of 20 years. After serving as a longtime member of the Metro League, the Rough Riders bounced from the Western Reserve Conference to the Portage Trail Conference to the Suburban League in a span of two decades as the school sought out the right fit.
“Each of those changes took place for very different reasons,” Dunlap said.
One change that won’t take place is a Roosevelt move to the proposed Portage County League, he said. A three-person committee formed in early 2021 has been looking into the possibility of re-forming the PCL, which folded after the 2004-05 school year. The committee is holding preliminary discussions with officials from the 11 schools on its wish list to join the new league. Roosevelt is not on the committee’s list because it has the largest enrollment in Portage County and was never a member of the old PCL, making it a bad fit for a league of small- and medium-sized schools with which it has no history.
So rumors that Roosevelt might consider a spot in a new PCL are just that.
“We are currently happy with the Suburban League,” Dunlap said, “and we will always do what is best for our student-athletes, just like we always have.”
Ice hockey is back on
Another situation that appears to have been resolved before Dunlap begins his AD duties Aug. 1 is the off-ice trouble surrounding the hockey program, which led to the plug being pulled on the team’s 2021-22 season several weeks before the start of OHSAA postseason tournament play. Rumors swirled that the ice hockey program at Kent Roosevelt might be gone for good, particularly with a new athletic director coming in.
Dunlap dispelled those rumors as well: Rather than be put on ice, the Rough Rider hockey team will instead take the ice this coming season.
“We did have to shut down the hockey program last year, unfortunately,” he said. “The kids and coaches worked so hard, and we look forward to the new season this winter under the same staff. We are happy to be back at the Kent State Ice Arena as our home rink.”
As for that latter statement, there was concern a year ago that the KSU Ice Arena may not be available — for any high school ice hockey teams, not just Roosevelt. As it turned out, the Ice Arena once again served as the Rough Riders’ hockey home last season, although its future availability beyond the 2022-23 school year remains a concern.
Nevermore?
Dunlap also touched on the nature and evolution of the historic Roosevelt-Ravenna rivalry, with seven years now having passed since the schools last played in the same league. Ravenna is a member of the Metro Athletic Conference.
“As a former Roosevelt player, coach, and lifelong citizen of Kent, I do wish we were in the same league as Ravenna,” he said. “We play Ravenna in every sport that is possible, but it definitely is not the same when a conference title is on the line. One great thing that has come about is the girls/boys basketball doubleheader that we do every year during Christmas break.”
One thing is for certain, however: When the Ravens — or any other team — pay a visit to Kent Roosevelt, they will see a new and improved landscape waiting for them on Route 43.
“We are extremely excited with our facility upgrades and again cannot thank the citizens of Kent enough for providing our student-athletes with the awesome facilities they deserve,” Dunlap said. “I truly believe that with our new facilities, we will definitely see more student-athlete participation. It’s an exciting time to be a Rough Rider.”
Tom Hardesty is a Portager sports columnist. He was formerly assistant sports editor at the Record-Courier and author of the book Glimpses of Heaven.