By DAX BENWAY, Student Reporter
A new face has been in charge of taking care of many things behind the scenes for Ranger athletics, and her name is Megan Patel.
Patel is from Channing, Texas, a small town in the Panhandle.
She lived there before going off to college. She went on to play women’s basketball at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas, where she later coached and met her husband, Vinay.
Megan Patel used to be a coach at Oklahoma City University before coming to Northwestern Oklahoma State University. She and her son followed her husband after he was hired to be the new head men’s basketball coach.
She is now the assistant athletic director for compliance and student services at Northwestern.
Patel is in charge of making sure every team is eligible for competition, and she is also responsible for communicating with every student athlete who has complications in their eligibility and their credits. She works to make sure they are staying ahead of the game in school.
She also plays a big role in the Student Services office at Northwestern. She meets with Calleb Mosburg, dean of student affairs and enrollment management, when dealing with Title IX issues.
Patel said she loves everything about her job and the university.
“I love being able to help out the student athletes in more ways than one,” Patel said. “I want to work with every athlete to make sure they are eligible and graduating on time”
She also said she wants students to know she is always available, and her door is always open to anyone needing a person to talk to.
LESSONS LEARNED
One thing that Patel has had to battle with in her career is having to move and start over in a new town.
“Being in athletics, your whole life is difficult, especially when you and your husband are both coaches,” Patel said. “Having to pack up and move every time one of us gets a new job has been challenging, but it has always worked out for the better.”
This has helped her grow socially by having to get out and meet new people at the places they’ve moved to, Patel said.
Going through sudden changes, like having to move and start over at a new place, has made her value her family, she said.
“My family is definitely my greatest achievement so far in my life, from my husband and I having the same love and passion for the game of basketball and always supporting each other to our three-year-old son, Jaxon, who I love more than anything in the world,” Patel said. “Everything I do is for them.”