UT Athletics Mourns Loss Of Cross Country Runner

TAMPA, Fla. - The University of Tampa is saddened to report the loss of senior student-athlete Ryan McCall. A member of the cross country team, McCall was killed in an attempted robbery on Wednesday morning.

The incident occurred off campus, and appears to be a random crime.

A three-year member of the cross country team, McCall participated in 11 races as a Spartan and was widely regarded as one of the squad's most popular members. His older brother, Kevin, is a graduate of UT and was a four-year cross country letterwinner.

The exercise science major was also an excellent student as he was named to the Sunshine State Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll as a junior while carrying a 3.67 GPA in the fall of 2008. He also helped his team to the nation's highest average among NCAA Division II cross country teams.

In addition to being a full-time student athlete, McCall also served as a volunteer coach at Tampa Preparatory School. He planned to pursue a career in teaching and coaching.

Grief counseling is being made available to UT community members, teammates and friends.

"This is like a tragedy in your own family," says head coach Jarrett Slaven. "Ryan was a funny, happy-go-lucky, motivated individual who kept humor in his life. The team will miss him a lot and it will be extremely hard for everyone. Our prayers go out to his entire family. His brother ran here and his parents were very supportive of the program, coming to many events. As a family, this team will stick together and get through this."