NASHVILLE – Ralph Ockenfels has seen it all since Day 1 of the Tennessee Titans.
After beginning his NFL career with the Packers as an intern in 1991, and then working in tradition-rich Green Bay from 1992-98, Ockenfels interviewed with the Tennessee Oilers, a team on the verge of becoming the Titans.
When he was offered the job as Director of Marketing, he jumped at the challenge.
"A chance to come here in 1998, with a new team and a new logo, a new name and a new brand, and a new identity going into the 1999 season, was wonderful," Ockenfels said. "And it was a chance to challenge myself, and an opportunity I'd never get staying in Green Bay."
Ockenfels moved up the ranks with the franchise, and over the years his fingerprints have been all over some of the team's most visible off-field moves. He's played a big role in the franchise's fundraising.
Now, Ockenfels is retiring after 26 years with the franchise, and 34 years in the NFL.
"For nearly as long as the Titans have been in Nashville, Ralph Ockenfels has been a critical part of our organization," Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk said. "Every day of those 26 years, he has brought passion and optimism to the task at hand and to his coworkers. His work has impacted an entire generation of Titans fans and nearly every corner of our business through his wide-ranging experience. He and (his wife) Jannette will forever be part of the Titans family."
Ockenfels, who most recently served as Vice President, Business Development with the team, said he'll be buoyed by the memories he's made, and the relationships he's built, for years and years to come.
Those who've worked alongside Ockenfels said he'll be missed.
"Ralph is a legend," Titans President and Chief Executive Officer Burke Nihill said. "I think he is on the Mount Rushmore of Titans business executives over the years. I think you'll find Ralph's fingerprints on so many of the treasured traditions around the Titans and our game days. He is somebody that the fans may not know, but they appreciate I'm sure because of the care and creativity and skill that he brought to so many positions over 26 years.
"There are people in any organization that stand out right away. It didn't take you very long stepping into the building to realize Ralph had a huge impact up to that point, and he was a big part of the things we were doing and that continued over the years. We are going to miss him. We're going to miss his energy, we're going to miss his enthusiasm, and we're going to miss his absolute passion for the fireball. He gave us, as an organization and our fans, 26 years of everything he had. I wish him nothing but the best in retirement."
Since joining the franchise in 1998, Ockenfels juggled a number of responsibilities. He eventually became Vice President of Corporate Sponsorships, after previously serving as Vice President of Marketing and Broadcast & Digital Rights.
With the team, Ockenfels oversaw a wide array of Titans revenue generating concepts, sponsorship platforms and marketing assets.
Ockenfels was a part of the new stadium opening in 1999. He's never missed a single Titans home preseason, regular season, or playoff game in 26 seasons, working them all.
Ockenfels helped promote the largest NFL uniform reveal in history, and the party on Broadway that followed the 2019 NFL Draft
He also helped orchestrate and negotiate three different naming rights partnerships for the team's stadium, including Adelphia, LP Building Products and Nissan.
In the last three seasons, Ockenfels helped raise a team record $1.6 million for the Titans Foundation that will benefit countless families, area charitable/non-profit programs, and many Titans fans for years to come.
He also spearheaded the highly innovative Nissan "Hall of Greats" displays in the concourses of the stadium that honors the best players in Titans history and showcasing their stellar careers in two-tone blue.
Ockenfels helped launch the Titans' syndicated feature television show, "Titans All Access" and he also helped launch the "Titan Up Tailgate Party," a free, fan-friendly tailgate party featuring live music, Titans cheerleaders and an array of sponsored interactive areas for fans to enjoy prior to kickoff.
He helped coordinate all the flyovers at Nissan Stadium.
"Ralph was a huge element in our success from the start because the knowledge of the NFL that he brought from Green Bay was a massive factor in a variety of areas, some of which people who were new to this organization, probably hadn't even considered," Mike Keith, Titans Vice President, Broadcasting, said of Ockenfels. "1999, and everything that went with it off the field – the opening of the stadium, the atmosphere that was created, the 13-game win streak to open Adelphia Coliseum – all of the introduction to the NFL for so many fans, so much of that was influenced by Ralph's insight and his drive and determination. He's a central figure to getting the NFL experience off the ground in the minds of Titans fans.
"Ralph has just been a force of nature in terms of creating lasting partnerships with big companies, from around the country and regionally, even locally. The number of friends that this organization created through him being able to not only introduce us to, but to foster those relationships, is really incalculable. He has just been a person that has driven the Titans off-field success forward through his ability to market, his ability to sell, and his ability to help partners be successful through the relationships that they have with the Tennessee Titans. He has created win-win situations for everybody involved. It's always shown up."
Titans Vice President, Corporate Partnerships Brad McClanahan said he's always thought of Ockenfels as a loyal friend, and colleague.
"Ralph is one of the most loyal and inclusive people I know, and his team loved him for it," McClanahan said. "You didn't work for Ralph Ockenfels, he always made you feel like you worked with him. There is a big difference between the two and he lived that every day. He also had a keen eye for talent in our industry, and to this day there are incredible people in this building brought in by Ralph. I am honored to have worked by his side for so many years, and even more honored to call him a friend."
Ockenfels, known for his upbeat attitude and personality, said he never took working for the Titans, in the NFL, for granted.
His guiding principles over the years when making business decisions:
1. How does this affect and benefit fans?
2. How does it benefit and help promote Titans?
3. How will this help support ownership?
"And if we checked all three of those boxes," Ockenfels said, "probably 99 percent of the time we made the right decision."
"I can't thank Mr. (Bud) Adams enough for hiring me in '98, and Amy Adams Strunk and Kenneth Adams and the entire family for allowing me to be here for 26-plus years," Ockenfels said. "It's been such an amazing adventure. I literally could have never dreamt of it."
A native of Hills, Iowa, who earned his B.A. from Northern Iowa and M.S. from Western Illinois, Ockenfels isn't sure what he'll do next, following his retirement from the Titans, and the NFL.
He plans to remain in the Franklin area, just outside of Nashville.
He knows he'll be supporting the Titans.
"The truth is, this year will be the first year I'll go to games and sit in the stands and cheer for the Titans from the stands," Ockenfels said. "I'll miss so many of my friends and colleagues in the building, the fans we've interacted with, so many of our partners that we've worked with over decades. It's a long, long list for sure.
"I have so many wonderful memories over 26 years. If you'd told a young kid in Iowa with a population of 400 people that you'd have that kind of adventure over your career, it's been amazing. I literally could have never dreamt of it."
