Button Renz Has K-State in Her Blood

By: D. Scott Fritchen

Amy Button Renz sifts through a 1923 Royal Purple Yearbook in the Kansas State Alumni Association Library on the second floor of the Alumni Center. Renz is days away from retiring as President and CEO of at the K-State Alumni Association after 46 years of service to one of the best alumni associations in the country, but today, she harkens back to more than 100 years ago, when R.M. "Susie" Sears roamed the football field at Memorial Stadium.

Sears, her grandfather, scored the first-ever touchdown at Memorial Stadium, as reported by author Kevin Haskin in "Kansas State Football Vault." Sears accomplished the historic touchdown in a 47-0 win over Washburn on October 7, 1922. Sears was a hard-hitting fullback for the "Kansas Aggies," which was the official mascot at the time for Kansas State College.

The Royal Purple Yearbook describes Sears like this: "The hard-hitting fullback of the Kansas Aggies was known and feared by every team on the Aggies schedule. 'Susie' could hit a line like Babe Ruth punishing a reach ball and could always be relied upon for a consistent gain. 'Susie' has a fine disposition and comes out of every mix-up with a generous smile on his classic features. He has one more year of varsity competition and judging from past performances he is due for the best season of his football career."

Sears was born in Eureka, Kansas. He was one of five brothers, including a few who also attended Kansas State College. Growing up on a farm, Sears was used to hard work and there was just something about Kansas State College that drew him to Manhattan. Eventually, following his playing days, he became Kansas State College's National President of the Alumni Association Board of Directors in 1954 — the year of Renz's birth.

Sears died of leukemia at age 72 in 1972 — the same year that Renz graduated from high school.

Renz, her two brothers, and two cousins shared a special relationship with their grandfather.

"He was very low key, but he was really funny," Renz says. "I can remember going to their house in Topeka and he'd have all of us in the kitchen dying Easter eggs. He was a fun grandfather and played lots of games. We grew up literally with K-State football and basketball."

In all, Renz says that 25 immediate family members either attended or currently attend K-State. Renz holds two degrees from K-State — a bachelor's degree in political science (1976) and a master's of public administration (1986). Her husband, Allen Renz (class of 1987), is a K-State graduate, as are their three children. They have three grandsons and four granddaughters, including one K-State graduate and one current K-State student.

"Granddaddy just loved K-State and he instilled that into all of us," Renz says. "I feel like I became a K-Stater naturally and it's in our blood. It's pretty amazing."

Renz's president's office at the Alumni Center overlooks Memorial Stadium. There's a certain purple-hued romance that she occupies a building that she fundraised for (she served as lead fundraiser for the $12.7 million facility that opened in 2003) — a building that overlooks the stadium that her grandfather proverbially broke in when he rushed into the end zone long ago.

Today, Sears' name adorns the No. 9 locker inside the K-State football locker room — a donation made by the Renz family to honor his memory.

Renz possesses all four of Sears' lettermen's sweaters. One hangs framed inside the memorabilia room at the Alumni Center, one hangs inside her family's basement, and the other two sweaters are stored away.

"He led a very good life," Renz says, "but it was just too short."

Renz's father, Don Button (class of 1951) was a member of the K-State men's basketball team. Renz's parents met on a blind date their freshman year and they were married their senior year in college.

Renz's earliest memory of Manhattan was attending a K-State football game at Memorial Stadium. Renz, born in Hays, remembers attending Homecoming games. She also remembers listening to football games on the radio at home with her grandfather. He stayed in contact with the football program over the years, he knew the coaches and players, and he was particularly excited during the Vince Gibson era when K-State experienced a rebirth on the gridiron.

Sears passed away knowing his only granddaughter was going to attend K-State. In 1994, Renz became the first woman to be named President and CEO of an alumni association in the Big Eight Conference. She was also the first woman to carry the title in the Big 12 Conference.

"My grandfather would be so happy to know that I actually do know the coaches and I know a lot of the players and that we work so closely with athletics," Renz says. "Typically, my field was predominately all men. I was very fortunate that Ernie Barrett really shared with people that I'd support K-State Athletics."

She chaired search committees that brought several administrators to K-State, including two athletic directors in John Currie and Gene Taylor.

"That's something I would've never dreamed of," she says. "It's one of the highlights of my career."

It's a career that began in 1977 when the U.S. Senator for whom she served in Washington, D.C., retired. She believed it was a sign beckoning her to return to a spot she loved full well. She returned to Manhattan to earn her master's degree. Upon her return, she also scheduled a meeting at the alumni association, and she left the meeting as an official employee of the alumni association. She was instrumental in the creation of many programming efforts, including the Student Alumni Board and the K-State Student Ambassadors.

"Over time I moved to different positions and athletics was always a piece of it," she says. "I just feel very fortunate. I served on a panel of my peers at one of our professional conferences. There were 80-90 people there and five of us were asked to speak about our relationship with athletics. The other four spoke and offered one or two good examples of the relationship with athletics. Meanwhile, I spoke about Catbackers and our relationship with bowl games and pep rallies and postseason travel and the fact that I had chaired a search for an athletic director. We were already in a good place.

"When I've spoken at Catbackers events about what a unique relationship we have, it's really true."

One of her proudest endeavors remains K-State's legendary pep rallies prior to bowl games.

"Every single pep rally is unique," she says. "My favorite pep rally was probably the 1997 Cotton Bowl when we were in the outdoor amphitheater and they'd already winterized the theater. We had at least 20,000 people there. It really has always been a challenge to make sure we have a pep rally where our venue is big enough. The Copper Bowl is probably my favorite bowl. We basically emptied Manhattan. The alumni association booked 18 hotels, 13 charter planes and over 100 busses to Arizona. We did it ourselves without the ability to book everything on computers."

Under Renz's leadership, the Alumni Association has raised more than $6 million for student scholarships and recognition through the K-State License Plate program. Additionally, the Alumni Association has raised more than $3.7 million for student scholarships through Wabash CannonBall galas.

Renz has served as a member of the CASE International Board of Trustees twice. In 1995, she received the District VI Distinguished Service Award from CASE. Additionally, Renz served as president of her peer organization the Council of Alumni Association Executives from 2001-02.

Over the course of her career, Renz has been recognized for her service and leadership many times. Last year, she earned the Outstanding Faculty Award at the Fraternal Excellence Awards. This year, she earned Outstanding Blue Key Alumnus, the Black Student Union Stacey Hall Humanitarian Award, the Fraternity and Sorority Outstanding Faculty Award, and the SGA Outstanding Achievement Award (which was officially renamed the "Amy Button Renz Outstanding Achievement Award").

She is also being honored with the Amy Button Renz Family Banquet Room at the K-State Alumni Center.

What is a K-Stater?

"A K-Stater is someone who knows purple is more than a color," she says. "Purple is what defines us."

No current living soul perhaps emulates that mantra better than Renz, who plans to maintain a packed schedule until Friday, the final day of her tremendous career.

"My days are very full," she says. "I'm known for writing a lot of personal notes, and if I don't have an event, I write notes at night. It's not an 8-to-5 job but I wouldn't have it any other way.

"I've always wanted people to know even though we may have 200,000-plus graduates from K-State everybody is important."

What has Renz learned most about herself during her journey?

"I was always concerned whether I could balance being a wife, mother and serving my position," she says. "I found very quickly with a supportive husband and children who loved K-State, too, that it was OK. I work with a very dedicated staff. I'd put our staff against anybody in the country. We may not have the biggest staff or the biggest budget, but we certainly know how to reach out and provide that lifelong link."

Renz has made many lifelong memories over 46 years. The 2022-23 K-State Athletics year ranks near the top.

"The first highlight was when President (Richard) Linton invited Allen and I to accompany him onto the football field during the fourth quarter of the Big 12 Championship Game," she says. "It gives me goosebumps because it was so much fun. Then came basketball, and I flew with the team to Greensboro, North Carolina, and it was so exciting. To witness the run to the Elite Eight, it was just a phenomenal year that I'll never forget.

"And even if we weren't winning it'd still be a phenomenal year."

It's a journey that began long before her birth, when R.M. "Susie" Sears made history, and it's a purple path that all of her family has followed to Manhattan. And for that, she's grateful.

"I think granddaddy would say that he's very proud of my commitment to the school he loved and that I've carried on that family tradition of giving back and just wanting to make a difference," she says. "He loved working with the students. My passion is the students.

"Many of the people I'm hearing from since I announced my retirement are past students who I've been associated with for decades, and that's very, very rewarding."

Her final day on the job will find her attending an evening event of which she's very familiar: In front of a packed house, she'll discuss the special tie between the K-State Alumni Association and K-State Athletics one last time.

"My days are full and I'm not letting up," she says. "My very last day is the Manhattan Catbacker event. What a great way to close out a career."

Kansas State University Athletics

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