Before we all knew Ryan Day as the head coach, winning national titles and running the show at Ohio State, he was just a kid from Manchester, New Hampshire. He loved football and had big dreams. He played quarterback and defensive back in high school and even got named Gatorade Player of the Year his senior year. Then he went on to play at the University of New Hampshire, and the rest is history.

These days, Ryan’s the man in charge of one of the biggest programs in college football. Since becoming head coach in 2019, he’s done it all: Big Ten titles, Rose Bowl wins. But behind all those football wins? There’s a family story that doesn’t always make the headlines. Let’s talk about the two people who have built this man, his parents, Raymond Day and Liza Day.

Who are Ryan Day’s parents?

Ryan Day’s parents, Raymond and Lisa, had three boys, Ryan, Chris, and Tim. Life hit them hard when Ryan was just nine. On January 20, 1988, a tragedy struck. Ryan’s dad, Raymond, died by suicide, leaving Lisa to raise all three boys on her own. It was tough, emotionally and financially. Lisa worked multiple jobs just to keep things going, and the boys had to grow up fast.

Ryan Day didn’t have the kind of childhood memories most kids do with their dads. He would get frustrated after seeing other kids with their dads. “I’d get pis-ed. How come I can’t have a father? I used to get angry that way about it.” Honestly, watching other kids playing with their dads? It stung.

But instead of falling apart, Ryan stepped up. He basically became the man of the house. “He literally stepped into that role as father figure for me and Tim,” Chris Day said. “Multiple times at a young age, he would discipline us verbally.” They had help from extended family in Manchester, especially their grandparents, but a lot of the weight fell on Ryan’s shoulders. And looking back, he knows that shaped him. As he puts it, “God has a plan,” and while he may not have understood it then, that early adversity turned him into the man he is today.

Where did Raymond Day and Liza Day meet?

There’s not much public info out there about how or where Raymond and Liza Day first met. Whether it was a classic teenage love story or something more surprising, we can’t really say. What we do know is that they created a family together in Manchester, New Hampshire.

What is the ethnicity of Ryan Day’s parents?

There’s been some buzz online about Ryan Day possibly having Asian roots, but nope, that’s not actually true. Ryan comes from a white American family that’s been in New Hampshire for generations. Both his parents, Raymond and Lisa Day, are Caucasian, and their ancestry goes back to the Puritan settlers in England. Basically, the Day family has been part of Manchester, New Hampshire, for a long time. So, despite the internet rumors or assumptions, Ryan Day’s background is clearly white and European.

 Inside Ryan Day’s Relationship with His Parents

Ryan was just eight years old when his dad, Raymond Day, died by suicide. “It was a January day, and it just kind of happened,” Ryan recalled. “It was a shock. I just remember the shock of people’s faces. It was one of those moments that you obviously won’t forget.” After losing his dad, Ryan didn’t have a lot of clear memories left with him, just little snapshots.

“He owned a convenience store. He was a Red Sox fan,” Ryan recalled. One of the few things he clings to is a home movie of them playing baseball. “When people hear ‘mental health’ and I tell the story about my dad, it gets heavy,” he shared. “But let’s talk about getting to the point where if there’s something that needs to be addressed, it’s treated the right way.”

As he got older, Ryan turned the pain into a mission. “I know the struggles people face when dealing with mental health issues,” he said. “My father’s passing has given me a mission to support others who may feel like there’s no way out.” He and his wife, Nina Day, took action to support that mission. They donated $1 million to Ohio State to launch the Ryan Day Resilience Fund, which focuses on the mental health needs of students.

But before all of that, it was just the Day boys and their summer battles at Sudden Pitch, a local spot with a pool and courts where Lisa would drop them off. “By the end of it, we were all fighting,” Chris Day still remembers. “We’ve got bloody noses, broken teeth. It was no joke. Balls in the mouth or fighting because we wanted to win.” That wild, competitive energy has shaped the three brothers.