Yet another MSU Denver success story, Elaine Becks-Rucker has been a part of the Metropolitan State University of Denver family for 25 years. And, after beginning as an accounting technician in 1998, she filled a number of vital roles before being elevated to assistant athletic director for business operations in August, 2021.
Becks-Rucker has served as the business manager for the athletic department since 2007, and her duties also include working as the executive assistant to the director of athletics and the deputy director of athletics.
She manages a department budget that has grown to $6.2 million through her expertise in procurement, travel-cost analysis, and vendor contract supervision and supervises the day-to-day business operations within the Athletics Department. She has ordered supplies and procured uniforms for the entire department. She also facilitates the efficient utilization of the Director of Athletics' schedule through the development and coordination of a complex, constantly-changing calendar of appointments, meetings, and University and community functions with individuals and groups. She prepares briefing materials for weekly and daily tasks including coordinating logistics, reports, materials and communications for calendar events. She oversees the business office staff in the reporting and review of sport team and departmental area budgets. And she manages the processing, analyses, and reconciliations of departmental expenses to ensure data is accurate and timely. Further, Becks-Rucker meets with functional areas periodically to review estimates vs. budgets and provides financial guidance and recommendations, and independently analyzes and reports on department activity compared to budget. She performs analyses and manages financial results and expectations. She also ensures compliance with all applicable policies, procedures, rules, and regulations including University, NCAA, and the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. She identifies, develops and implements best practices for internal controls and efficient business processes for the Athletic Department. Becks-Rucker also manages the data collection and analysis for required NCAA, Department of Education and University reporting and auditing. She has created and implemented all office administrative operating procedures for a staff of 35 that includes, but is not limited to, processing invoices to be paid, coordinating state credit card usage by the staff, auditing and paying travel expenses, and providing direct training to the staff on state fiscal rules.
Further still, Becks-Rucker serves as administrator on all departmental employment searches. She has initiated the talent management suite (PeopleAdmin) process for the University, and serves as the primary liaison to Human Resources for searches and onboarding of new personnel to the department, including submitting information to initiate background checks and the completion of the electronic personnel action forms and trainings. She is responsible for the management of budgets for a variety of special events for the athletic department, including: NCAA regional and conference tournaments, the annual scholarship auction and dinner, Red and Blue Club (Roadrunner Club) for volleyball and basketball games, and Red and Blue Club luncheons for the campus community. MSU Denver has hosted 20 NCAA regional and numerous conference tournaments in the past 13 years and she was a major contributor to their success.
Becks-Rucker is in charge of travel management for the department, including centralizing hotel and travel accommodations for coaches and student-athletes, training staff on travel processes to make sure state regulations are followed, and troubleshooting when weather or other emergencies come up and directly affect the teams or staff. She provides project planning or administrative assistance to other executive team members. She also maintains and utilizes an extensive knowledge of NCAA Division II and RMACÂ rules and regulations as well as their application to ensure that the department remains in compliance operationally. She manages two to four work-study students and front desk personnel annually while also assisting in their recruiting, hiring, training, evaluation and payroll processing.
She also volunteered as the MSU Denver Cheer coach from 2013 through 2017, and she has even served as a camera operator for volleyball, basketball, soccer and baseball games while dedicating herself to approximately 230 student-athletes in the program each year.
As the department's athletic event planner since 2004, she has coordinated with the assistant athletic director in acquiring food and/or services for home game events, hosting the Roadrunner Club, and supervising all events and event staff. She has set up business partnerships that created donations of food, equipment, and other necessities for athletic events, contributing to much-needed cost savings for the department of over $35,000 annually. She coordinated all home-game athletic booster club logistics, including soliciting volunteers, ensuring their schedules and responsibilities, overseeing menus, picking up supplies, and completing a smooth set up and cleanup of all events. Also included is the meeting and greeting of booster club members and special guests. She assists with planning and coordinating the Intercollegiate Annual Scholarship Dinner and Silent Auction, one of the biggest fundraising events of the year for the department which raised $40,000 annually.
Becks-Rucker was the institution's accounts payable supervisor and travel coordinator from 2000 through 2008, a role that included working as part of the Roadrunners' athletics program. In that role, she supervised the Accounts Payable Department, with a staff of four accounting technicians. The supervision of staff included daily communication, work assignments, evaluations (twice a year), authorization of payroll for staff, and coordination of duties when staff were either ill, on annual leave or extended leave. She created a travel guide for the institution to be compliant with state rules and regulations. She reviewed and audited all requests for travel. She processed all travel expense reimbursement, including local, regional, national and international travel in accordance with University and state fiscal rules, and also verified the propriety of travel cost. She compiled allowable costs for reimbursement payments. She served as the general operations internal travel authority for the institution, and she also served as the institution's liaison to two divisions of US Bank Travel Cards. She processed checks to replenish petty cash and payroll benefits. And she processed scholarships for student-athletes in coordination with Financial Aid and the Intercollegiate Athletics department. Finally, Becks also assisted the athletic director with team sports events along with athletics department office needs.
She was Accounting Technician II for the institution from July, 1999, through August, 2000, before her promotion. In that role, she managed a portfolio of vendors by processing invoices to provide timely payments using Banner Finance software. She compared and verified invoices to purchase orders and expenses. She reconciled outstanding vendor accounts, and she monitored total expenditures based on purchase orders and encumbrance ledger, including contracts and leases.
She has served as a mentor for the men's and women's basketball teams for 16 years and is an active member of the Colorado State Convention Division of Hotels and Hospitality.
Becks-Rucker is an active member of her church, serving as a volunteer at For His Glory Christian Fellowship.
Becks-Rucker received undergraduate curriculum at Northern Colorado and earned further certificates at Parks Junior College and Arapahoe Community College.
She lives in Denver and is the Roadrunners' No. 1 fan.
