He attended MidAmerica Nazarene University as a student athlete, where he received his bachelor's degree.
[3] He previously served as the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, a position he assumed in January 2015.
[4] In 2018, Ryckman instituted a new set of rules to end the century-old practice of the anonymous introduction of bills in the Kansas House.
Of these safety precautions most notable was the $3 million spent on upgrading the legislature's video and audio streaming, and teleconference technology, which allowed the public to participate virtually in the committee process for the first time.
[8] Ryckman was born and raised in Meade, Kansas, and later attended MidAmerica Nazarene University as a student athlete.