A 19-year veteran on the staff at Mercyhurst College, John Leisering has worked the last nine as sports information director at the college and is this year's recipient of the Irving T. Marsh University Division Award.
He began his Mercyhurst career as director of Athletics, a position he held from 1986 to 1989. During his tenure as athletic director, Leisering was instrumental in the initiation of two sports, women's soccer and men's varsity hockey, both of which started in 1987. Women's soccer reached the NCAA Division II Final Four in 1988, in just its second year of existence. Leisering was also involved in the initiation of the highly successful Basketball Tip-Off Dinner, which celebrated its 17th year in November 2004.
Leisering has served as the men's hockey SID since the program began in 1987. He was honored by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) for excellence in men's hockey publications in 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999. He is a former member of the Mercyhurst College Senate and is a current member of the Mercyhurst Athletic Hall of Fame Committee, CoSIDA, and the Eastern College Athletic Conference Sports Information Directors' Association (ECAC-SIDA).
From 1989 to 1997, Leisering worked as both the general manager of the college's radio station, WMCE, and as an instructor in the communication department. While at WMCE, he broadcast a number of college athletic events, including baseball, basketball, football, and hockey.
Among his notable performances were NCAA men's hockey playoff games in 1991 and 1993 and women's basketball playoff games in 1994 and 1995. He has the distinction of handling the television play-by-play for the Mercyhurst men's hockey team's first trip to the NCAA Division I playoffs in 2001 when the Lakers bowed to powerful Michigan 4-3 at the West Regional in Grand Rapids, Mich. Leisering took over as the college's Sports Information Director in July 1997. He oversees the promotion and publicity of 25 varsity sports and nearly 700 student-athletes.
Mercyhurst has added nine new sports since Leisering took over as SID: women's golf, field hockey, women's ice hockey, men's and women's lacrosse, men's volleyball, men's and women's water polo, and wrestling.
Several of his former sports information assistants and/or student workers over the years have become highly successful: student workers Scott Koskoski now oversees the Washington and Jefferson College radio station; assistant SID Craig Rybczynski (1997-98) moved to Rochester to work for both the Rochester professional hockey and lacrosse teams; Leisering's son, David (1999-2000), who helped in sports information while attending Mercyhurst, served two years as SID at the University of Findlay; assistant SID Aaron Chimenti (2002) left to become SID at Heidelberg College, and former assistant Mark Fisher (2003-04) is now the Sports Information Director at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
Leisering came to Erie, Pennsylvania in 1978 and worked in the news and/or sports departments for several Erie radio stations. He was public address announcer for the Erie Blades hockey team from 1978 to 1982 and did play-by-play for the subsequent Erie Golden Blades and the Erie Panthers. He completed his college education at Mercyhurst in 1981, graduating cum laude with a degree in business administration. He was also a Dean's List student.
A veteran of the United States Air Force, 1967 to 1974, he was honorably discharged after overseas tours in Tapei, Taiwan; and Berlin, Germany. In 1985, he was inducted into Mercyhurst chapter of Delta Mu Delta, the national honor society in business administration. Active in his community, he is a member of the VFW, the BPOE, and the American Legion and has served as a Boys' Baseball Coach in Erie for 10 years, while also serving as a member of the Erie Youth Hockey Board of Directors in late '80s. He is also a member of the 2005 Erie Otters Memorial Cup Committee.
Leisering and his wife, Katy, live in Erie and are the parents of three children. Doug graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1988. He lives in Punxsutawney, Pa., with wife Kim and daughter Courtney. David graduated from Mercyhurst College in 2001. He is married and now works for Corry Publishing in Erie. He and his wife, LuAnn, live in suburban Erie. Mary Ellen attends Mercyhurst College and is studying graphic design and sport management.