College Sports Information Directors of America

The rule is universal: no cheering in the press box or on press row. Rarely is it posted on a wall or taped to a press table, but it is understood.

Whether youre a broadcaster, reporter, stat keeper or sports information staffer, you are asked to maintain objectivity. No cheering, booing or sniping at officials.

It has been a staple of sports information throughout Tom Lamonicas 31 years in the business. That doesnt mean he hasnt wrestled with it.

Lamonica will tell you he has had to bite his lip frequently, and admits, There have been times I probably should have and didnt.

Ideal? No.

But it is who Lamonica is, who he has been for 26 years at Illinois State.

I care about who wins, he said Tuesday, on the eve of his retirement as ISUs sports information director. Being an umpire, you try to tell yourself, Look at this like you would as an umpire. But hey, I care who wins.

He cares deeply, as much as any ISU coach or athlete since his arrival from Evansville in 1980. Reggie Redbird conveys school spirit while in full costume. Lamonica wears his love for Illinois State on his sleeve, uplifted in victory and discouraged in defeat.

You can tell he has a love for the Redbirds in everything he does, said Todd Kober, head of ISUs athletics media relations department. You can tell by the way he looks if the Redbirds won or lost that day.

Lamonica makes no apologies, nor should he. Pouring heart and soul into something -- anything -- is to be commended.

If passion was a crime, theyd throw the book at him. But in this case, it is a calling card, a way of life.

In the public relations business period, if you have a passion for what youre supporting and for what your client is doing, whether thats somebody in sports or medicine or education or whatever, youre going to do a lot better job, Lamonica said.

It doesnt matter what you do in this world, if you care about it, and you care what happens to it, youre going to do better at it.

The 53-year-old Lamonica has been primarily responsible for ISU volleyball and womens basketball since 1990, and worked with football and mens basketball prior to that.

He will teach two public relations classes at Illinois State and do some broadcasting for WJBC Radio next year, but is leaving the often-frantic pace of Division I sports information.

Lamonica hit the ground running at ISU in 1980, helping produce a detailed report needed for Illinois State to gain acceptance into the Missouri Valley Conference. He has been on the go ever since, and now, he says, it is time to take a breath.

The travel is tough, he said. Theres a reason most of the people in this business are half my age. I wouldnt call it a grind, because its exciting. But there is a lot of wear and tear.

A steady force through it all has been Lamonicas wife, Claire, who he called the real hero in his life.

He marvels at what she has done over the past quarter-century, saying, Shes raised three children with a husband who was gone pretty much seven days a week, seven months a year. She got her masters degree and got her PhD and has done some pretty important work for the university (in English education).

When I came here, I told myself, Youre going to put the university first, Lamonica said. I think through all of the changes and ups and downs and highs and lows, its been comforting to know that as long as I put Illinois State ahead of everything else, it was going to come out OK.

Actually, better than OK.

He relishes having had a pretty good seat for some pretty great things at ISU. He watched the late-1980s construction of Redbird Arena, which he considers the symbol for the growth of Illinois State athletics.

Lamonica came to Normal toting a manual typewriter and, eight athletic directors later, is leaving a high-tech world of Internet sites, live streaming and laptop computers.

He will miss the one-on-one dealings with student assistants, student reporters and student athletes. Lamonica was reminded of that Tuesday morning when he saw Megan McCracken, a senior-to-be on the womens basketball team.

I thought I was just going to lose it, he said. Megan is such a good person and so dedicated to what she does. To not be able to work with her every day her senior year, I told her I felt like I was bailing on her.

Lamonica has had a similar connection to the Redbird volleyball players and seventh-year coach Sharon Dingman, who applauded his passion for our sport, his job and our athletes.

Hell do whatever it takes to promote the athletes, Dingman said. Tom is known from East Coast to West Coast in volleyball. Not a lot of people in our sport have had such an impact. Im always proud to call him my SID. I owe a lot to Tommy.

Tommy?

Dingman calls him that and gets away with it.

They have a bond, and not just because Lamonica in Dingmans words knows directions to every (Missouri) Valley gym and every restaurant in every Valley city.

Hes our mobile GPS system, she said.

And, yes, their biggest fan.

Lamonica makes no secret that ISU successes, in volleyball, womens basketball or whatever, have sustained him. It all hit home in March 2005, when Jaci McCormicks buzzer-beater at Redbird Arena gave eighth-seeded ISU the Missouri Valley Tournament championship.

For a long time, I asked myself, Why do you do this? Im sure everybody does that, Lamonica said. When Jaci hit that shot and touched off that celebration, I finally figured out why I did it. Being able to see people celebrate is a tremendous joy.

Seeing somebody you know and you work with get an award or receive an honor means a lot more to me than if I got something myself.