• 2016 CoSIDA Special Awards general announcement/release
• Special Awards feature story schedule
By Jason Southard, Coast Guard Academy Director of Athletic Media Relations
Throughout your lifetime you will meet one person who changes your life for the better and you will be happy that you met this person. For me, that man is 2016 CoSIDA Hall of Fame Inductee Rick Leddy.
You will not meet a better person than Rick Leddy. He is the kind of guy that would give you the shirt off his back. In fact, you won’t meet a better family. He and his wife Nancy leave a lasting impression on all with whom they come in contact. The couple have two daughters, Colleen and Caitlin and a son Brendan, who, was my very first intern at Coast Guard.
I had the honor of letting Rick know he was selected for the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Hall of Fame and he was almost speechless. He couldn’t have been more humble and thankful because of the people he came in contact with on his journey to the hall.
Leddy pretty much recruited me out of high school to work for him and sold me on the profession as a high school senior in 1989.
Clockwise, top left: Leddy and wife Nancy touring California's Napa Valley region; at wedding of daughter Colleen; with
UNC's Roy Williams (lower left) during the NCAA Final Four; at UConn's NCAA trophy presentation with Jim Calhoun.
I was his student assistant for four years, came back as his assistant for one year, and now have the honor of working with him each year with the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) at the Division I Final Four, the best week of the year, because it’s more like a family reunion.
I wasn’t the only one, there are at least 13 former students or assistants that have gone onto careers in sports information, journalism or sports management, who all come from the Leddy sports information tree.
“I have been greatly assisted and rewarded by those who have worked with me as undergraduates, interns and assistants, many of whom have become life-long friends,” said Leddy. “I am sure that as much as they may have learned working with me, I gained at least as much from them.”
Within his first two weeks at Southern Connecticut State University, Leddy went to the public affairs office looking to be involved and was actually the SID for his final three semesters before beginning full time upon graduation in 1971. It was the start of a 36-year run at his alma mater where he was promoted to Associate Director of Athletics/Communications in 1992 before retiring in 2007.
As the late great sportswriter Tom McCormack from the
New Haven Register once said, “The man is an institution, they should build a statue.”
“In my 36 years as the full-time SID at Southern, I never sought the same position at another school,” said Leddy. “I loved the people I worked with, especially in the early years - administrators, coaches and staff and the student-athletes.”
In the spring of 1985, a phone call and a brief meeting with former Yale basketball coach Joe Vancisin changed his life, both professionally and personally. Vansisin was the executive director of the NABC and offered him a part-time position as secretary of the board of directors and media relations assistant.
Leddy has been involved with the NABC for the past 31 years and served in a full-time role as the NABC’s Director of Public
Leddy with Reggie Minton, NABC Deputy Executive Director; with sportscaster Tim Brando and
legendary men's basketball coach Hugh Durham.
Relations from 2007-2013 and is currently the senior director of communications with the organization.
“Rick is one of the NABC’s unsung heroes,” said University of Kansas men’s basketball head coach Bill Self, who is also a member of the NABC’s Board of Directors. “He is a detail-oriented, behind-the-scenes presence that allows our organization to receive as much acclaim as what it has due to his efforts.”
Leddy earned the 2014 CoSIDA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014, was inducted into the Southern Connecticut State University Athletics Hall of Fame, won the Irving T. Marsh Award from ECAC-SIDA in 2007, and was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004 for his outstanding contributions in promoting college basketball just to name a few of his numerous accolades.
Throughout his career he has performed a wide array of duties from serving as a color commentator for gymnastics on ESPN in 1978, doing play-by-play of games on local radio, to presenting the NABC Championship trophy at the Final Four.
“I’m proud of this recognition for Rick, he is so deserving of it and he works under the radar,” said Reggie Minton, Deputy Executive Director of the NABC. “All the work he has done for the NABC and Southern Connecticut, he is the guy who does all the dirty work, but never gets his name on the marquee. This guy is a marquee guy, he is a star and I’m so thrilled that he is being recognized for all the hard work, loyalty and professionalism he has displayed over the years.”
The role of the SID has changed throughout the years. Post-game duties used to be several phone calls and maybe a fax but that was way before email or websites. I remember having to get the weekly Division II men’s soccer poll by calling a phone number, hoping it wasn’t busy and then transcribing the poll.
Oh, how times have changed now with live stats and video streams and in-game highlights. The one thing that hasn’t changed is being a people person, it’s what this profession is all about and Leddy taught me that.
“I hope that my experiences as an SID have helped me provide better service to others in the same position,” said Leddy. “It was my experience that some coaches’ associations were often lax in notifying schools of awards and other honors. Over the last nine years at the NABC, I have tried to provide a minimum of 24 hours notice for any upcoming announcement involving any program, giving the SIDs time to prepare something tailored for their market.”
It’s always nice to see one of the true great people in life honored for their hard work and dedication and it’s even better when he is your guy. The hall has called and Rick Leddy is home.