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Frank Mercogliano (University of New Mexico), 25-Year Award
by Jason Erickson, Utah Valley University Assistant Director of Communications
Mercogliano stands with former head coach Steve Alford and Hugh
Greenwood, who now plays for the Adeliade Crows of the Australian
Football League.
Frank Mercogliano’s life nearly ended at infancy as doctors told his mother that he was “in real trouble and that he might not make it.” Despite the complications at birth, he pushed through and has enjoyed life to its fullest ever since.
“My mom used to tell me that I should always enjoy life because it almost got cut short before it ever got going,” Mercogliano said. “I think my wife Melissa would tell you that I live my life that way. I’m pretty happy and I always try to have fun.”
Mercogliano, the Assistant Athletic Director for Communications at the University of New Mexico, recently wrapped up his 25th year in the sports information industry, including his seventh year at UNM.
The Massapequa, New York, native had early aspirations of becoming a professional athlete and being drafted by an NHL team. He even enrolled in a French class in junior high school, thinking that it would pay off when he had to speak to the French-speaking media in Montreal.
Numbers and statistics have always enamored Mercogliano. As an 8-year-old, he stole his mother’s ledger book and would cut out every New York Islanders box score to tally up the stats during the season. He would intently watch the Islander games on television and noticed on one occasion that Billy Smith, the New York goalie, should have been credited with an assist but didn’t.
“Somehow, I got through to the Nassau Coliseum and ended up getting a hold of the press box and I told the person on the other end that Smith should have gotten the assist,” said Mercogliano. “Amazingly, they must have looked at it because it got changed. That’s a pretty big deal when you are eight years old!”
With his NHL dream in doubt, Mercogliano set his sights on a college. He earned a scholarship at UNC Pembroke where he played goalkeeper on the Braves’ soccer team. While at Pembroke, Mercogliano was introduced to the sports information industry after noticing a man stapling up his team’s stats on a large bulletin board outside of his coaches’ office.
“I asked my coach who the guy was and he said that it was Gary Spitler and that he was the sports information director,” said Mercogliano. “My coach said I should go and talk with him, and he turned out to be the most influential person in my career. He took me under his wing and taught me not just about the profession, but how to be a professional. He taught me how to treat everyone equally whether he or she is a student reporter or a national reporter. He taught me when to talk and when to shut up. He was the best, and he passed away much, much too soon.”
In 1992, Mercogliano landed his first job out of college as he was named the first full-time sports information director at Belmont Abbey. There, Mercogliano also served as the Carolina Conference Media Relations Director and found time to coach the South Point High School soccer team for two years where he was named named Region X Coach of the Year and was runner-up for state Coach of the Year honors.
Following his time at Belmont Abbey, Mercogliano spent four years at Augusta State University. At Augusta State, Mercogliano met his wife, Melissa, who he has been married to for 22 years. He thought she had great hair and ironically enough, initially asked her to a Carrot Top comedy concert. She turned him down but showed back up to his office on July 5, 1994 and was engaged just three months later — after Frank got down on one knee in his SID office right before a home volleyball game.
“She said yes,” Mercogliano said. “We made a few phone calls and then I was like, honey, I love you, but I have to go. I have to announce the starters for volleyball. We were married on Jan. 1, 1995 and today we are stronger than ever. She’s turned into my best friend. It (marriage) is my biggest accomplishment. For a long time I thought by being happy and enjoying the job would make me a better husband, but it’s the total opposite. The moment I became a better husband, I enjoyed my job a lot more.”
In 1998, Mercogliano then moved himself and his family across the country to Pocatello, Idaho, to become the Assistant AD for Media Relations at Idaho State University. Mercogliano was able to publicize future NFL defensive end Jared Allen and help him win the Buck Buchanan Award as the nation’s top defensive player in I-AA. He took great pride in Allen’s accomplishment because Allen wasn’t even the conference’s Defensive MVP. Allen later had Mercogliano give his induction speech into the Idaho State Sports Hall of Fame.
After his 12-year stint at Idaho State where he also earned a master’s degree in athletic administration, Mercogliano was offered the Assistant Athletic Director of Communications position at New Mexico in 2010.
Wrapping up his seventh year with the Lobos, Mercogliano has spent the past three years as the primary contact for football under head coach Bob Davie. He spent his first four seasons at UNM working with the nationally-ranked New Mexico men’s basketball program under then-head coach Steve Alford. Mercogliano says he has learned more in his seven years at UNM than he has learned in his previous 18 years in the industry.
“From having my team make the NCAA Tournament to winning a bowl game, that part of it has been amazing,” Mercogliano said. “I’ve worked with Steve Alford and Bob Davie while at New Mexico and that’s hard to top. Both coaches have really shaped me as an SID, with attention to detail, professionalism and work ethic. Both Steve and Bob are tremendous people, and it’s been great to be associated with them.”
Mercogliano notes that the best part of New Mexico is the fans. He recalls that his first two basketball exhibition games at UNM in 2010 totaled 28,000 fans. (During his entire final season at Idaho State, ISU produced 26,000 total fans.) As the lone college or professional team in Albuquerque, UNM has a large media presence. Albuquerque produces 55 hours of local sports talk radio a week, and Mercogliano says that nearly 40 of those hours are devoted to the Lobos.
UNM athletic communications handles four local newspapers, including the state of New Mexico’s largest paper — the
Albuquerque Journal. The department also helps take care of daily media requests from six sports radio stations, four local television stations and multiple national outlets such as ESPN, ROOT Sports, and CBS Sports Network.
With that kind of media presence on a day-to-day basis, Mercogliano has his hands full at New Mexico. Yet, according to University of New Mexico Vice President of Athletics, Paul Krebs, it’s nothing that the 25-year veteran can’t handle.
“As an Athletic Director, one needs to have an assistant AD of communications who exceeds all expectation — one who can juggle 16 events at once, write like a maniac, wrangle the media, corral the coaches, get ahead of a story, manage a staff, and manage a crisis a minute — all on very little sleep,” said Krebs. “These skills describe Frank Mercogliano. But that’s not the whole story. Even with all the stress, pressure, deadlines, and very high expectations, Frank maintains a wicked sense of humor and definitely needs a “sarcastic font” for his texts and emails.
“No matter the crisis, I know Frank will handle it with honesty, depth of analysis, and complete confidentiality — and even make me laugh in the midst of it all!,” noted Krebs. “We are proud that Frank is a Lobo and the way that he represents our department and our University.”
During his time in the industry, Mercogliano has seen a myriad of changes. He still remembers getting his department’s first fax machine and the time he sent out live stats for the first time, but the one thing that changed the business forever is social media.
“Social media is the perfect dichotomy of the best and worst changes the sports information industry has gone through,” he said. “It’s great because it’s such a useful tool to get our stories out and to allow fans great access, but it’s also the worst because of how it brings out the absolute worst in people. I want to hug the guy that invented Twitter while kicking him in the shins at the same time.”
Despite being part of net cuttings and getting championship rings, Mercogliano notes that the most rewarding part of his job is that his three children — daughters Jessica, Kristina, and Angela — have been able to share in his experiences.
“Honestly, the best part is how cool my three daughters think my gig is,” Mercogliano said of his family. “They all love sports, which is funny because my wife doesn’t really like sports at all. My daughters love being around it, taking part in big football games and NCAA Tournament games. Sharing my experiences with my kids is something I’d never trade.”
Mercogliano is widely known around the country for his expertise in scoring baseball games. Scoring baseball and softball games for a quarter century, he has served as the official scorer for the Western Athletic Conference baseball tournament for the past eight years and also works as a part-time official scorer of the Albuquerque Isotopes, the Triple A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies.
SIDs across the nation often seek him out for help on scoring decisions. He is a major contributor to the SID Facebook group “SID Scoring Assistance.”
“Frank is one Lobo we love having as an integral part of the WAC Baseball Tournament,” said Western Athletic Conference Commissioner Jeff Hurd. “He is a unique and talented individual, one that likely could carry on an extensive conversation with a mime. He brings a combination of a great sense of humor, extensive knowledge of baseball and assorted trivia along with a genuine love for the game to the ballpark each day. My baseball background spans more than a few decades, and I can’t recall a person who does a better job than Frank as an official scorer. “
Mercogliano takes great pride in being a sports information director and says that some of his most memorable moments in the business are those that he has shared with his counterparts in the industry.
“Mike MacEachern (Young Harris) covered for me so that I could be there for the birth of my youngest daughter,” Mercogliano said. “I’ve had lifelong friendships because of CoSIDA. I’ve known guys like Blake Timm (GNAC) and Jim Seavey (Massachusetts Maritime) forever, and we’ve never once had our teams play each other. This year’s Rising Star, UNM assistant director of communications Chelsey Chamberlain, basically got hired because we met at CoSIDA and she worked with Blake. Jason Erickson (Utah Valley) and I shared a ridiculous weekend in Los Angeles attending the LOST finale at the Orpheum Theater with 2,400 other fans. I was introduced to David Sherwood at Wingate when I was 19 years old, and we are still friends. In fact, when I got the job at New Mexico, David sent me a special gift that I keep on the wall of my office so I can see it every day.”
Mercogliano is extremely proud to be associated with the CoSIDA family, noting that his colleagues are the “kindest, best people on the planet.” They make him smile, which fits his lifestyle. He continues to have fun and enjoy life to its fullest every day.
Learn more about the 2017 CoSIDA Convention