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Past Lifetime Achievement Recipients
Mike Finn (Atlantic Coast Conference) – Lifetime Achievement Award
by Amy Yakola, Atlantic Coast Conference Executive Associate Commissioner & Chief of External Affairs
Finn received the FWAA Lifetime Achievement Award this past
January in Atlanta.
There’s a remarkable art to living a life in which you are not only held in high regard, but earn the respect of all those you meet. This is certainly the case for retiring Atlantic Coast Conference Associate Commissioner
Mike Finn, who has served in the collegiate communications profession for more than 40 years.
Mike will be honored with a CoSIDA Lifetime Achievement Award at the organization’s annual convention in National Harbor, Maryland, during the Hall of Fame luncheon on Thursday, June 28. Two days later, Finn will officially retire after a career that spanned more than four decades and saw his impact and relationships flourish at three schools and the conference office.
Mike’s path in communications began after he graduated with honors from the University of Florida with a B.A. in psychology. As he started his next chapter, he was not preparing for a career in communications.
“I worked some in the Florida SID department (under Norm Carlson) on game days, typing play-by-play and being the official scorer in basketball,” Finn said, “but I didn’t think I could break into the business because of the competition for jobs. I had a desire to become a therapist or do community psychology.”
Mike did indeed break into the business, and as they say, the rest is history. His first role was as a graduate assistant at Virginia Tech for the 1977-78 academic year. Following his time in Blacksburg, he worked for five years at NC State as an assistant sports information director.
He then left Raleigh for Atlanta, where he oversaw the sports information department at Georgia Tech for 17 years, finishing as the associate athletics director before beginning his tenure at the ACC in 2000.
Throughout his time at Virginia Tech, NC State and Georgia Tech, Finn worked with many well-known and successful football coaches, including Virginia Tech’s Bill Dooley, North Carolina State’s Bo Rein and his successor Monte Kiffin, and Georgia Tech’s quadruple of Bill Curry, Bobby Ross, Bill Lewis and George O’Leary. The basketball side included Hall of Fame coaches Jim Valvano at N.C. State and Bobby Cremins at Georgia Tech.
In addition to being a wealth of historical knowledge, Mike has countless stories surrounding his experiences.
Upon receiving the 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award honor from the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), Mike recalled one of his exchanges with Curry at the 1985 Hall of Fame Bowl. After several Georgia Tech players had been sent home after missing curfew, including the team’s starting quarterback and big-play wide receiver-returner, Curry summoned Finn for a meeting to do a news release about the situation.
“After he said that,” Finn explained, “I probably asked the dumbest question in my 40 years: ‘Coach, does that mean they won’t play in the game?’ Curry gave me one of those fatherly looks and said gently, ‘Yes, Mike, they won’t be playing in the game.’ No telling how Norm Sloan would have reacted, or George O’Leary for that matter.’’
If you know Mike, you know that he deflects credit, and this award is no exception.
“I was fortunate in getting into the business to have so many great mentors from Dave Smith at Virginia Tech, who today is still my best friend, to Norm Carlson (Florida), Wendy Weisend (Virginia Tech), Jack Williams (Virginia Tech), Ed Seaman (NC State), Norman Arey (Georgia Tech),” Finn noted.
“All of them were or could have been excellent newsmen in addition to working in public relations and taught me a great deal about sports writing and the importance of deadlines. I’ve also had great bosses in athletics directors Willis Casey (NC State), Homer Rice (Georgia Tech) and Dave Braine (Georgia Tech), and ACC Commissioner John Swofford.”
In addition to his day to day responsibilities at Georgia Tech, Finn also served as the Tournament Manager for NCAA Division I Basketball Tournaments (1996, 1998), Media Coordinator for NCAA Division I Basketball Tournaments (1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992), Media Coordinator for the Davis Cup Zone Finals (1984) and Press Venue Chief for Aquatics for the Olympic Games (1996).
Finn’s years at the ACC office have been marked with expansion of the league in 2004 and 2013. He dealt with all aspects of ACC Football (media days, championship games, weekly releases and communications) and served as the BCS liaison with the FWAA in 2008 and 2009.
“Mike has built the best kind of career, one based on strong relationships and service,” said Swofford. “He is well-deserving of the honors and recognition he’s received, and we congratulate him on his extensive career.”