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Past CoSIDA 25-Year Award Recipients
Mike Mahoney – University of Pennsylvania, Director of Athletic Communications
2019 CoSIDA 25-Year Award recipient
by Jamie Baldwin, Michigan State University Director of Athletic Communications
If you've met
Mike Mahoney, chances are that you consider him a friend.
Make no mistake, he’s amassed a number of close colleagues over his 25 years in the business, which only compounds those he counts as friends (and still has ongoing relationships with) from his youth, high school, college, and other endeavors along the way.
A career that began as a undergraduate student assistant at Dartmouth took him to the Ivy League office in New Jersey as an intern before he returned to his alma mater in 1993 in a full-time role. He left the Ivy League for a stint at Northwestern (1999-2005), and eventually came to his current role as the Director of Athletic Communications at the University of Pennsylvania, a position he’s held for nearly 14 years – more than half of his professional life. He’s been the SID for nationally-ranked teams, perennial national and conference champions, and has worked countless NCAA national championship events in sports from basketball to lacrosse, from tennis to soccer, from field hockey to wrestling.
Perhaps most importantly for this audience, he has churned out several protégés that currently hold full-time jobs in the athletics communications profession. In fact, to celebrate his 10th year at Penn, he held a “MahoneyFest” to bring back all the interns, full-time assistants, and student workers who had learned at his hand in Philadelphia. More than 25 of his former staffers attended.
Mike Mahoney with his current staff at Penn.
“The thing that makes Mike a legend in our profession is how he's managed to dedicate himself not only to the promotion of his teams and student-athletes but to the betterment of his staff,” shares Chas Dorman, the Associate Director/Director of Social Media for the Quakers who got his start at Penn as an intern. “I'm where I am because of being able to learn from Mike these past 12 years, but also because he empowered me at the beginning of my career to take true ownership of my assignments and have a say in the direction of our office. He's inspired so many to find a real passion for this job and call it their career. Some of us lucky ones have even been fortunate to work with him twice!"
“There's no better trip in the Northeast for an SID than a visit to Penn. I think the Palestra and Franklin Field are on just about everyone in college athletics' bucket lists, but it's 20 minutes of Mahoney stories that make you want to return,” shares Jeremy Hartigan, an Ivy League contemporary at Cornell.
“I’ve long felt if I had to pick any SID in the country to work for, it would be Mike. He's the perfect combination of old-school media relations and cutting edge communications professional — always serious while never taking things too seriously. His email signature has long been a quote from Peanuts that ends with Charlie Brown asking Linus what he'd like to be when he grows up. Linus responds "outrageously happy!" That's Mike Mahoney in a nutshell, as a friend and colleague.”
A man of many interests, Mike finds ways to connect with people. His recent 50th birthday kicked off a “Mahoney 50 at 50” where he’s recounting his 50 favorite songs, but only allowed himself to use one song per artist. It’s triggered thought-provoking conversations from friends from all eras, sharing their memories of that day’s artist or song on his Facebook page. His surprise birthday party in February brought people together from every phase of his life — college roommates, colleagues, family, and friends.
In true Mahoney fashion, he pulled the switcharoo that turned the tables to make it even more memorable: He proposed to his longtime girlfriend, Jenn, in front of the crowd that she had gathered to celebrate
him.
Mahoney is a Red Sox fan, which both connects him to the larger Red Sox Nation and gives him countless ways to debate those friends who root for other (better) franchises. He’s a wordsmith, who finds ways to share experiences with audiences of all ages. He writes a popular “Quaker Meeting House” blog for the Penn athletics website, tying together both the living and sometimes forgotten history of the department’s successes. He also takes some of the most frustrating endeavors — see his basketball team’s travel (mis)adventures on a trip to the Virgin Islands this past fall — and writes about them in such a way that you *almost* wish you could have tagged along, just for the jokes.
Mahoney has made an impact not only on those who have worked for him, but also those who have worked with him.
Cindi Mansell has been a part of the Dartmouth Athletics Communications staff for decades. “I have known him for so long that I have forgotten more than I remember!” notes Mansell. “I watched him grow from student to director of communications at Penn and have been so impressed and inspired by all he has accomplished and what a wonderful job he does.”
Mahoney’s first boss at Dartmouth — both as a student and a full-time employee — was the late Kathy Slattery Phillips. Slattery Phillips was as tough a nut to crack as they came, but there was no doubt that she held a special place in her heart for Mahoney. At Slattery Phillips’ memorial service in 2006, her mother, Jeannette “Jet” Slattery, grabbed Mahoney by both hands and confided “You were her favorite.” Perhaps the highest compliment ever paid, and undoubtedly true.
In 2017, Mahoney was the recipient of the ECAC-SIDA Irving T. Marsh Award, which is presented to the ECAC-SIDA member who, in the opinion of the membership and the executive board, has exhibited excellence in the field of sports information. In addition, Mahoney serves as President of Philly-SIDA, a professional organization for sports information directors across all divisions on intercollegiate athletics in the Philadelphia area which manages the
Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area program and works with schools, conferences and media entities to promote student-athletes in the region.
Mahoney has never lost sight of the greater mission of telling the stories of those he surrounds himself with. It’s about the people. The student-athletes, primarily. They all weigh equally in how he views said mission.
“I remember Mahoney as being tireless, treating every sport he had with the same energy and passion, whether it was women's soccer or men's basketball,” recalls Doug Meffley, who started as an intern under Mahoney at Northwestern and recently just left for a position with Honor Flight Chicago. “I learned from him that no student-athletes are worth more than others — they ALL deserve our very best. I learned from him that no task was too small for a leader to take care of. He helped colleagues and student-workers alike even when his own plate seemed hopelessly full, which is something I didn't grow to appreciate until my own plate began to look that way as I grew in the business.”
For 25 years, Mike Mahoney has truly given his best to those around him — and those of us with the pleasure of calling him both a colleague and a friend — have been better for it.