Mason To Be Honored As 2004 Legend Of Hockey
3/25/2004 12:00:00 AM | General
March 25, 2004
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - Ron Mason, Michigan State's current Athletics Director and head coach of the Spartan hockey team for 23 years, has been selected as the Hobey Baker Memorial Award Foundation's 2004 "Legend of Hockey." He will receive the award on April 10 at the Frozen Four in Boston. This prestigious honor is presented annually to the person who has committed a tremendous amount of time and energy to promoting college hockey and has helped the sport grow into a pillar of college athletics.
"I have received a lot of awards during my career, and this is very unique," said Mason. "The award is given for your involvement in hockey. I have spent 40 years in college hockey, including four as a player at St. Lawrence and 36 years as a coach. One of my favorite things has been my ability to influence the game which is a big reason for this recognition. When I look back at college hockey and how it has expanded and developed over the years, the one thing that we need to do is continue to keep the game as pure as we can."
Mason was introduced as the 16th Athletic Director in Michigan State history on Jan. 28, 2002, and assumed the position on July 1, 2002. Prior to his administration role, Mason spent 36 years as a college hockey coach and four years as a college player at St. Lawrence. His 924-380-83 mark makes him the winningest coach in college hockey history. He is the only coach in college hockey history with more than 750 victories.
His storied coaching career includes both an NCAA Championship (with Michigan State in 1986) and an NAIA championship (with Lake Superior State in 1972). Mason guided 22 teams to the NCAA Tournament, the best of any coach, and his 22 tournament victories stand second all-time. In addition, he coached 34 All-Americans and 46 former Spartans who played in the National Hockey League.
His coaching career started at Lake Superior State in 1966, when he was appointed the first head coach. He guided the Lakers to five NAIA tournament appearances, including an NAIA national championship in 1972 while three of his other teams finished as runner-ups. He finished his seven-year career at LSSU with a 129-47-8 (.728) mark.
In 1973, he took over the reigns at Bowling Green where he led the Falcons to three CCHA regular-season titles (1876, 1978, 1979) and three CCHA playoff championships (1977, 1978, 1979) in six years and compiled a 160-63-8 (.712) mark. His 1977-78 Falcons finished third in the NCAA Tournament with an impressive 31-8-0 mark for the year. The following season, his BGSU team won a then-national record 37 games against only six losses and two ties.
Mason succeeded Amo Bessone as the head coach at MSU in 1979. He led the Green and White to 19 NCAA Tournament berths and advanced to the Frozen Four seven times, including State's second National Championship in school history in 1986. Mason also led the Spartans to seven CCHA regular-season titles and 10 CCHA tournament titles during his tenure.
Mason received National Coach of the Year Honors in 1992 and was selected as CCHA Coach of the Year seven times, five of them coming while in East Lansing. Because of the development of the CCHA during Mason's time behind the bench, the league renamed its playoff trophy, the Mason Cup, in his honor.
Mason passed former Boston College coach Len Ceglarski's mark of 673 wins to become the winningest college coach in U.S. history on March 12, 1993, as MSU posted a 6-5 victory over Kent in the first round of the CCHA playoffs. Mason became the winningest college coach in North America when he surpassed former University of Alberta coach Clare Drake's total of 697 on March 18, 1994. That night, the Spartans rallied from a 2-0 deficit with under 10 minutes remaining to post a 3-2 overtime victory over Bowling Green in the CCHA quarterfinals. In 2001-02, Mason's final campaign as the Spartan coach, he recorded his unprecedented 900th-win as a college hockey coach with a victory over Ferris State (Oct. 20, 2001).
Mason also had a first-hand perspective on one of MSU's biggest athletic endeavors, as he coached his Spartans against Michigan in front of a world-record crowd of 74,554 in an outdoor hockey game at Spartan Stadium (Oct. 6, 2001).
Mason coached State's only two Hobey Baker Award winners, Kip Miller in 1990 and Ryan Miller in 2001. He also coached the first college player - Joe Murphy - to be taken first overall in the NHL Draft by the Detroit Red Wings in 1986.
Mason served on the American Hockey Association Board of Directors from 1973-77 and is a former member of the NCAA Ice Hockey Rules Committee. He currently is a member of the NCAA Ice Hockey Committee.
He is active in a number of charities and organizations in the Greater Lansing area. He recently completed a four-year term on the Sparrow Hospital Foundation Board and has set up the Ron Mason Fund for Pediatric Rehabilitation, which has raised more than $300,000. He also served as the honorary chairperson for the Children's Miracle Network, which has raised more than $10 million in 13 years.
Mason received his bachelor's degree from St. Lawrence in 1964 and his mater's from Pittsburgh in 1965. He played hockey at St. Lawrence and lettered for three years. He led the team in scoring twice and still stands among the top 20 Saints in career goals and points. The Saints finished the 1962-63 season with a 26-1-0 regular-season record and a school-record .963 winning percentage. He served as the captain of the team and played in two Frozen Fours (1961 and 1962). In addition, he was the first ECAC Tournament MVP.
He was presented with an honorary doctorate from Michigan State in the spring of 2001. He has been inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame (1994), Lake Superior Sports Hall of Fame (1996), St. Lawrence Sports Hall of Fame (1999) and the Woodstock Wall of Fame (2000). In addition, the American Hockey Coaches Association honored him with the John MacInnes Award for his outstanding contributions to hockey in the spring of 2003.
Born Jan. 14, 1940, in Blyth, Ont., Mason and his wife, Marion, have two daughters, Tracey and Cindy.
