MSU Athletic Director - Ron Mason

After a 36-year career during which he established himself as the winningest coach in college hockey history, Ron Mason now serves as the Director of Athletics at Michigan State University.

On January 28, 2002, Mason was introduced as the next athletics director at Michigan State University. Upon Dr. Clarence Underwood's retirement, Mason assumed leadership of the department on July 1, becoming the 16th athletics director in MSU history.

"We were looking for an athletics director and we got a legend," said Michigan State President Peter McPherson. "It became clear to us all that the candidate who best fit all of our requirements - and even more - was Ron Mason. The fact that he is the winningest coach in the history of his sport was a further verification of his superb leadership and management abilities."

"I'm excited and proud to be the athletics director at Michigan State," said Mason. "I will bring to this new position the lessons learned from building winning teams. I want to look at every sport and see how we can make them successful."

A National Championship coach in 1986, Mason oversees a department in which 16 of 25 sports were represented in the 2001-02 NCAA Championships. In addition, Michigan State finished 29th in the Sears Cup Standings, ranking sixth among Big Ten Conference universities. Mason also had a first-hand perspective on MSU's biggest athletic endeavor this past season, 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 finished his 36-year career with a record of 924-380-83. In 23 years at Michigan State, he posted a 635-270-69 mark. He is the only coach in college hockey history with more than 750 victories. His career highlights include an NCAA Championship at Michigan State in 1986 and an NAIA Championship with Lake Superior State in 1972. He led MSU to 17 CCHA regular-season and playoff titles and guided 23 teams to the NCAA Tournament, an all-time record. In addition, he coached 34 All-Americans and 46 former Spartans who played in the National Hockey League.

In 1966, Mason began his coaching career as the first head coach at Lake Superior State where he also served as assistant athletics director. He guided the Lakers to five NAIA Tournament appearances, including the 1972 National Championship. Three of his other teams finished as NAIA runners-up.

In 1973, he moved on to Bowling Green, establishing the Falcons as a national hockey power. In six seasons, he led Bowling Green to three CCHA regular-season titles (1976, 1978, 1979) and three playoff championships (1977, 1978, 1979). His 1977-78 squad finished third in the NCAA Tournament with an impressive 31-8 record. The following season, his BGSU established a then-national record with 37 wins.

Mason's Michigan State career began with the 1979-80 season when he replaced the legendary Amo Bessone. The seven-time CCHA Coach of the Year led Michigan State to league regular-season championships in 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1998, 1999 and 2001. He also guided the Spartans to CCHA playoff crowns in 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1998, 2000 and 2001. In 2001, the CCHA honored Mason by renaming the CCHA playoff trophy - The Mason Cup - in his honor due to his development of the league and his success behind the bench.

Among his Spartan coaching highlights are on March 12, 1993, Mason reached a personal milestone as MSU defeated Kent, 6-5, making him the winningest U.S. college hockey coach. One season later on March 18, 1994, a win over Bowling Green established him as the winningest college hockey coach in North America. 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 coached MSU'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 in 1986 by the Detroit Red Wings.

Mason served on the American Hockey Association Board of Directors from 1973 to 1977 and is a former member of the NCAA Ice Hockey Rules Committee. He currently is part of the NCAA Ice Hockey Committee.

He is active in a number of local organizations and charities. He is very involved with Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, where he recently completed a four-year term on the Sparrow Foundation Board and has set up the Ron Mason Fund for Pediatric Rehabilitation, which has raised over $300,000. He also served as the honorary chairperson for the Children's Miracle Network which has raised more than $10 million over 13 years, and has worked with the Coaches For Kids campaign, which has raised $1.9 million in the last three years for a pediatrics emergency room at Sparrow Hospital. In addition, he is on the committee for the broomball game for the Legal Eagles, which benefits the Boys and Girls Club of Lansing and spent several years on the Lansing Safety Council.

Mason received his bachelor's degree from St. Lawrence in 1964, where he lettered in hockey for three years. In 1965, he received his master's from Pittsburgh. He was presented with an honorary doctorate from Michigan State in the spring of 2001.

For all his career accomplishments, Mason has been inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame (1994), Lake Superior Sports Hall of Fame (1996) and St. Lawrence Sports Hall of Fame (1999).

Born Jan. 14, 1940, in Blyth, Ont., Mason and his wife, Marion, have two daughters, Tracey and Cindy. An avid fisherman, Mason also enjoys golfing.