by John Connolly
Courtesy of Co-SIDA
BOSTON, Mass. - There are many jobs for which Roger Crosley might
be well suited. Traffic controller. Professional juggler. Mediator.
All those vocations involve an acute management of time.
When it comes to Crosley's chosen avocation of sports information,
few have been better at equally spreading time and hard-earned
talent around than Crosley, one of five inductees in the 2010 Class
of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA)
Hall of Fame.
Crosley will be enshrined on Tuesday, July 6, during the 2010
CoSIDA Hall of Fame Gala at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis in
San Francisco, Calif. The event is part of the annual CoSIDA
convention being held July 4-7 in the City by the Bay.
Crosley not only rolled up his sleeves and wore a hard hat to work
each day, he often wore multiple hats, as well.
Whether it was juggling 41 men's and women's sports at MIT, or
negotiating traffic in the early years from his day job as a
professor of communication arts at Dean Junior College, to a
part-time gig as a stringer in the sports department at the
Attleboro Sun Chronicle, Crosley did it all with aplomb.
"He is probably the most unappreciated SID in the city because of
how hard he worked and all the teams which MIT fields and with less
help than anyone else,” former Harvard SID John Veneziano,
now an editor with H.O.Zimmman Publishing in Lynn, said. “But
there he was, bright and early at 7 a.m. on Saturday for a crew
race and then he'd be still in the office at 9 p.m. at night typing
in baseball stats. He had a passion for it and a sense of purpose,
too, and he never lost that perspective. Roger is just a great
credit to the profession.''
After 2 ½ years of doing the Dean Junior College SID job on
a part-time basis, the opportunity arose to perform those duties on
a full-time stretch. By then the SID bug had bitten.
”Since I was there and it didn't conflict with teaching, the
longer I stayed at Dean the more I was concentrating on SID work
and athletic administration,”' Crosley said. “I decided
that was the way I wanted to go.''
Crosley began to apply and interview at “a whole bunch of
places.”' Coincidentally, he was offered two jobs in one
weekend - by Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and by
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The WPI offer came
first and Crosley asked if he could have a day or so to consider
his good fortune. WPI was facing a more pressing time constraint
and asked for an immediate answer. Crosley, who had a “good
feeling” about MIT decided to roll the dice.
“I sweated out the next 24 hours until I got call from
(athletic director) Royce Flippin and he offered me the job,”
Crosley said. "I lasted 16 years.”
It was during that time, Crosley unveiled a unique propensity for
raising multi-tasking to new heights. In addition to doing all the
attending publicity and statistical work for MIT's vast array of 41
men's and women's varsity sports, Crosley also managed to squeeze
in time for various, associated sports work. He became the
publicity director for the New England Intercollegiate Golf
Association, the publicity director for the New England Women's
Basketball Association, and once MIT embarked on playing varsity
football, Crosley became the Secretary-Treasurer-Publicity Director
for the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC).
If only Lamar Hunt and Al Davis knew such a guy existed.
“The best example was when I had to pick someone to take over
the Eastern Massachusetts Football Foundation and it was Roger
(Crosley),” venerable Northeastern Associate AD and COSIDA
Hall of Famer Jack Grinold, said. “He's just one of those
guys who, besides his job, goes out of his way to give an extra
effort for the community. That's not so usual today. It was 30
years ago, but not today. He definitely stands out.”
When MIT joined the New England Football Conference (NEFC), Crosley
succeeded another well-respected member of the SID fraternity,
Westfield State's Mickey Curtis, as publicity guru.
Never one to rest on his laurels, Crosley sought new pastures.
Seven years ago, he moved across town to Emerson College all while
maintaining his loyal affiliation with the NEFC. At Emerson,
Crosley adroitly handles SID duties for 15 men's and women's
varsity sports, as well as serving as the Lions compliance
coordinator.
The 53-year-old Crosley grew up in Homer, N.Y., before beginning an
odyssey that would take him from the bucolic campus of
SUNY-Brockport – from where he graduated in 1978 - to
Syracuse University where he earned a master’s degree in
television, radio and film in 1980.
When he's not extolling the exploits of the college
student-athlete, Crosley resides in Manchester, N.H., with his
wife, Pam, and stepsons, Alex, 24, and Jason, 22, and their German
Shepherds Sammi and Missy. Alex is a Boston University alum while
Jason currently attends Coastal Carolina University.
His dossier is filled with prestigious recognition of his talent
and devotion to duty. During his lengthy career, Crosley has been
the recipient of the Irving Marsh Award, presented by the Eastern
College Athletic Conference Sports Information Directors. He is a
past winner of the Scoop Hudgens Award for lifetime contributions
by an SID, presented to him by the All-American Football
Foundation.
Appropriately, Crosley won the Jack Grinold SID/Media Award,
presented by MasterSports. His media guides, while at Dean, won
numerous national awards, signifying the potential that would
ultimately land him in the CoSIDA Hall of Fame.
Yet, it is the respect that he is held by his peers that echo to
the man's true worth. It is respect born of friendship, too.
Veneziano recalls how he and Crosley used to watch pay-per-view
boxing fights and the time Veneziano ordered a large amount of
Chinese food for several friends. Everyone, including Crosley,
settled in for the bout, which featured Iron Mike Tyson. After
about 38 seconds, the fight ended by knockout. The Chinese food
didn't last much longer. Also, by a clearcut KO.
“These people in the profession become your friends and it's
neat that you could have a relationship outside the profession and
become a friend as well,” Veneziano said.
CoSIDA Hall of Famer Ed Carpenter of Boston University renown,
commented, “I probably have not had more respect for anyone
than for Roger Crosley for his commitment and dedication to the
student-athletes at his university. It began at MIT and now at
Emerson and I was overwhelmed at the amount of work he is able to
do. MIT once had the most sports of any university in the country
and he did it as a staff of one. It also is reflected in the
respect the media has for Roger. It shows not only his knowledge of
the profession but the respect the media had for him. This is an
honor long overdo. It shows that SIDs respect what he does.”