Ron Mason

Ron Mason was born the son of Harvey Mason, a salesman, and Agnes Mackay Mason, an elementary school teacher. He married the former Marion Bell on June 8, 1963. They had two daughters, Tracey (born 1963) and Cindy (born 1968) and two grandsons, Tyler and Travis. Mason had one sister, Marion Mason Rowe. == Education ==

Mason earned a B.A. in physical education from St. Lawrence University in 1964 and a Masters in physical education from the University of Pittsburgh in 1965. Michigan State University awarded Mason an honorary doctorate in 2001. == Career as player ==

Mason played junior hockey with the Ontario Hockey Association’s Peterborough Petes and the Ottawa Junior Canadians. From there Mason enrolled at St. Lawrence University in the upstate town of Canton, New York where he lettered in hockey for three years. In his first season at SLU in 1960–61, Mason and the Skating Saints were NCAA national finalists. In 1961–62, Mason and SLU won the school's first Eastern College Athletic Conference championship and made the NCAA Frozen Four. == Career as coach ==

Mason coached one NAIA program, Lake Superior State, and two NCAA programs, Bowling Green State and Michigan State in 36 seasons from 1966 to 2002. He won two national titles: NAIA in 1972 with Lake Superior State and NCAA in 1986 with Michigan State. Ron Mason finished his coaching career as the all-time career victories leader in college hockey history with 924 wins. Boston College's Jerry York surpassed Mason's win total on December 31, 2012. Mason is also the career coaching victories leader at Michigan State with 635 wins. He is Bowling Green State's winningest coach by percentage winning over 71 percent of his 229 games at BGSU. Mason had 33 seasons with a winning record, 30 seasons winning 20 or more games and 11 seasons winning 30 or more games. Mason won ten CCHA regular season championships and a record 13 CCHA tournament titles. He advanced his teams to the NCAA tournament 22 times—six times as the No. 1 seed—making the Frozen Four eight times. Mason was the CCHA coach of the year six times. He won the Spencer Penrose Memorial Trophy as the national coach of the year in 1992. On January 26, 2002, a media report stated Mason would step down as coach at Michigan State to take over the athletic director position at MSU. On January 28, 2002, Mason made it official that he would leave his post as head ice hockey coach to become athletic director. Lake Superior State Mason started the hockey program at Lake Superior State University in 1966. In seven seasons at LSSU he produced four 20-win seasons and never lost more than 10 games. He guided the Lakers to the 1972 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) national championship. The record would be broken in 1984-85 by Mason's own Michigan State team. Michigan State Michigan State University Athletic Director Joseph Kearney hired Mason to replace the retiring Amo Bessone on April 1, 1979. Michigan State returned to the championship game the following season but lost to North Dakota. On March 12, 1993, with a 6-5 win over Kent State, Mason passed former Boston College coach Len Ceglarski to become college hockey's all-time winningest coach with 674 wins. While at MSU, Mason won a conference-record 10 CCHA tournament championships, including a conference-record four straight from 1982 to 1985. In addition, MSU won seven CCHA regular season titles under mason, earned 19 NCAA tournament appearances, and earned seven NCAA Frozen Four appearances. == Career as athletic director ==

Ron Mason began his duties as athletic director on July 1, 2002. Before he officially became athletic director, Mason chose Rick Comley as his successor as hockey coach. On November 4, 2002, after a disappointing season and a series of off-the-field incidents with players, Mason fired head football coach Bobby Williams with three games left in the season and eventually hired John L. Smith away from Louisville as his permanent replacement. Mason fired Smith after three consecutive losing seasons, and Mason then hired Mark Dantonio away from Cincinnati, who brought the Spartans to football prominence. While athletic director, the Michigan State hockey team won the school's third national title in 2007. Mason is the only person to have won NCAA ice hockey titles as head coach and athletic director. Mason also placed a priority seat licensing program in Spartan Stadium based on years of holding season tickets, contribution to the Ralph Young Fund, and a licensing fee for better seats on top of the price of season tickets. Further updates to increase revenue in Spartan Stadium included a $64 million USD expansion and improvements which include: == Legacy with the CCHA ==

In addition to his success as a coach, Mason was involved in organizing the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) and helping it to grow into one of the most powerful college hockey conferences of the 1980s, '90s, and 2000s. Mason's coaching tenure at Bowling Green State produced the CCHA's first NCAA tournament berth, first appearance in the NCAA Frozen Four, and first national No. 1 ranking. For his contributions in helping build the CCHA, the conference renamed their tournament championship trophy as the Mason Cup in 2000–01. ==Honors ==

Munn Ice Arena ice rink was named October 7, 2023 for Ron Mason. The dedication of Ron Mason Rink came as the Spartans Beat Lake Superior State 5-2 – another school where Mason's legacy is a part of the fabric of the program's historical success. Mason is one of a handful of coaches to win national championships at two different institutions, as he led LSSU to the NAIA national championship in 1972 and MSU to the NCAA national title in 1986. ==Philanthropy ==

Mason volunteered with the Sparrow Foundation, where he established the Ron Mason Fund for Pediatric Rehabilitation, which helps children with disabilities. The fund has raised $675,000 for the foundation since 1998. He was also the honorary chairperson for the Children's Miracle Network, which has raised $19 million-plus since 1989. ==Death==

Mason died on the morning of June 13, 2016, in Haslett, Michigan, after suffering a heart attack. He was 76. == Notable players coached ==

In his 36 years, Mason coached a number of outstanding players. Hobey Baker Award winners Hobey Baker Award finalists AHCA All-America CCHA Player of the Year NHL first round draft picks Joe Murphy was first NCAA player selected first overall Select NHL players Olympians == Head coaching record ==

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