NE10 40th Anniversary Home Page
The late Ed Markey '51 was known even to his longest-associated co-workers as Mr. Markey, a formal moniker that belied a more compassionate side revealing a deep love for his alma mater, Saint Michael's College, and a strong belief in supporting athletic opportunities for students.
A respected administrator for nearly three decades at Saint Michael's and a driving force in the College being admitted to the Northeast-10 Conference in the late 1980s, Markey was named one of 40 outstanding individuals in NE10 history.
"Ed demanded respect and loyalty, and he always gave it in return," said Zaf Bludevich, whom Markey hired as the Department of Athletics' first full-time athletic trainer in fall 1975. Bludevich also coached numerous teams, including cross country, and served as intramurals director. "There was nothing phony about him, and you always knew where you stood. Ed also helped a number of students/student-athletes network for postgraduate opportunities such as jobs or internships. He was particularly helpful to students interested in athletic careers, especially if they were involved in athletics, such as the ones the ECAC (Eastern College Athletic Conference) offered."
Sue Duprat, the department's first female full-time employee, coached numerous teams at the College, including women's basketball for 27 years, thanks to Markey hiring her as coordinator of women's athletics in fall 1976. "His genuine and deep-seated integrity pulled SMC into the arena of the NE10," said Duprat. "He believed it was the right thing, and those folks there, who also knew and loved Eddie, knew he was making a whole-hearted, good-faith commitment to support all the league's offerings. There was no other league that would have taken all our programs. He was so thrilled to tell me that we would finally have a home, a league."
Markey, who died in November 2019 at the age of 90, was the longest-serving athletic administrator ever at the College, including spending his final 29 school years as director of athletics. In a career that spanned more than four decades, Markey also a baseball and basketball head coach after a standout career as a student-athlete with both programs. The West New York, N.J., native, was appointed director of athletics in 1968, after the death of George "Doc" Jacobs, the father of modern athletics at the College.
Now in his 34th year as a College employee, and sixth as director of athletics, Chris Kenny '86 first joined Markey's staff as the sports information director in the late '80s. While Kenny credits Markey for being integral in creating physical homes for the Purple Knights, with the Ross Sports Center (1973), Doc Jacobs Field Complex (1989) and Tarrant Recreation Center (1994) all coming to fruition in his time leading the department, he further emphasizes the important role Markey - as well as President Paul Reiss - played in Saint Michael's joining the NE10.
"For me, our entry into the Northeast-10 is one of the most important developments in our athletics history," said Kenny. "It has given all (18) of our conference programs a tremendous platform for competition, championship opportunities and student-athlete recognition. Away from the field of competition, many of our student-athletes have benefitted from the league's personal development programs, enhancement grants and vast professional network."
When Markey began, Saint Michael's was all-male, offered only six varsity sports and had no on-campus athletic facilities. Upon his retirement in 1997, the College had 20 varsity sports - with seeds having been planted for the 21st, women's ice hockey, which began in 2000-01 - and had indoor and outdoor athletic complexes at an institution that went coed in the early 1970s. One of his greatest achievements remains landing the College in the NE10.
Despite not playing in a formal league for the better part of their early years, the Purple Knights had been a national title contender in men's basketball since the 1950s, including taking runner-up honors in 1957-58. In the late '70s, seven New England schools collaborated on founding the multi-sport Northeast-7 Conference; Saint Michael's was shut out in spite of Markey's lobbying. As Bludevich and Duprat reasoned, Markey was looking to keep men's basketball - which had put the College on the national map - aligned with its traditional Division II regional powers in a league with an automatic NCAA berth while expanding opportunities for the other Purple Knight sport programs.
In an attempt to secure a competitive Division II schedule, Markey instead worked with administrators from as far flung as Philadelphia and Erie, Pa., to form the Mideast Collegiate Conference (MECC), which began operation in 1984-85. While men's basketball won the MECC Tournament and garnered an NCAA bid by 1986-87 and Bludevich's women's cross country harriers took home 1985 and 1986 league titles, trips out of region for conference events became an expensive norm - at nearly five hours away in Syracuse, N.Y., Le Moyne College was the closest league counterpart - and the MECC only provided opportunities for men's basketball, cross country and tennis.
Meanwhile, the NE-7 expanded to eight schools upon Saint Anselm College's admission for the 1983-84 school year, and Saint Michael's and Quinnipiac University were finally admitted for 1987-88, setting the league's membership at 10 institutions - and necessitating a name change to the NE-10 (later rebranded as the NE10).
"He knew this league was right for us from its very inception," said Kenny. "When the NE-7 was originally formed in 1979, he would have loved for Saint Michael's to have been a founding member. He had personal relationships with all of the league's 'Founding Fathers' and knew that finding a multi-sport conference of like-minded institutions would be vital to the growth and quality of Saint Michael's Athletics. Scheduling in those days could be nightmarish for him and our coaches, as we were largely independent, and our geographic location made it very challenging. The landscape only became more difficult as the College moved into the 1980s, so it's impossible to overstate how important it was to our athletic program when we were accepted into the conference on July 1, 1987. Ed was immediately a strong voice in the leadership of the NE10, and held a leadership role until his retirement."
Among many Saint Michael's programs that had a conference for the first time was women's basketball, under the guidance of Duprat, who had supported Markey's efforts toward NE10 membership. "He believed, rightfully, that associating with schools that he considers equals, where we were competing with relatively like resources, would help the College recruit students, not just athletes, as we would have a presence in the areas we looked to recruit," she said. "I think it was the highlight of his career to get us in. And I think that has been good for SMC."
Upon Saint Michael's Athletics making its NE10 debut for the 1987-88 school year, many programs quickly established themselves as contenders. Men's basketball tied for second in the league standings that initial winter, men's soccer was a semifinalist by 1988, men's golf placed fourth at the 1988 and 1989 NE10 Championships, men's cross country was runner-up during the 1989 league meet, women's basketball made two semifinal appearances in their first five years, and women's soccer was a semifinal qualifier by 1989.
Even some sports for which the NE10 only began sponsoring championships during the '90s found rapid success: Men's lacrosse nabbed third-place finishes each of the first three years of NE10 play, between 1994 and 1996, before qualifying for a 1997 semifinal, and field hockey made the inaugural NE10 championship game in 1996, the first of three trips to the title contest in six years, ultimately leading to NCAA Tournament berths in 2000 and 2001.
"The NE10, at first, was good for SMC, because of the limitations of scholarships in just basketball," said Bludevich. "Everyone was on an even playing field. Plus we were competing against like schools with about the same resources. We were also competing for the same type of student."
Duprat noted that Markey's work beyond the College helped promote and solidify the NE10's reputation, as he was chairman of the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Selection Committee and a member of the ECAC Executive Council. At different times, Markey was also secretary and treasurer of the MECC and assistant commissioner in the NE10. Because of those efforts, he was rewarded with induction into the NE10 Hall of Fame in 2007, adding to a career that has been recognized with further enshrinement in the Saint Michael's Athletic Hall of Fame (1988), National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Hall of Fame (2000), New England Basketball Hall of Fame (2003) and Vermont Sports Hall of Fame (2017).
A three-year starter on the hardwood and the diamond during his undergraduate years, Markey returned to his alma mater in 1955 from a two-year stint in the Army. With Jacobs at the helm of the basketball program, Markey was his assistant coach and the freshman team coach for eight years, leading the Purple Squires to a 70-15 record. Saint Michael's qualified for its first four NCAA Tournaments between 1956-57 and 1959-60 before Markey took the reins of the varsity program early in the 1963-64 season, leading the Purple Knights to a 134-86 record over nine years, with runs to the 1965 NCAA Final Four and 1967 NCAA Sweet 16.
Markey retired from his coaching position after the 1971-72 season but left the team in position to make NCAA Tournament appearances in 1972-73 and 1973-74. He coached the only two NBA Draft selections in College history, with Rich Tarrant '65 chosen by the Boston Celtics during the fourth round in 1965 and Dick Falkenbush '67 taken in the 10th round by the Saint Louis Hawks in 1967. Markey was named United Press International (UPI) New England Coach of the Year both of those seasons, and later received the Alvin "Doggie" Julian Award for distinguished service to college basketball.
Markey coached Saint Michael's baseball for two different stints over a total of 19 seasons. After guiding the Purple Knight nine between 1957 and 1969, Markey resumed his head coach duties in 1976 following the offseason death of head coach and former teammate Joe Pattison '49. Markey led the team until 1981. His significance was so great to the NE10 that in 2002, when the league renamed its two baseball divisions, the West became the Markey Division - despite Saint Michael's baseball not competing in the NE10 at the time.
While Markey was a coach solely of men's sports and served as athletic director at Saint Michael's prior to - and subsequently following - coeducation in the early 1970s, Duprat pointed out that he was an equal-opportunities advocate. "He was one of the initial ADs to propose women's championships at the NCAA," she said. "Any new league offering of a men's sport was met with the question of, 'when do we add the women's program to that?'"
Bludevich recounted that Markey helped expand athletic opportunities for students through both intramural and club programs during their time together, with the popular Adventure Sports Center, formerly the Wilderness Program, also being born from those early efforts.
"Like all of us, Ed had his passions," said Duprat. "Baseball was huge for him, as was, obviously, basketball. And I believe he understood the value to students to participate in other sports. He wasn't one to go out and seek to create new opportunities, but he'd listen if there was demonstrated student interest. He truly understood the value of being on a team, and learning the lessons that one does there."
Similar to Jacobs, his friend and mentor, Markey hired some young stars who impacted generations, among them Bludevich and Duprat, who climbed the administrative ladder during legendary careers. Ultimately a senior associate athletic director, Bludevich wrapped up a 39-year tenure in 2014. "He was a Saint Michael's guy who bled Purple and Gold," said Bludevich. Duprat, who rose to associate athletic director and senior woman administrator, retired after 27 years in 2002-03. "He was a loyal friend, a fierce competitor, and an honest man," she said.
"If you were fortunate to get time with him, especially away from work - at an event or on the golf course - his warmth and generosity of spirit were plainly evident," said Kenny. "I had deep respect for his personal integrity and honesty, and his loyalty to Saint Michael's and those who worked for the College. He was very supportive of his student-athletes and fiercely loyal to the Purple Knights. He taught me the importance of relationships in this business beyond the campus boundaries, and all the benefits that come from being a member of a strong conference. We learn from each other, we face challenges together, and we celebrate successes together."
Ed Markey Links of Note:
ABOUT THE NE10
Beginning its 40th anniversary season, the NE10 is an association of 14 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
