I worked in sports information at Montclair State (NJ) University from Nov. 2000 to Sept. 2005, after three tours of ice hockey publicity duty in Michigan. My supervisor all five of those years was Michael Scala.
Mike taught me much about many different sports that didn't include a small black rubber puck, including baseball, basketball, field hockey, lacrosse, softball and wrestling. I also remember my interview with him in what would be my first office at Montclair State, in a two-story house on Normal Avenue, just off campus.
I wore a suit. Mike told me I was overdressed.
I got to know Mike well over the next several years and the myriad fall, winter and spring sports seasons. I was fortunate enough he let me travel to Florida five times during spring break with different Red Hawks teams, four with softball to Orlando/Fort Myers, and once with baseball to Tampa. The only other time I had ever gone on spring break was to Anchorage, Alaska in 1992, and only because I was living 350 miles away in Fairbanks at the time.
I also got to go to San Diego my first year, to the 2001 College Sports Information Directors Association (CoSIDA) annual convention, when Mike could have easily gone to California himself. I remember accompanying him on such MSU basketball trips to places like William Paterson University and Manhattanville College, for statistical support, with me usually keeping the written, spiral-bound NCAA scorebook, including player fouls. I also attended Mike's wedding to his wife, Jamie, early on in my tenure at MSU, when I had been at the university just over a year's time.
Working in NCAA Division III athletics was a bit different than my experience in Division I (Michigan State) or Division II (Alaska Fairbanks), but the statistics are the same, and the student-athletes do truly play for the love of the game, with no scholarships or financial aid or pro career prospects. I didn't work with ice hockey, which is a club sport at MSU, but I met a lot of good people in Red Hawk varsity athletics. Case in point: Mike and Jamie and other MSU athletics staff were good enough to attend my grandmother's wake just one month after 9/11, even though they had only known me for 10 months or so. I can never repay them for that kindness.
Besides MSU, Mike was a big fan of the New York Giants, the New York Mets, and Bruce Springsteen, among other things—but he was also a hockey fan, particularly of the New York Rangers. Having interned with the NHL in 1993-94, I bequeathed him a copy of the Rangers media guide from that season, in which they won their first Stanley Cup crown in 54 seasons (and their last one to date). One night he even told me that I wouldn't be working an outside, non-MSU basketball game scheduled at MSU's Panzer Gym, because he knew I had New Jersey Devils tickets that evening. I also worked with Mike the sole season of the original XFL in 2001, writing back-up stats for the NY/NJ Hitmen at the now-demolished Giants Stadium.
I left MSU in 2005, wanting to move on from sports information after almost 14 years, and went on to become a journalist. Mike thanked me for my loyalty, and also helped me in my job search as a reference. He remained at MSU, his alma mater, although he also worked for Monmouth University, the New Jersey Athletic Conference, the Pinstripe Bowl, the New York Jets, and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in his storied career, while also helping the MAAC to land the 2003 NCAA Division I Men's Frozen Four in Buffalo. He went on to earn a host of sports information and athletics awards for his ability and longevity, but he just really enjoyed what he did, whether it was scoring games, updating the website, designing yearbooks, and so much more, especially caring for MSU's many, many student-athletes and coaches.
I saw him sporadically over the years that followed, mostly at MSU, and even once at Nutley High School's graduation ceremony. The last time I remember seeing him was at Kean University in 2018, a year before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and the year before he was inducted into the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame. He was most definitely a good man, and I figured I'd see Mike at another game again somewhere down the road, after the world more or less got back to normal.
On Thursday, I visited MSU for the last-ever New Jersey Jackals minor-league baseball game at Yogi Berra Stadium, a place where Mike had overseen hundreds of Red Hawk baseball games. I also passed by the Burger King in Cedar Grove where Mike took me for lunch on my first day at MSU, over 20 years ago.
Mike was just 51 years old when his three-year battle with colon cancer ended early this morning. He would have turned 52 in September. He is survived by his wife, Jamie, and their three children, Jenna, Michael and Joelle. I hope people will keep them all in their prayers. Donations to the family can be made at https://bit.ly/3pM2rsi.
Today I tuned the radio to Q104.3 FM just as Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" began to play. I remember how Mike and I would joke about that song in the press box at MSU's Sprague Field, as one of the Red Hawk teams back then used it for their warm-ups. We used to recite the speech made by the villainous Clubber Lang in the film "Rocky III", when he told trainer Mickey Goldmill that he demanded a shot at world heavyweight boxing champion Rocky Balboa ("I want Balboa!"). Those few minutes of music brought back a lot of good memories.
Rest in peace, my friend, and Go Red Hawks.
