When Dick Sakala announced in January that he was retiring as the College's director of athletics, he fought back his emotions, briefly reflected on his career, and said he wanted to go quietly.
A modest, unassuming man, Sakala has run the College's athletic department for the past twenty-three years by combining iron will with his sensitivity, always keeping the welfare of the student-athlete and the mission of the College in the forefront.
Before his appointment at Union, Sakala, who turns sixty in May, had been the associate director of athletics at his alma mater, Columbia University. As an undergraduate he had played quarterback and defensive back for the Lions, helping them to their only Ivy League championship in his senior season of 1961. He had also played baseball, and during his time as an administrator he led Columbia's team for five years, taking them to two NCAA tournaments.
“When I interviewed at Union,” Sakala recalls, “One of the questions I was asked was, 'How would I treat Ned Harkness (the College's hockey coach for several years in the 1970s)?' I answered that I would treat him the same way as I would treat anyone else on my staff.”
Since 1977 Sakala has kept his promise.
“One of the things that really impressed me about Mr. Sakala is how he always treated the athlete with respect,” says Dalton Menhall '92. “He wasn't afraid to ask the students for opinions, and while he didn't always agree, he always listened. Even after I graduated, a subscription form to join the Friends of Union Athletics was accompanied by a note from Dick. He always added a personal touch, and that is one of the things that makes Union so special to me.”
When Sakala arrived in July 1977, Union did not have a full-time athletic director. Controversy surrounding the men's ice hockey program was about to explode into a national embarrassment. Many of Union's athletic teams struggled to achieve the .500 level, and facilities were marginal at best. Today, Union's athletic program is one of integrity and respect.
“Dick has certainly made his mark on Union College and Union College athletics,” says President Roger Hull. “He has worked tirelessly to bring a high level of respect and recognition to the College. Through his efforts, he has provided quality programs for the men and women who have represented Union in athletic competition.”
Under Sakala's leadership, Union has upgraded every one of its athletic facilities. The College has met all federal mandates of Title IX and gender equity without cutting a single men's program, an option taken by many colleges and universities (this year women's ice hockey became the College's twenty-fifth varsity sport, the thirteenth for women). Most teams have enjoyed league, state, or national recognition, and dozens of athletes have received All-League, All-State, and/or All-American honors.
Football has played in two national championship games, and men's and women's soccer, men's and women's swimming, women's lacrosse, and men's basketball have all participated in NCAA championship tournaments. Field hockey, women's volleyball, men's lacrosse, softball, and baseball have all enjoyed success within the Eastern College Athletic Conference and the New York State Women's Collegiate Athletic Association. The men's ice hockey team won the ECAC Division III championship in 1985 and played for the NCAA Division III national championship in 1984; it joined the ECAC's Division I league before the 1991-92 campaign and has qualified to compete in the ECAC postseason tournament four times in nine years.
Sakala started the Friends of Union Athletics, which, through contributions from members, sponsors the annual Block U Awards Dinner. He also had the idea for the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association (UCAA), which began in 1995-96 with Clarkson, Hamilton, Hobart and William Smith, Rensselaer, St. Lawrence, Skidmore, and Union as charter members (Vassar will join in 2000-2001).
And a number of assistant coaches hired by Sakala have gone on to head coaching positions, including Al Bagnoli in football at the University of Pennsylvania, Mark Whipple in football at the University of Massachusetts, Chuck Priore in football at Trinity College, Mark Morris in hockey at Clarkson, and Dan Fridgen in hockey at Rensselaer.
“Coaching at Union is the best thing that has ever happened to me, and my family and I owe it all to Dick,” says John Audino, who was an assistant football coach in the early 1980s and returned to take over the head job in 1992. “He treats you like a professional and gives you every opportunity to succeed. Whoever replaces him has some big shoes to fill.”
Gary Reynolds, head baseball coach and assistant football coach, remembers that he was out of coaching when Sakala hired him in 1983. “The thing that impressed me the most about him over the years was the fact that he let coaches coach. He has a lot of interest in your sport, but he didn't try to dictate.”
Cheryl Rockwood, head athletic trainer and the senior women's administrator, says, “I have the greatest respect for Dick. He treats everyone like a professional, and he allows you to develop.”
Sakala received the Alumni Council's Faculty Meritorious Service Award in 1984, is a former vice president of the ECAC, has been a member of several ECAC championship committees, and served as a member of the NCAA Division III football selection committee.
While Sakala's accomplishments are many, it is the people that he will miss the most.
“The student-athletes have been such a pleasure to be around,” said Sakala. “I've also had the pleasure of working with the most supportive group of professionals during the past twenty-three years. This hasn't been a job, but a pleasure. I look back and feel very good about what I was doing and about the people I was doing it with and the people I was doing it for. It's the personal part of this job that I will always remember.”
Dick Roberts '50, a former member of the College's Board of Trustees, says, “Dick Sakala has been the backbone of the athletic department. He has worked extremely hard to upgrade the facilities to ensure that qualified high school recruits become Union student-athletes, and that those student-athletes are afforded every opportunity to succeed.
“Externally, the success of the programs and of the individuals brings a great deal of recognition and pride to the College as a whole,” he says. “While his legacy will live beyond his tenure, Union and Union athletics are going to miss the influence and future direction of Dick.”
George Cuttita, who became the College's first full-time sports information director in 1980, summed it up when he said, “While I am very happy that he and his wife, Nancy, will be able to enjoy life to its fullest, I will be losing a mentor and a friend. He will be missed.”