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st. lawrence university magazine | winter 2015
SPORTS
Beyond all that, the building and
maintenance of an outstanding coach-
ing and support staff has been another
beacon of her career. Of the full-time
staff, 19 have been at St. Lawrence for
a decade or more, noteworthy at an
institution with the kind of Division III
success that St. Lawrence has had.
“One of the biggest challenges that
faces any athletics director is finding and
retaining the best possible coaches,” said
Margie. “It is critical to hire wisely for all
the head and assistant positions, as well as
the support staff such as the trainers and
sports information people. Our many as-
sistant coaches who are working on their
graduate degrees have added great value
to the programs they support. It is hard
to say good-bye to them after two years.
“The fact that all of our programs
have reached success, although not all
at once, is among my most satisfying
achievements,” Margie added. “The
championships are obvious high-
lights, but the quiet times when I have
counseled coaches when they needed
support may be the most satisfying. It is
gratifying to know that they trusted me
to have difficult conversations.”
uring her tenure as director,
St. Lawrence participated
in numerous national and
regional championships
and has earned the highest recognition
for teams and individual athletes. The
University has hosted NCAA events,
including championship rounds, and
the College Squash Association national
individual championships. On her watch,
St. Lawrence has produced national
team championships in men’s soccer and
riding; individual national champions
in squash, cross country and track; and
ECAC championships in both men’s and
women’s Division I hockey.
ing the responsibility of mentoring and
overseeing an 83-member staff for the
pleasure of more regular visits with her
children and grandchildren. Her legacy
at St. Lawrence will be the successful
student-athletes who came to Canton
in part because of the additions and
improvements she made to the athletics
department in her term as director, and
were molded by the staff she helped hire.
President Fox announced her impend-
ing retirement “With unbounded admira-
tion for her contributions that span four
decades; with wide-reaching appreciation
for her wisdom and acumen in athletics
administration; for her inspiring and suc-
cessful coaching; and for her friendships
with countless colleagues on campus and
across the nation.” He added that she
started at St. Lawrence in 1970; coached
six teams over a period of years; devel-
oped and taught courses in the sports and
exercise science academic program, which
she chaired; and assisted the Univer-
sity “in the role of senior adviser to the
administration, which has helped other
division leaders tremendously."
Under her leadership as athletics
director, the University:
• Expanded its team offerings to 32,
adding six programs.
• Undertook construction or extensive
renovations of facilities ranging from the
renewal of Appleton Arena and Burk-
man Gym to the addition of Leckonby
Stadium/Weeks Field/Merrick-Pinkard
Track, North Country Field/Hall-Leet
Stadium, Newell Field House, Robie
Squash Center, Stafford Fitness Center,
Munro Climbing Wall and a boathouse;
and new playing venues for lacrosse,
baseball, soccer, tennis and softball.
• Created an indoor golf practice center
and remodeled locker rooms for
football, soccer, hockey, track/cross
country and basketball.
hile a lot of
things will bring animation and pleasure
to the voice of Margaret F. “Margie”
Strait, perhaps nothing elicits more pride
than the success of her former student-
athletes during her years as men’s and
women’s tennis coach and ski coach:
“ … He is working on the stock exchange in
Chicago … she’s a district attorney … he’s a
television sports producer…this one is a vice
president of marketing .…”
Margie has spent the last 17 years of her
44-year tenure at St. Lawrence as director
of athletics. But the student-athletes’ ex-
perience, both at and after St. Lawrence,
has remained a major focus.
Margie, a St. Lawrence County native
who earned her master’s degree from
the University in 1973, closes the books
on that long career in January, exchang-
Three cheers
for Margie!
A ST. LAWRENCE
LEGEND Retires
After
44
Years
in Athletics
By Wally Johnson
“
Valuing sport
equity as well as
gender equity
has been a major part
of my leadership.”
Margie Strait
1989
1998
2010
2014
Starts at St. Lawrence
as women’s alpine ski
coach
(to 1980)
Named women’s
Nordic ski coach
(to 1980)
Named head women’s
tennis coach
(to 1998)
and assistant men’s and
women’s ski coach
(to 1989)
Named head men’s
tennis coach (to 1998)
Named director of
athletics and chair of
Sports Studies and
Exercise Science academic
minor (through 2014)
Named senior adviser to the
administration
(through 2014)
Retires after 44 years in
St. Lawrence athletics
Margie Strait:
A St. Lawrence Career
1970
1980
1973
Margie’s role in all of that success,
along with her contributions to the
Liberty League and ECAC Hockey,
was recognized in 2013, when she was
selected as an UnderArmour Athletic
Director of the Year. She has also been
recognized as an ECAC Administrator
of the Year, honored by the Eastern
Intercollegiate Ski Association and
named to the Athletic Hall of Fame at
her undergraduate alma mater, SUNY
Cortland. She has been a member of
the executive committee of the ECAC
men’s and women’s hockey leagues and
chair of the ECAC Division I men’s
hockey committee. She was a member
of the ECAC Board of Directors and
has served as president of the Liberty
League and on the NCAA Ski Rules
Committee.
While heavily involved in Division
I hockey and three multi-divisional
programs (skiing, squash and riding),
with the majority of SLU programs
competing in Division III, Margie
strives to maintain equity throughout
the athletics program. “It is impera-
tive that we offer administrative sup-
port to all programs with fairness,”
she explained. “Valuing sport equity
as well as gender equity has been a
major part of my leadership. Defining
the expectation that all of our teams,
including our Division I programs,
will be fully engaged in the Univer-
sity’s mission is critical.
“It is important for all of our pro-
grams to know they are valued and to
understand the University’s mission
to provide a first-class experience for
students in the classroom and dur-
ing their fifth class: athletics,” Strait
elaborated. “Students who choose to
be involved in athletics make lifelong
friends, excel in the classroom, and
excel at something they love.”
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