From College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA)
Today, October 17, the athletics communications profession lost a dear friend and long-time contributor to the betterment of NCAA Division III college athletics, Lenny Reich. Reich was inducted into the College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA) Hall of Fame in June 2022.
Reich was a trusted colleague and friend to hundreds in college athletics and an award-winning SID with extensive national, regional and Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) committee service to collegiate athletics. Our sincere condolences to all of Lenny's family, friends and colleagues, particularly to his wife, Helen and daughter, Caroline.
One of the leaders in NCAA Divison III, Reich served as assistant director of athletics/sports information at the University of Mount Union, working at the Ohio school for 14 years through June (2008-2022). He added the Assistant AD title in 2012.
In late March 2022, Reich was diagnosed with myelofibrosis – a rare blood cancer that attacks the bone marrow. After numerous tests and a rigorous search for a bone marrow donor, a match was found and Lenny underwent a stem cell transplant several weeks ago in Cleveland. He was under post-transplant hospital care at the time of his passing.
This past June, he left his Mount Union position to become the Alliance High School (Alliance, OH) athletics director.
Lenny served on the Executive Board of Directors from 2019-2022 as an At-Large Representative. Reich received the organization's Warren Berg Award in 2019 for outstanding service and commitment to college division athletic communications efforts and also received his CSC 25-Year Award at the June convention. On November 4, he was set to be recognized by Mount Union's M Club Hall of Fame with induction as an Honorary M Club member.
Reich also was a past president of the Division III Sports Information Directors Association (D3SIDA).
Below is a video of Reich as he received his 2022 Hall of Fame honor at the 2022 CoSIDA Celebrations: An All-Star Night of Honors presented by ESPN in Las Vegas on June 27.
More information and details to follow as we pay tribute to Lenny for his contributions, advocacy and achievements.
