NEW YORK (March 22, 2023) ---
Linda Bruno,
Rich Ensor and
Kathy Meehan --- three outstanding collegiate athletics professionals who are retiring at the end of the current academic year --- each will be presented in April with a Career Achievement Award from the Met Basketball Writers Association.
The trio of honorees, which comprises two conference commissioners and one senior athletics administrator --- and each of whom previously has been honored by the MBWA with a Distinguished Service Award --- will be recognized for their contributions and achievements to collegiate sports at the 90th MBWA All-Met Haggerty Awards dinner scheduled Thursday, April 27, at the Sleepy Hollow Hotel & Conference Center in Tarrytown, NY.
The All-Met Haggerty dinner is the longest running, media-managed college basketball awards program in the United States, having originated in the 1930s.
About the three honorees, in alphabetical order:
LINDA M. BRUNO
A recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from the Met Writers in 2015, Linda Bruno --- a member of the MBWA Executive Committee --- was appointed Commissioner of the Skyline Conference in January, 2011, and has more than 30 years of experience at the conference level.
During her tenure with the Skyline, four institutions have been added to the conference, which now offers 19 championship sports. As commissioner, she also has served on the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Committee.
Among her career posts, Bruno was the commissioner of the Atlantic 10 Conference for 14 years, where she oversaw playing host to the 2001 NCAA men’s basketball regional championship, and the 2006 first and second rounds of the tournament, in Philadelphia.
A native of Westchester County, NY, Bruno served as associate commissioner to Dave Gavitt at the Big East Conference, has been an instructor at Drexel University, served on the athletics staff at Yale University and has been inducted into the Iona College Athletic Hall of Fame.
She earned both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at Iona, where she has served as an academic adviser and was an assistant to the late Jim Valvano during his coaching tenure at the school.
RICHARD J. ENSOR
A Distinguished Service Award recipient from the MBWA in 1999, Rich Ensor was named the third Commissioner of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in August 1988. During his tenure the MAAC, among many achievements, has secured a stable membership base, expanded the number of championships conducted and developed an extensive marketing program cemented with broadcast agreements with ESPN.
Ensor is a past member of the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee and past president of the Collegiate Commissioners Association (CCA). He serves on the boards of the Sports Lawyers Association, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, Philadelphia Sports Congress and NACDA’s IAAA ADs. He has served multiple terms on the NCAA DI Council and has served as chair of the Women’s Basketball Oversight Committee.
Under Ensor’s direction, the MAAC has focused efforts to showcase its member institutions in its annual men’s and women’s basketball championship. Since 1990, the MAAC has held its premier event in state of the art playing facilities in Albany and Buffalo, NY, and most recently at the Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ. The MAAC also has carved a well-earned niche as an athletic conference that balances quality academics and athletics.
A graduate of Saint Peter's University with a Master’s degree in sports management from UMass and a law degree from Seton Hall, Ensor has served in many administrative capacities in college sports, including positions at Saint Peter’s, Saint Louis University and Seton Hall.
Among numerous awards, Ensor in 2016 was honored by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame for his leadership in basketball and contributions to the game. The WBCA has honored Ensor twice for his contributions to women’s basketball
Ensor and his wife, Deirdre, who are the parents of four children, reside in Lanoka Harbor, NJ.
KATHLEEN MEEHAN
A 2018 recipient of the MBWA’s Distinguished Service Award, Kathy Meehan is in her 48th year of service at St. John’s University, dating back to her days as a women's basketball student-athlete in the early 1970s. Currently she serves the school as Senior Deputy Athletics Director/Senior Women’s Administrator.
In her roles at SJU, Meehan oversees internal relations, Title IX compliance, human resources, strategic planning and enforcement of the student-athlete code of conduct. She also is the sports administrator for Red Storm women's basketball, men's tennis, women's tennis, softball and volleyball teams. Meehan was the driving force behind the development of the Community Service Program and the LifeSkills program (now Student Development) at the University for all student-athletes.
Meehan has represented St. John’s on numerous NCAA and Big East committees during her tenure, including the Division I Women’s Basketball Oversight Committee and NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee, and was the University's representative to the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Association, which conducted the National Invitation Tournament.
Meehan holds both a Bachelor's degree in education and Master's degree in counselor education from St. John's. As an undergraduate, she was a member of the first women's basketball team at SJU (1974-75) and won the first Outstanding Female Student-Athlete Award that same year. Since graduation, she has worked in numerous capacities in the St. John’s athletics department, including several stints as interim athletics director when the position was left vacant.
Meehan is a member of the St. John's University Hall of Fame and, in 2003, received the Woodruff Award presented annually by Adelphi University for excellence in coaching, teaching and educating young adults, while stressing that the athletics experience enhances the educational experiences and quality of life.
Meehan and her husband, Lou, live in Massapequa, NY, and have two sons, Brian and Timothy, plus six grandchildren.
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