Friday, May 5, 2000

By KIMBERLY JONES

Centre Daily Times

So many of us are here because of her. We believed our dreams of covering or publicizing sports were possible because Mary Jo Haverbeck did it first and did it well.

She is a pioneer in the truest sense: Because she paved the way, our path was smoother. Because she paid her dues, ours cost a little less.

Haverbeck, the former Penn State associate sports information director, retired in December after 25 years at the university.

Finally, she is now getting the recognition she so richly deserves but would never court, not for herself.

Already the first woman to be inducted into the College Sports Information Directors of America Hall of Fame, Haverbeck this week became the first woman to receive CoSIDA's highest honor - the Arch Ward Award, which has been given 43 times.

Whatever the award stands for - making outstanding contributions to her profession, bringing dignity and prestige to it - it doesn't go far enough. Because it leaves out the countless ways she has influenced so many young people along the way, the countless times she has served as mentor to someone who needed one.

"I wouldn't be in this business if it weren't for her," says Penn State assistant sports information director Cathy Bongiovi, who's hardly alone.

Bongiovi has been in the business for 13 years, since graduating from Penn State. She's worked at four different places before winding up at her alma mater, in the same department as Haverbeck.

"There are still prejudices against women in this profession, but not like what she faced," Bongiovi says. "She had all kinds of obstacles to overcome."

Haverbeck overcame them because she believed in marketing women's sports and in equal opportunity for women in sports journalism. She fought battles and often lost. But her victories were sweet: Long before the WNBA got next or had game, the Penn State women's athletics program was featured on ABC's Wide World of Sports; a photo of a Lady Lion lacrosse player made the cover of Time magazine.

And because she and others fought, we are here today, in press boxes, in media rooms, on national TV and in the national conscience.

"She instilled in me the confidence that I was able to take on the responsibility of a full-time job right out of college. She helped me believe I could do it," says Penn State graduate Stephanie Mociun, now completing her first year as an assistant SID at the University of Maryland. "I'll always remember that, how she encouraged me."

Haverbeck didn't limit her influence to women.

"She was more than willing to help me," says Penn State senior Seth Silverstein, who will graduate next week and plans to pursue a profession in college athletics. "Although she worked with women's sports, she didn't seem to want more for women. She wanted everyone to be treated fairly. If a men's lacrosse team was ranked 10th in the country and a women's lacrosse team was ranked 10th in the country, she wanted them to be treated the same."

"She was very willing to teach me the ins and outs of the profession," says Christian Green, a 1998 Penn State graduate who worked with Haverbeck last spring and is now with the Ivy League. "I'm grateful to her for giving me the opportunity. She didn't know me from Adam. And she took the time to teach me things and work with me."

Fortunately, Haverbeck is still involved in sports information, serving as interview room director at the NCAA Men's Basketball Regional at Syracuse in March. And she was the NCAA media liaison for the Lady Lions at the 2000 Final Four in Philadelphia.

"Mary Jo always stressed the need to feel like we could work with men's sports as ably as men could," Mociun says. "Whether it's men's basketball or football, she always thought we belonged in the same professional capacity as men."

Mociun works with men's soccer, women's lacrosse and men's and women's swimming at Maryland. She loves her job. Someday, she may handle duties for men's basketball or football.

"People like Mary Jo made it a lot easier for us," Mociun says.

"She's just a great person," says Green.

"Out of all the people I worked with in that office, she was the person I would turn to most," Silverstein says. "And even now, if I need her help, I wouldn't hesitate to fire off an e-mail to her."

He would receive a response, probably the same day. And it would contain good advice, the kind that's definitely worth following.