Mark McGuire

Bio: http://blog.timesunion.com/mcguire/about-mcguire/
Article: http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Will-hockey-be-tail-that-wags-Union-brand-3460264.php

McGuire is a writer for the Times Union and has been writing for awhile, "After more than four years as a sports columnist, Mark McGuire has moved on back to the news side to write about cultural issues. " He enjoys sports, "Even though he sat in the press box or at courtside, McGuire remained a fan at heart", I can assume that I why he was a sport journalist for more than four years. Not from the region, " the transplanted Long Islander", who "came here 21 years ago, expecting to stay a couple dozen months" has found himself in a bit of a sticky situation. "Two houses, two kids and one wife later, [McGuire] thinks the Capital Region is one of the best places anywhere to live and raise a family." So he now resides in the upstate capitol region. In the article "Will Hockey Be a Tail that Wags Union Brand?", by McGuire, is about the "tiny Union College, the one the national media consistently tags with (N.Y.) after its name to locate the school and differentiate it from the seven other institutions of higher learning with "Union" in its name, earned its first berth in the Frozen Four — Division I hockey's equivalent of the Final Four." McGuire wrote about the sprt hockey because it interests him and he has an opinion on the topic. Before making his assumption he gives fact from past occurrences at other colleges, "Siena after the Loudonville college made three straight NCAA men's basketball tournaments from 2008-10. Applications more than doubled compared to five years earlier, and donations to the athletics fund rose more than $200,000, to $469,000." Then he follows the facts with his general statement, The link between the basketball team's success and the increased interest and generosity seems clear."  Then McGuire discusses the advantage of having a hockey program, "the advantage of having the hockey program when a student is contemplating Union or a much larger school. There is also the additional edge for a student who would like to root for a big-time program but also play collegiately themselves, something a broader range of athletes are able to do on the Division III level." Overall McGuire is a wonderful wrtiter for both the news and sports headlines and the Union College was lucky to have a hockey program that placed highly in their division.