Posted to CoSIDA.com; written by Maurice Williams, MEAC Assistant Commissioner for Media Relations


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For Lonza Hardy, Jr., the path to 25 years of service in the media relations profession has been a lot different than the others who will receive the CoSIDA 25-Year Award. Hardy, who is now in his 43rd year working in college athletes overall, took a 16-year hiatus from media relations before returning to the field after taking a job with the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) in 2018.
 
Hardy's career in media relations started in 1978 when, after graduation from UNC-Chapel Hill, he took a job at Albany State in Georgia. When asked what led him to work in media relations, Hardy noted, "After deciding to major in journalism at North Carolina, it was my goal to become a news reporter with a daily newspaper after graduation. However, my first job offer was a public information aide position at Albany State, working primarily as sports information director. I guess you can say the rest is history, as I've now gone on to accumulate more than 25 years of service in that profession."
 
After two years at Albany State, Hardy spent the next six years at Alcorn State from 1980-86. He worked alongside legendary athletics director and College Football Hall of Fame coach Marino H. Casem, from whom he learned all about working in college athletics.
 
Like most media relations professionals, Hardy developed an excellent working relationship with Casem. It was so great, in fact, that when Casem left Alcorn State to take the same job at Southern, Hardy went along with him.
 
“Alcorn State allowed me to work in NCAA Division I athletics,” Hardy said. “It was where Coach Casem taught me life lessons about working in college athletics, how to never let anyone on any level outwork you, and to never settle for anything but the best."
 
Hardy's bond with Casem would last over 40 years. He stayed with Casem at Southern for three years before leaving campus life for the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) where Hardy spent nearly 11 years as the assistant and associate commissioner for media relations.
 
During his tenure at the SWAC, Hardy was appointed to a three-year term on the CoSIDA Board of Directors, serving in 1988-89 through the 2000-01 academic year.
 
After spending nine years on campus and then nearly 11 years at the SWAC office (from 1989-2001), Hardy then ventured outside the media relations profession and was elevated to athletics director positions.
 
When asked about his 16 years working as an athletics director before coming back to end his career in media relations, Hardy said, "When I was hired as Director of Athletics at Mississippi Valley State in April 2000, I became the first person from a media relations background to become an athletics director in the SWAC.
 
“To date, I am still the only person to ascend from the SID position to an AD position in 100 years of the conference. I served as AD at Mississippi Valley State University from 2001-07, at Hampton — then in the MEAC — from 2007-11 and then at Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the SWAC for the next seven years.”

Hardy attended his first CoSIDA Convention in 1981 while at Alcorn State, on Casem’s recommendation. Excited for the opportunity, Hardy wrote a 10-page report after attending his first convention and implemented most of the lessons learned once he returned to campus.
 
Throughout his 25 years in media relations, Hardy has been honored by numerous groups for his standout work and dedication. Hardy earned the SWAC SID of the Year Award four times. He was recipient of the former Good Person Award presented by CoSIDA for community service work (now the Bob Kenworthy Community Service Award) and was also inducted into the SWAC Hall of Fame in 2018.
 
When asked about the decision to come back to the media relations profession after so many years in the athletics director's chair, Hardy noted, "When I left the AD ranks at Arkansas-Pine Bluff and moved back to Virginia, I did so with the plan of living the life of retirement. But when (MEAC Commissioner Dr. Dennis) Thomas presented the idea of me working part-time as Media Relations and Research Consultant with the MEAC, it was an intriguing opportunity that I decided to accept. It has been a delight coming full circle and likely ending my career in the profession that I started in back in 1978.
 
“If I were allowed to rewrite the script of my life and of my career, there wouldn't be a lot that I would change."
 
When reflecting over the totality of his career, the accomplished Hardy had the following to say.
 
"Just like my mentors who orchestrated me along this career path, my family has been there for me from day one, always supporting me from afar, regardless of what distant state I resided in or what far regions of the country I traveled to. They have been awesome, and this life has been great."