New York, NY - Manhattan College Director of Intercollegiate Athletics
Marianne Reilly received the Power of Sport Award from the weekly newspaper
Irish Echo at the organization's 2018 Community Champion awards dinner Friday, April 27, in Midtown.
Reilly was honored for her career of promoting intercollegiate athletics in the Bronx, first at Fordham and now leading the Manhattan Athletic Department. A Manhattan graduate, Reilly has also been a pioneer for the school as its first female scholarship athlete, the women's basketball program's first 1,000-point scorer, and the school's first female inducted into the Manhattan Athletic Hall of Fame. A Bronx native, Reilly also serves on the Board of Trustees at Saint Barnabas High School in Woodlawn, where she is also a graduate.
"Involvement in the community strengthens the same life skills as playing sports: teamwork, leadership, competitiveness, camaraderie," Reilly told the
Irish Echo. "It creates a sense of belonging, giving back to others in need, and an environment where identity and pride matter."
In her acceptance speech Friday night, Reilly spoke about the athletic department's work to enhance the student-athlete experience at Manhattan College, including a current move to create the Gaelic Park Athletic Center, a new locker room, lounge, and training space for the Manhattan teams that utilize Gaelic Park, and an initiative to bring Manhattan baseball back to the Bronx by upgrading the field at Van Cortlandt Park.
Reilly was honored among several other Community Champions, including Manhattan graduate John Moynihan, who, as a New York City police officer in Washington Heights, created the neighborhood's Little League program in memory of a fellow police officer and friend who was killed in the line of duty. Founded in the 1980s, the Little League program continues today, serving nearly 10,000 children over the years.
Irish Echo is the largest circulation Irish-American weekly newspaper, with a 50-state subscription base. Founded in 1928, the national periodical is on newsstands in major American cities every Wednesday. Friday's awards ceremony featured guest speaker Christine Quinn, CEO of WIN and the former speaker of the New York City Council.
