'Best college hockey coach ever': MSU to name Munn rink after late Ron Mason

Ron Mason's legacy will forever be on ice in East Lansing.

Mason, the legendary hockey coach who later became athletic director at Michigan State, will be honored by the university when the surface at Munn Ice Arena officially becomes Ron Mason Rink next month.

The hockey program will make the dedication on Saturday, Oct. 6, when Michigan State takes on Lake Superior State. Mason got his start in coaching at Lake Superior State, before he went on to Bowling Green, and then eventually Michigan State, where he was head coach from 1979 through 2002.

Mason, who died in 2016 at age 76, made seven Frozen Fours at Michigan State, winning the national championship in 1986. He retired with a record of 635-270-69 with the Spartans, and 924-380-83 overall.

He retired as college hockey's wins leader, later passed by Jerry York at Bowling Green. Mason now is No. 2.

"I still consider him to be the best college hockey coach ever," Rick Comley, Mason's longtime protege who succeeded him as coach at MSU and also won a national title with the Spartans in 2007, told The Detroit News this week.

"A lot of what I became was because of him."

Mason, an Ontario native who played at St. Lawrence, was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 1994. Comley will join him in the MSHOF during Thursday night's induction ceremony in Detroit. Mason also is a member of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame (2013) and the Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame (2010). Mason was MSU's athletic director from 2002 through the end of 2007, and was the man who hired Mark Dantonio to coach the Spartans' football team. He also is credited for overseeing major upgrades to Spartan Stadium.

Munn Ice Arena recently completed a major renovation project that cost more than $20 million.

tpaul@detroitnews.com

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