Jim Engelhardt, ’79, was honored Thursday with the John Domino Award, given biennially to a St. Bonaventure University alumnus who has excelled in sports communication.
Jim Engelhardt, ’79, was honored Thursday with the John Domino Award, given biennially to a St. Bonaventure University alumnus who has excelled in sports communication.
“As was made clear Thursday night, Jim Engelhardt represents the best of Bonaventure,” said Aaron Chimbel, dean of the Jandoli School of Communication. “He has been so giving of his time and talents to others since he was a student, and he does it all with deep faith, passion and a sense of humor.”
Engelhardt was chosen because of his long association with St. Bonaventure, including 15 years as sports information director and his legacy of mentoring so many fellow Bonnies.
Engelhardt was introduced by ESPN executive and 1979 classmate Chris LaPlaca. Marylou Domino, John’s widow, and Art Domino, his father, presented Engelhardt with the award.
Engelhardt began his career in sports information at Colgate and St. Francis (Pa.) before coming home in 1981 to St. Bonaventure to serve as sports information director.
In 1996, he moved to George Mason University as assistant athletic director/media relations and publications and was later promoted to associate athletic director.
Engelhardt left college athletics in 2000 to become the director of communications for the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation, an economics think tank and trade association for multinational manufacturers. He joined the Catholic Diocese of Arlington (Virginia) as a communications strategist in 2017.
Domino graduated from St. Bonaventure in 1984 and helped usher in the video era while an undergraduate, successfully lobbying the administration to acquire a truckload of professional video equipment being sold by a local school district.
Domino worked for NBC Sports before joining ESPN. He was regarded as one of the growing sports network’s best and brightest personalities when he left to return to the Buffalo area and join the Empire Sports Network. He told friends he was coming back because someone in the family was battling cancer.
Domino was that someone; he died in 1994. The Jandoli School of Communication celebrates his courage, skills and humanity by presenting the John Domino Award to a St. Bonaventure graduate who has excelled in his or her sports journalism position.
Along with Chimbel, the Domino Award alumni selection committee included LaPlaca, Adrian Wojnarowski, Rachel Axon, Mike Vaccaro, Brian Moritz, Donna Ditota, Isiah Blakely and Tim Bontemps.
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