Two dedicated and passionate alumni, each celebrating milestone anniversaries of their graduation, will be recognized Saturday, June 7, during St. Bonaventure University’s Alumni Reunion Weekend.
Mary Jane “M.J.” Telford, Class of 1975, and Bill “Willie” McNeece, Class of 1965, will be honored with the William P. “Stax” McCarthy Alumnus of the Year Award Saturday evening at the 2025 Reunion Celebration at Reilly Center Arena.
“M.J. and Willie are emblematic of what it means to be a Bonnie for life,” said St. Bonaventure President Dr. Jeff Gingerich. “Their love of this university and commitment to helping St. Bonaventure succeed — for more than 50 years — is an inspiration.”
The award is named in memory of former Bonaventure Annual Fund and alumni director William McCarthy, ’72. It is presented each year to alumni who offer continued service to the university and capture the spirit of Saints Francis, Clare and Bonaventure.
For Telford and McNeece, being honored on Bob Lanier Court is fitting.
Telford made her mark in the RC Arena as a basketball player and coach, winning 201 games as a coach and ultimately earning a place in St. Bonaventure’s Athletics Hall of Fame.
A four-year starter from 1971-1975, Telford averaged 15 points per game throughout her career. She then took over as head coach of the women’s program and, over the next 10 years, guided the Bonnies from NAIA Division III to NCAA Division II, and then into Division I in the Atlantic 10.
But Telford’s impact on the university extended far beyond the court after her coaching career ended in 1993.
In 2000, she assumed the role of associate director of the Annual Fund, lending her relationship-building skills to the university’s fundraising enterprise. She also served as director of Constituent Relations, director of Devereux Giving Societies, and director of fundraising for the Franciscan Institute before returning to Admissions in 2006 as director of Volunteer Relations, where she worked tirelessly to strengthen alumni connections.
A member of SBU’s Seraphim Legacy Society, Telford retired in 2015, but she has remained deeply engaged with the university, frequently volunteering her time and efforts to enhance alumni engagement and support various campus initiatives.
In 2023, she helped lead a successful fundraising campaign to dedicate the RC ticket office to Larry Ford Sr., the longtime director of Reilly Center. In 2024, she co-chaired the search committee that resulted in the hiring of Bob Beretta as SBU’s new director of Intercollegiate Athletics, and led the campaign to dedicate the tunnel entrance in Reilly Center to Fr. Gerald McCaffrey, O.F.M.
Telford earned a bachelor’s degree in Modern Languages and a master’s degree in Counseling from St. Bonaventure.
McNeece has been a supporter of the Bonnies basketball program for 65 years, from watching the Stith brothers as a high schooler at the old Madison Square Garden to his generosity as a Bonnies Athletic Fund donor.
From Olean to Alabama, McNeece has long been a fixture at Bonaventure pregame and postgame functions. His wife, Karen, estimates that he has attended more than 200 Bonnies games in the last 65 years, developing strong connections with the Bonaventure coaches, staff and players. His collection of Bona gear, which he wears proudly, is always on display in his New Jersey community.
McNeece has volunteered at numerous college nights in New Jersey for SBU’s Admissions Office, recruiting nearly two dozen students to St. Bonaventure from the New Jersey high schools where he taught, coached and served as athletics director. He has also helped the Alumni Office organize events in New Jersey and Manhattan.
McNeece graduated from SBU with a degree in History and was a member of the university’s Athletics Advisory Board from 2010-2013.
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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure is a community committed to transforming the lives of its students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a commitment to academic excellence and lifelong civic engagement. Out of 167 regional universities in the North, St. Bonaventure was ranked #6 for value and #14 for innovation by U.S. News and World Report (2024).