Celebrating Women in Sport and Physical Activity - Profiles
Molly Mahoney, '09 - 2017 Honoree
Molly Mahoney, '09
Commissioner, Central Collegiate
Women's Hockey Association and American Collegiate Hockey
Association
Programming and Event Coordinator, Compton Family
Ice Arena
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Molly Mahoney has been ice skating since she was in elementary school. She first wore figure skates, but when her younger brother wanted to play hockey, Mahoney, then 11, wanted to try, too.
She hasn't been out of hockey skates since. "My mom thought it would be a one-time thing, then I'd be over it, but I made great friends and fell in love with the sport," said Mahoney.
She turned it into a career. Mahoney lives in South Bend, Indiana, and serves as the commissioner for the Central Collegiate Women's Hockey Association, commissioner for the women's Division I teams that belong to the American Collegiate Hockey Association, and as programming/event coordinator for the University of Notre Dame ice arena.
"I love being soaked into the hockey world," Mahoney said. "I see both sides of it now. At the rink, it's the grassroots level as I manage the learn to skate program and help coach all-girls teams. Then with the league, I see the collegiate side of the sport."
A native of Kalamazoo, Mahoney was a member of the first all-girls team in the area and played on that team for three years. In high school, she was the manager of the boy’s hockey team at Loy Norrix High School and she played in the women's league before leaving for college.
Nearly as soon as Mahoney arrived at Grand Valley, she sent an email to Denny McLean, then coach of the men's ice hockey club team, asking if she could keep statistics, or serve as a manager. She was very welcomed to the team and, soon, her role grew from those initial duties.
"I would bring him stats during the game and he would ask, 'What should we be doing differently?'" Mahoney said.
McLean pushed Mahoney to start a women's ice hockey club team, and in 2007, she successfully received funding from Student Senate to start a team. After a spring bake sale to raise awareness, the team started that fall with Mahoney as president and team co-captain. The 15-player team didn't win a game during the regular season. The next season, the team made it to the national tournament.
Mahoney earned a master's degree in sports leadership from Northeastern University. For both the CCWHA and ACHA, Mahoney oversees the league and national tournaments, rules, eligibility, rankings and marketing efforts.
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