(Release courtesy of College Sports Communicators)
Ken Johnson Jr., director of communications, promotions, and marketing in the MIT Department of Athletics, Physical Education, and Recreation (DAPER), is being honored posthumously by the College Sports Communicators with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Johnson passed away in March, 2024. He was 47 years old.
Well-known and respected in the Sports Information/Athletics Communications field, Johnson was in his 26th year in the profession and his eighth season at MIT at the time of his passing.
In 2019, he was the recipient of the 2019 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Excellence in Communications Award for NCAA Division III Track and Field. In addition, Johnson was elected to the D3SIDA Board of Directors in the summer of 2019 and served as the Region 1 representative from 2019-2021. In that role, he was also a member of the D3SIDA Divisional Cabinet within the College Sports Communicators governance. Johnson served as the First Vice-President of the Eastern Athletic Communications Association (East-Comm) and was in his second year of a four-year term on the East-Comm Executive Board. He also received a College Sports Communicators award for 25 years of service in the athletic communications field.
Prior to his arrival at MIT, Johnson served as the Assistant Director of Athletics for Communications at Assumption University for five years. He was previously the Sports Information Director at Manhattanville College, the University of Bridgeport, and Saint Anselm College and began his career as an intern at Brown University.
Johnson was honored by the College Sports Communicators for his 25-year career in the field in 2023. Johnson was also the second vice president of the Eastern Athletic Communications Association and the recipient of the 2019 U.S. Track and Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association Excellence in Communications Award for NCAA Division III Track and Field.
Dr. G. Anthony Grant, MIT Director of Athletics/DAPER Department Head: "Ken cultivated many positive relationships with student-athletes, coaches, and staff throughout the department, as well as colleagues within our athletic conference and across the country. He displayed a genuine passion and commitment to promoting the tremendous accomplishments of our student-athletes and coaches. We are saddened by the news of Ken's passing and his presence here at MIT will be greatly missed."
Greg Royce, CUNY Athletic Conference Director of Communications: "Ken was the consummate professional throughout his time in the profession that was cut far too short. From the time I first met him at Saint Anselm, to Assumption and MIT, he made the athletics communications operations wherever he went better. He took great pride in the accomplishments of his student-athletes and coaches and reveled in the opportunity to be able to promote those accomplishments. Perhaps even more importantly, he was a friend to everyone he crossed paths with in the college sports industry, from fellow SIDs to coaches, student-athletes and administrators. His ability to connect with those who had been in the field forever to rookies who were perhaps in their first or second ECAC-SIDA or CoSIDA workshop and even his student workers was unparalleled, and he had a large network that spanned all parts of the country and divisions. I know he is missed to this day by all he crossed paths with."
Rusty Eggen, WPI Associate Athletic Director and SID: "I had the pleasure of being Ken’s colleague when he took over up the road from WPI at Assumption, and like we do in the city, we help each out when we are can with per diem gigs when we are short. KJ was able to craftly parlay the official scoring gig of a Division III Softball Super Regional into what was originally for some money that he would probably just reinvest with me at the Boynton at the end of the tournament. He turned that into making connections with the MIT people that just happened to be looking for a Director of Athletics Communications at MIT. The move to Cambridge made us conference colleagues and the opportunity to work and collaborate even more together. Ken was so proud to report on the successes and share the stories of all of his student-athletes while representing his entire department and campus community with the highest level of professionalism. He and I were also part of a cherished small group of other “SID’s for our generation” that often just check in on each other from time to time. Ken valued the relationships our field provides that allows you to be competitors on the scoreboard, colleagues in the office and friends in life."
Doug Monson, Emerson College Director of Athletic Communications: "I first got to know Ken during his time at Saint Anselm and while initially he was just a fellow NE10 colleague, he grew to be one of my better friends in the business. He was a person I could trust for advice, but also loved just texting and chatting while watching golf, darts or any other sporting event. Through this friendship, I could see how he loved the student-athletes he worked with and valued their experience at the institutions he served. He also dearly loved his family and especially loved spending down time with his nephew. I miss him every day, especially since joining the NEWMAC at Emerson, I think about him every time we play teams from MIT."
About the NEWMAC
The NEWMAC is an association of 12 selective academic institutions: Babson College, Clark University, U.S Coast Guard Academy, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, Salve Regina University, Smith College, Springfield College, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, that are committed to providing high quality competitive athletic opportunities for student-athletes within an educational and respectful environment that embodies the NCAA Division III Philosophy. The conference also partners with four Associate Members: Norwich University (Football), Simmons College (Rowing), SUNY Maritime College (Football), and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Football), while sponsoring 20 sports.