A veteran of the field with nearly a quarter century of experiences, Greg Royce, assistant athletic director for communications and operations at Goucher College, is being recognized for his exceptional career as one of two 2024 winners of the Eastern Athletic Communications Association (EAST-COMM) Irving T. Marsh Service Bureau Award.
The Irving T. Marsh Service Bureau Award, which is presented annually at the discretion of EAST-COMM, is bestowed upon one or two exemplary individuals who have exhibited excellence in the field of athletic communications.
Royce, who served as President of EAST-COMM during the 2021-22 academic year, will be honored at the association's annual awards dinner on June 27 (Thu.) at the Turf Valley Resort in Ellicott City, Md.
A native of Winchester, N.H., earned his bachelor's degree in sport management at New Hampshire College (now Southern New Hampshire University), where he learned about the sports information field as a student assistant under SID Tom McDermott's tutelage. It was McDermott's mentorship and guidance that truly gave Royce – who received his bachelor's degree in 2000 before earning a master's degree in the same discipline from SNHU in 2016 – an idea of the career he wanted to pursue.
"I started as an undergraduate working for Tom and was a sport management major who kind of went into school not really knowing what I wanted to do except work in sports. I began working with him as a freshman, and here I am working in the field 24 years later (in a full-time capacity)."
After receiving his bachelor's degree, Royce began his full-time venture into the communications field in the athletic media relations office at the University of New Hampshire, where he worked with all 24 of the Wildcats' Division I programs. From there, he served as the Sports Information Director at American International College in Springfield, Mass., for three years before returning home to his alma mater – SNHU – as its director of athletic communications for eight years. Royce publicized and promoted the Penmen's 2013 NCAA Division II national championship men's soccer program, among others, but just as importantly to him, he followed in McDermott's footsteps by mentoring numerous interns and student employees who embarked upon athletic communications careers post-graduation.
And for Royce, the people in the intercollegiate athletics industry are one of his biggest reasons he loves his profession.
"I enjoy getting to work with our student-athletes, coaches and staff. Every place that I have been, I have gotten to work with a lot of amazing people who have gone to do some great things. Being around that allows me to continue to enjoy what I do."
After all the time Royce spent in his native Granite State, he departed for Owings Mills, Md., in October of 2015 to serve a six-year stint as the Associate Athletic Director at Stevenson University. He was a vital member to the Mustangs' senior staff, before heading to the northern part of the Baltimore Beltway in September, 2021 to his current position at Goucher.
In addition to serving a previous tour as EAST-COMM's president, Royce has also served as the co-chair of the association's annual workshops at Turf Valley in 2022, and again this summer. He also has served in a per diem capacity on stat crews of the NFL's Baltimore Ravens, the Atlantic League's Spire City Ghost Hounds, the MLB Draft League's Frederick Keys, and for Athletes Unlimited in the sport of women's lacrosse.
And on June 27, Royce will be deservedly honored for his excellence in the field in front of his wife, Cathy, and his peers.
