Maroon and Grey of yesterday

Chris Black picked up his phone, paused, sighed, conceded and hung up. No one was available to co-ordinate the production of a lead-in segment from one tennis match to the other, and Black was the only one available to do it. Normally, it would have been fine, but this was in the middle of an interview.

He wolfed down the rest of lunch, got rid of his garbage and proceeded to do his best impression of an Olympic race walker. Black barrelled through the freshly painted cement hallways of the Sportsnet offices before entering the newsroom and immediately taking control of the situation. The 31-year-old was in his element: directing human traffic, prepping on-air personalities and co-ordinating the technology buffs.

What seems like disaster was wrapped up and put on live television within 20 minutes. Black remained calm and collected, showing off why he’s ascended to the rank of associate TV producer for one of the largest Canadian sports media after only eight years in the industry.

All of that began at McMaster University. Black started as an editor for the Silhouette and as a communications assistant for McMaster Athletics & Recreation during the rise of Marauder athletics.

“[2003] was the difference year for Mac. They were never a small university but they were starting to get deals with the Nike and Under Armour’s of the world. All the pieces were in place,” explained Black.

With the majority of the 1990’s yielding disappointing results and a coaching carousel, McMaster sports needed a reboot. In 1997, the school brought in Greg Marshall to lead the football program that had not seen an OUA playoff game in over 20 years. It was Marshall’s recruiting gift that would nab all-Canadian level talent for the Maroon and Grey, including Ben Chapdelaine, Kojo Aidoo, and CIS single-season rushing leader Jesse Lumsden.

“Marshall, Chapdelaine, Kyle Pyears, Aidoo, Lumsden… those guys laid the foundation for what is happening now,” said Black.

And it was 2003, the rushing record-shattering year that Marauder athletics engrained themselves as a larger cog in student life. Black explained that then-Communications co-ordinator Robert Hilson realized that Lumsden was going to put on a show and Mac should make a pre-emptive strike to create an even bigger spectacle.

It was Lumsden’s year when Mac’s football team started to walk around with a “big swagger” as Black described. These guys were good, and they knew it. While that squad didn’t win a Vanier Cup, they set a standard that has been surpassed by only the 2011 and 2012 squads.

Black aptly describes his time covering McMaster athletics as the “transition era.” In recent years, the Marauders have captured multiple OUA championship banners, handfuls of CIS medals and dozens of top-ten CIS rankings.

This is the golden age of McMaster athletics, and although eight years removed, you can guarantee that Black still bleeds Maroon and Grey.