Former Southern Sports Information Director and Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), Alcorn State (retired) selected to the CSC Hall of Fame Class of 2025

"I worked with Lonza Hardy at Alcorn State when he was SID. It's an often over-used cliché, but Lonza was the consummate professional and certainly earned this Hall of Fame honor. He worked hard, was smart, and was respected everywhere he worked. He was among the best in the business, mentoring students, advising other sports communicators, ADs and athletics staff members."
- Dr. Dennis E. Thomas, retired Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Commissioner

"The biggest joy I experienced in working in our profession was knowing that you have helped to make the dreams of young student-athletes come true. Years and decades later you get satisfaction when many of them still message you, thanking you for the efforts you made in making their names household names in the sports world. If I had to rewrite the script of my career, there would be little that I would change."
- Lonza Hardy, CSC Hall of Fame Class of 2025

A few months before Lonza Hardy Jr. was to receive his undergraduate degree in journalism in 1978 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he envisioned landing a news reporting position with one of the nation's major daily newspapers. 

But as fate would have it, that never happened. Instead, an offer came from Albany State University in Georgia to serve as its Sports Information Director (SID), a profession foreign to Hardy at the time. But he needed to pay his bills, so he took it with some apprehension.

"I didn't fully comprehend what I was getting into, but I took a chance and accepted the offer," Hardy recounted recently, adding "I have never had any regrets or second thoughts."

That decision by Hardy some 47 years ago launched one of the most stellar, productive and rewarding journeys of anyone in our profession. The decision, perhaps one which he may have thought was a stepping stone to someplace else, blossomed into a Hall of Fame career, spanning over four decades. 

Hardy is among six former and current college sports communicators scheduled for induction into the College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA) Hall of Fame during the organization's 2025 Convention set for June 8-11 in Orlando, Fla. He will be honored on June 9th during the CSC All-Star Night of Honors awards event, presented by ESPN.
 

"I never thought I would spend my entire career working in college athletics, let alone in sports information," Hardy said. "But I give thanks to incredible mentors like legendary athletics director and football coach Marino Casem at Alcorn State and Southern; Dr. James Frank, the late commissioner of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC); and later longtime MEAC commissioner Dr. Dennis Thomas. 

They all made working in the profession enjoyable, and that's the reason the sports information field and college athletics became a life-long vocation for me. They, and others like them, valued the role I played in helping to elevate the stature of college athletics, particularly at Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and on the Division I-AA (now FCS) level."

From his earliest days in the sports information field as a public information specialist at Albany State (1980), to his climb to his first full-time NCAA Division I SID position at Alcorn State (1980-86) and tenure as SID at Southern University (1986-1989), to years as public relations director at the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC, 1989-1995), and to his eventual rise to Athletics Director at three universities, Hardy demonstrated a vision that enhanced the lives of so many students and lifted the brand at every stop. 

"I worked with Hardy at Alcorn State when he was SID," said Dr. Thomas, retired MEAC Commissioner recently. "It's an often over-used cliché, but Lonza was the consummate professional and certainly earned this Hall of Fame honor. He worked hard, was smart, and was respected everywhere he worked. He was among the best in the business, mentoring students, advising other SIDs, ADs and athletics staff members."

Sam Jefferson, retired SID at Jackson State and a CSC (CoSIDA) Hall of Famer, echoes the words of Dr. Thomas.

"Lonza Hardy, whom I consider a personal friend, is a consummate professional, with an exemplary body of work," Jefferson said. "He has been cited for excellence at each of his professional stops. His upcoming induction into the CSC Hall of Fame is a deserving honor for a man who has achieved so much in the areas of sports information and athletics administration."
 

Hardy began his enviable career as sports information director at Albany State, where his spent three years (1978-80) before embarking on a nearly four-decade tenure in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), as SID at Alcorn State (1980-86) and Southern (1986-1989), a decade in which he earned SWAC SID of the Year four times.

Hardy, a New York native who grew up in Pleasant Hill, NC, later moved to the SWAC office, where he eventually became the league's first assistant commissioner (1995) and later associate commissioner (1998).

He followed his SWAC tenure with a stint as Athletics Director at Mississippi Valley State (2001-07), a stretch that saw the men's and women's teams win several conference titles. He enjoyed similar success at Hampton (2007-11) of the MEAC, before returning to the SWAC as Director of Athletics at Arkansas-Pine Bluff (UAPB) where he restructured the school's compliance and academic services and oversaw a significant increase in student-athlete graduation rates as well as athletics fundraising. UAPB also won the 2012 SWAC Football Championship under Hardy's leadership, the first outright title in school history in the sport.

Harlan "Stefann" Robinson, who worked as a graduate student under Hardy at Alcorn State, heaped praise on Hardy as did others who worked with the future hall of famer.

"Lonza served as an invaluable mentor to me. His guidance not only shaped my career in college athletics, but also contributed significantly to my personal development," said Robinson, now the Texas Southern Assistant AD for Operations and Facilities Management. " This Hall of Fame recognition is well-deserved as Lonza consistently exemplified professionalism and excellence."

Another mentee, Alyse Wells-Kilbert, who worked alongside Hardy at Mississippi Valley and UAPB, called him an exceptional person and talented administrator.

"He was courteous, caring and very talented as an administrator," noted Wells-Kilbert. "A meticulous writer, proofreader, and event planner, he had the uncanny ability to listen and offer sound advice. He shaped my thought process as an athletics administrator."
 

After years away from the profession, which granted him more time to spend precious moments with family and friends, something that is oftentimes rare in the profession, Hardy put his 'hat' back on and joined the MEAC in September 2018 to serve as media relations and research consultant. 

He assisted the league in the creation of sport-by-sport records books, the implementation of the MEAC Digital Network and other long-term projects designed to preserve and highlight the history of both the conference and HBCU athletics as a whole.

When asked about his return to work and how he managed to somehow maintain some semblance of balance in his life, Hardy had a quick response.

"When I got the occasion to spend precious time with family and friends, I considered it important," Hardy said. "I savored every moment and tried to leave work behind. Regardless of the level of exhilaration you get from working in college sports, there is no greater love than the love of being with family and friends."

Hardy's long and distinguished career has not gone unnoticed as he has received a number of prestigious awards during his journey. In 2018, he was named to the SWAC Hall of Fame. He was previously honored with the CSC Lifetime Achievement Award, the 25-Year Award and the Good Person Community Service (now Bob Kenworthy) Award. And soon, he will join other distinguished professionals in receiving CSC's top award.

"Being honored by College Sports Communicators with its Hall of Fame Award ranks high on my list." Hardy said. "It symbolizes not just your longevity in the profession, but also the appreciation that your peers have for your work and career. It is particularly gratifying.

"The biggest joy I experienced in working in our profession was knowing that you have helped to make the dreams of young student-athletes come true. Years and decades later you get satisfaction when many of them still message you, thanking you for the efforts you made in making their names household names in the sports world. If I had to rewrite the script of my career, there would be little that I would change."