Unpaid And Overlooked, But A Job Well Worth It

Check out this article that was published in the Boston College Student Newspaper "Heights" about their men's basketball student managers.
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By Brad Zak
Heights Staff
February 13, 2011

Many of you reading this have taken an unpaid internship at one time or another. It always requires doing a lot of the dirty work that other employees of the company are unwilling to do. Whereas you might have been annoyed to not receive any compensation for your tasks, a very important group on campus embraces that same exact situation. That group is the managers of the Boston College men's basketball team or as it could be more aptly put, the "glue guys" of the program.

Every basketball coach wants their program to represent a family and this Eagles team has a solid group assembled to handle the household chores. Tim McLaughlin, Walter Graber, Scott Mulloy, Kat Collazo, Brad Fadem, Leslie McDonald, Nick Swiggett, Tom Higginbotham, Chris Nardone, and Charlie Dorn comprise the staff of BC's men's basketball managers and keep the operation running smoothly.

Woody Kampmann, DOBO

"Our guys respect them, and I think that's important with our managers," said Wood Kampmann, director of basketball operations. "Coach [Donahue]'s big thing is to treat everyone the same. I think these guys are appreciated by the players, and they realize they are putting their own time and not getting paid to do it. After practice, a guy will grab a manager and they will shoot around. These guys seem to have some very good relationships with the players."

The entire process seems to hinge on that respect because a good team realizes the importance of every member and sees things as a group effort. Many of the managers have been there for at least two years and have built relationships with the players with whom they've gone through the program. The unique nature of this basketball program takes that even further now, as walk-on John Cahill use to be an intramural teammate of McLaughlin's..

The managers are often found behind the bench during games doling out water to fatigued players, passing out towels, mopping the floors, and providing any other help where necessary. They get there about two hours prior to game time and set up both team's locker rooms and benches.

The duties expand even more when it comes to practice time. The managers are expected to be at every practice about 45 minutes before it starts and providing any other help where necessary. They get there about two hours prior to game time and set up both teams' locker rooms and benches.

Both McLaughlin and Graber expressed a passion for the game as the main reason for their involvement with the program. All of the managers love to shoot around after practice and will play pick up with members of the coaching staff. As former players, they wanted the game to remain a central part of their life and become a part of the basketball team in college.

Managing the basketball team is a stepping-stone for many members of the staff who have future aspirations of working in basketball. McLaughlin would like to be a coach in the future and feels his time with BC's program has given him many connections to the college coaching community. He works camps over the summer to gain experience and has already adopted the transient coaching lifestyle, making camp stops at BC, Babson, and on Long Island. He hopes to one day coach at the college level and continue to devote himself to the game he's always loved.

Steve Donahue, Head Coach

"It's fun to get involved during practices sometimes because most of us play basketball and that aspect of it is definitely one of the reasons we got into it," McLaughlin said. "We make good relationships with the coaches and I still try to keep in touch with the old coaches. We just try to do whatever we can do to help and if that leads to them helping us out in the future, that would be a huge help."

McLaughlin is the most senior member of the group and was recently named the ACC's liaison to the National Association of Collegiate Basketball Managers. Duke and UNC may be the leaders of the conference but BC is starting to attract first-rate manager talent. McLaughlin helps spread the word about the association's mission and current objectives. 

As with everyone in the program, the coaching change last year meant a big change for the staff of managers. When former coach Al Skinner left, there was a complete overhaul of day-to-day operations and how the program would be run. The job remains mostly the same, but the process was still a transition for everybody.

"We do a little less film work with the new coaches," Graber said. "The old coaches use to have us break down every game into individual plays and how they mostly just clop the games themselves. We still help with other facets of the film work but it's to a lesser degree. We get to help a lot more during practice and in the drills."

Away games are the big payoff for the managers as they get to travel with the team and take their talents along the coast. Road trips are a chance to see what lies outside the humble confines of Conte Forum and experience some of the most prestigious venues in college basketball. McLaughlin shuffled through pictures in his phone that showed pre-game rituals of the Clemson basketball team that was topped off by a 30-foot portrait of a tiger with eyes that ominously lit up bright orange.

"We work a lot with Woody on road trips to make sure everything runs smoothly," McLaughlin said. "We make sure we have everything we need for trips such as food, deliveries, receipts, setting wake up calls. Road trips are definitely one of the big perks of being a manager. There is no way I would have ever gone to Cameron Indoor [Duke] and I'm going to the Dean Dome [UNC]. I've been a college basketball junkie since I was a little kid, and it's so awesome to see those places."

The trips are a huge perk, but they are far from vacation. Only two managers get to travel with the team on road trips, meaning they have to do the work usually required of the entire staff on game day. When the team takes their talents to South Beach or Tobacco Road, the managers are expected to be there working hard every step of the way.

"We don't get much acclaim," McLaughlin said.

It's never been about that with the managers of the basketball team. Just a love of the game and the occasional newspaper article.