ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — It was supposed to be a festive night for the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team.
The Bonnies had already clinched their first-ever outright Atlantic 10 regular-season title — 44 years in the making — and Tuesday evening, with a win over Dayton, they would become only the fourth team since the Reilly Center opened in the 1966-67 campaign, to go unbeaten at home.
But this wasn’t to be an evening for celebration and it had nothing to do with the 55-52 loss to the Flyers.
The night before, university president Dr. Dennis DePerro, two weeks after his 62nd birthday, died of Covid 19, hooked to a ventilator in a Syracuse hospital.
Though the RC was empty of fans, as it has been all season, there was no missing the tributes in his honor.
Before the game, his picture filled the mid-court scoreboard along with his date of birth and the day he died.
In the bottom row of the bleachers under the Hall of Fame room, a cutout of Dr. DrPerro rested on an easel fronted by a white cloth-covered table decorated with a spray of flowers.
The Bonnies wore warm-up shirts honoring his memory and their game uniforms had patches with intersecting Ds in his honor.
AFTER THE GAME, before even talking about the disappointing loss, coach Mark Schmidt reflected on DePerro’s passing.
“Not only did we lose our president, we lost a great man,” he said, adding of DePerro’s family. “I’m heartbroken for Sherry and the boys . He was a great leader and he did amazing things here in his short stay.
“He was a blue-collar guy, smart, but didn’t make anybody feel uncomfortable. He was a guy you could drink a beer with … he was a friend. I could walk into his office any time, sit down and talk to him. He really supported athletics, particularly men’s basketball.
“It’s a shame. We lost a great guy and he’s going to be hard to replace. It was a hard day today when we found out about his passing. You think about his family and what they’re going through and this great university,” said Schmidt, from Boston College, of DePerro, a Canisius slum. “He was like me, Jesuit-educated but he quickly became a Bonnie.”
The 14th year Bona coach added, “(Dennis) knew how important athletics is to this university and he understood how important basketball is. He was as supportive as any person on this campus. It starts from the top and when the top guy believes in athletics and its mission, believes in basketball and the importance of it, you’re in a good spot. He knew that and understood (it) and was extremely supportive. He was a boss, but he was a friend.”
Schmidt allowed, “This season is now a tribute to Dr. DePerro and all the things he’s done for us, for Bonaventure and for this community. He was one of us. He got it. There’s a lot of people that don’t get it, but he understood what this place was all about. He was very personable and down-to-earth … he had a doctor’s degree but he didn’t act like he had a doctorate.
“Back in 2018 when we lost to Florida in the (NCAA’s) second round (at Dallas), he gave me a hug. He was somebody that never overreacted and, as a boss, that’s the type of guy you want … somebody who’s always going to be there with you in good times and bad times. He never acted as if he was our boss … he was just a really good guy who did a great job at this university.”
He concluded, “I’ve been lucky. Sr. Margaret (Carney) and Dennis, I’ve had two really good presidents that have made my job that much easier.”
BONA ATHLETIC Director Tim Kenney added, “I keep telling people (Dennis) was a boss but he was also a friend and it’s very rare in this day and age that you have that. The first time we met was in his interview with senior management. When we were done, I sat with him for about 20 minutes… we had a break and we talked. I walked in to my colleagues and said, ‘There’s no question who should be president’ … it was Dennis. He exuded what this place was about … his kindness, his personality, he knew the student-athletes. You don’t see that with a lot of presidents.”
Kenney recalled, “Right before the fall semester, everyone was uptight (about) Covid and I remember him gathering everybody and saying, ‘Relax, we’ve worked hard, we’ve got (a plan) in place, it doesn’t mean it won’t sneak in but you’ve all done a phenomenal job.
“He just kept an even keel about him and some of my colleagues, their president didn’t have that and were acting too worried. But Dennis had a confidence in him. The person you knew was the way he led, there was no ego involved.”
He added of the players’ reaction to DePerro’s passing, “It was a shock. We all knew he had been in the hospital for a period of time, but we all had good hope he would ease himself out of it … there are so many recovery stories.”
Then there was the question of whether the game would be canceled.
“We talked about it for a second … ‘Should we play?’” Kenney admitted. “(But) the first thought that came to mind was him. I could picture him on my shoulder saying, ‘What are you doing, you idiot … you gotta play. Don’t stop because of me.’ We thought it would be better to honor him right now.”
Of course, the question that vexes the Bona A.D. is how this pandemic, which has disrupted this country’s way of life for a year and counting, also claimed the university’s revered president.
“As much as we’re trying to stop it from coming on-campus and do all the stuff we’ve done,” Kenney said, “it still got to him and took his life. It’s puzzling in the sense of ‘How?’
(Chuck Pollock, a Times Herald senior sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@oleantimesherald.com)
