Whitelaw Returns to ECAC Hockey
ALBANY, N.Y. -- As part of the league’s 50th anniversary
celebration, former commissioner Robert M.
“Scotty” Whitelaw will be presenting
the championship trophy at this evening’s tournament finale.
On March 9, 1989 the league paid tribute to the former commissioner
by announcing that the ECAC Men’s Hockey Championship trophy
would be named the “Robert M. ‘Scotty’ Whitelaw
Cup.
In his long career, 1960 to 1989, with the Eastern College Athletic
Conference, Scotty Whitelaw worked with many sports, but his most
significant contributions were to eastern college hockey. He helped
to organize the National Ice Hockey Officials organization in 1956,
he was the architect of the annual ECAC Hockey tournament, which
began in 1962, and he was a tireless crusader for better rules,
better officiating, better coaching, better championships –
all with an eye on providing the best possible experience for the
student athletes.
Whitelaw joined the ECAC in 1960 as Assistant Commissioner, two
years before the ECAC Division
I Ice Hockey Championship was formalized. He
became commissioner of the nation’s largest athletic
conference in 1972 after the retirement of George L. Shiebler, and
served in that capacity until his retirement on June 30, 1989.
During his term as commissioner, Whitelaw was instrumental in
helping the ECAC grow and prosper. Nearly 50 colleges and
universities joined the ECAC during Whitelaw’s tenure as
commissioner, and when he retired, the conference sponsored over 90
men’s and women’s championships in 19 sports. Further,
Whitelaw helped implement the ECAC’s move in 1973 from the
Royal Manhattan Hotel in New York to its current location in
Centerville, Massachusetts.
Whitelaw served many roles while with the ECAC. He was on the
Executive Board of the National Football Foundation and Hall of
Fame and served as an advisor to the Metropolitan Intercollegiate
Basketball Association, the sponsor of the National Invitation
Tournament. He also served on numerous NCAA committees.
