College of the Holy Cross | Holy Cross Magazine

Hockey parents ought to be committed-just as George and DeDe Ross have been ever since their sons, former Crusader hockey standouts George Jr. '92 and Michael '95, signed on with their first teams. Getting sleepy children to 5 a.m. practices on dark winter mornings, spending weekends cheering for the teams and investing years of waiting time went with the territory, along with making good friends and having great fun as they watched their sons develop into outstanding players. That territory broadened and the parents' commitment deepened when George Jr. and Mike took to the ice for Holy Cross.

George Sr. estimates that DeDe and he attended about 90 percent of their sons' games during their seven contiguous years of play at the College. Getting to all of those games from their Rye, N.Y., home meant traveling most of New England and beyond. This year, with George Jr. married and Michael just graduated from law school, George and DeDe Ross underscored both their commitment to their sons' shared avocation and their experience at Holy Cross by making a significant gift to the men's hockey program. Their gift, intended to underwrite the cost of renovating the men's locker room, will also create a powerful recruiting tool for the hockey program.

"My reason for making the gift was simple," said George Sr. "It was payback time. It was also a way to help the school in an area that my sons were involved in. In addition to each getting an excellent education and a degree, they devoted themselves to hockey at Holy Cross. They made great lifelong friends through the hockey program. My wife and I had seven years of fun and found good friends among the other parents who went to the games."

Two friends from the Holy Cross years that the Ross family plans to keep for life are Rev. Michael Ford, S.J., whom George Sr. calls "the chaplain of the hockey team," and the current men's hockey (and baseball) coach, Paul Pearl '89. Fr. Ford, who visits with the Ross family several times a year, officiated at George Jr.'s wedding. Pearl, whom Ross Sr. says was "just a kid" when the family first met him, played his senior year on the same hockey team as then-freshman George Jr. After graduation, Pearl went on to teach and coach at a private school. He later returned to The Hill after coaching stints at UConn and Brown.

"The Ross family has stayed involved with Holy Cross hockey," said Pearl. "They are still great supporters of the program. This past year, when we played at Iona, they were all there. I was thrilled to hear from Fr. Ford that Mr. Ross wanted to do something for the hockey program."

That something, the renovation of the men's locker room, was completed this fall, according to Pearl. The men's hockey locker room, a vestige from the early 1970s, was old at 26. Its age was apparent in its too-few, too-small lockers; in its poorly ventilated shower area and in its exposed ductwork and rafters where there now is a ceiling. Pearl noted, that while the locker room was clean and well-maintained, it was not adequate for a Division I level program that needs not only lockers for its players but "a strong recruiting tool as well."

Thanks to the great generosity of George and DeDe Ross, the refurbished locker room at last has a dropped ceiling, 30 wooden lockers that are about four inches wider than the old ones, a new carpet with a logo, an area for reviewing game tapes between periods and during practice, and a completely refurbished restroom/shower area with ventilation, among other amenities.

"We didn't knock down any walls," Pearl said. "We just refit the space we had to make it useful and comfortable for our players and attractive to potential recruits. When I take recruits on tours next summer, we'll have a visible symbol of how serious we are about our hockey program. We have a great rink, great conditioning facilities in the Smith Wellness Center and now, thanks to George Ross, we have the third piece, a great locker room."

They will also have the strong support of George Sr. and his family through each season. "This was a gift from the heart," Ross said. "The hockey program has great spirit, and I think that Pearl, Peter Van Buskirk (former coach and current director of the Hart Center), and Fr. Ford have done a great job. Holy Cross and hockey did a lot for my boys. I believe that you should give back."