This article was originally published in the Colgate Maroon-News in December 2008. 

Last spring, Ken Schanzer ’66 was invited to come back to campus and speak to Colgate seniors as a part of Colgate’s “Real World” program. For weeks before his speech, Schanzer agonized over why Colgate had wanted him to speak to seniors. But suddenly, it struck him. He decided that Colgate was interested in something other than his position as President of NBC Sports for the last ten years.

“I am here to give you hope,” he told the seniors. “Because 44 years ago I graduated from Colgate with a 2.2 average, and I’m here giving this speech today.”

This week, Mr. Schanzer spoke to the Maroon-News about that speech and his career with NBC Sports.

Recalling his opening lines, Schanzer laughed and remembered, “I had a great time. Colgate is a great place to go to school.”

While at Colgate, Schanzer was a Political Science major and a member of the fraternity Phi Kappa Psi, and he described his participation in the Greek system as a “terrific experience.”

Phi Kappa Psi is no longer a registered fraternity on campus, but Mr. Schanzer did not feel strongly about its absence at Colgate. He described himself as, “ambivalent about it,” and admitted that while he understands some alumni are upset about the number of houses on campus, he does not know enough about the situation to be affected by it.

And although Colgate had fifteen registered fraternities on campus in 1966 compared to today’s six, Schanzer was quick to point out that the largest difference between then and now is much more obvious.

“I am on the cultural divide because I graduated in ’66,” he said, “For people on that side of the divide the starkest difference is the addition of women.”

However, while Colgate has changed over the years, Schanzer stressed that all Colgate alumni share a unique relationship, regardless of what year they graduated.

“The thing that is interesting about Colgate is that you know that someone went to Colgate very early in your relationship with them,” he said. “Some schools are schools that people wear on their sleeves, others are places that simply become a part of the mosaic that it is their lives. Colgate is the kind of place that people wear on their sleeves.”

Mr. Schanzer went on to say that his connections to Colgate have followed him throughout his career. From the time that he graduated from law school at Columbia in 1970, he has worked with fellow Colgate alums to the present day. He mentioned one alumnus in particular, United States Golf Association Executive Director, David Fay.

Fay works with NBC Sports during the USGA championships, and they have developed a close friendship over the years. Schanzer and Fay keep a close correspondence, and on the morning of his interview with the Maroon-News

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