University of Delaware Athletics
Delaware Athletics Mourns Loss of Longtime Sports Medicine Nurse Mary Zagar
7/24/2017 5:29:00 PM | Delaware Athletics
NEWARK, Del. -- The University of Delaware Athletics community was saddened by the loss of former longtime sports medicine nurse Mary Zagar, who passed away suddenly on Monday morning, July 24.
Mary was a beloved figure who served UD Athletics for many years until her retirement last fall. Over a nearly 40-year career, she served as a nurse, mentor, friend, and adopted mother to thousands of Blue Hen student-athletes.
Below is a feature that appeared in the Oct. 22 edition of the Blue Gridder football gameday program this past fall honoring Mary on her retirement.
Funeral arrangements and other details were not immediately available.
The Personal Touch: Sports Medicine Nurse Mary Zagar Wraps Up Nearly 40-Year Career Caring for Blue Hen Student-Athletes
By Vanessa Hannafin
University of Delaware Athletics Media Relations Student Intern
NEWARK, Del. (Oct., 22, 2016) -- In this day and age, the average college graduate will switch jobs four times during their first decade out of college. In this fast-moving society, frequent job changes have certainly become the norm.
However, for University of Delaware Sports Medicine Nurse Mary Zagar, that couldn't be further from reality.
She was the first full-time nurse in sports medicine for Blue Hen Athletics and spent an incredible 39 years on the south campus before retiring this past summer.
Zagar began her work on the football field, giving that personal touch and motherly advice to hundreds of student-athletes over the years.
And that's also where she will be ending her work.
Although she has retired from her full-time duties in the Bob Carpenter Center Sports Medicine Clinic, she is closing out her career by working one final season during home football games at Delaware Stadium this fall.
Working alongside of Sports Medicine Physician and Assistant Director of Athletics Dr. Andrew Reisman, she will be passing on her wealth of knowledge and experiences to her successors, Lori Duhamell and Michelle Corrozi.
And she'll be bringing her career full circle.
“Mary has been the heart and soul of the Sports Medicine Clinic from its inception,” said Reisman, who joined the UD staff in 2006 and was one of nine sports medicine physicians who had the pleasure of working closely with “Nurse Mary”. “She always had a great ability to make the students feel comfortable and welcome. Players would come in just to talk with her when they felt lost or lonely. She had an unwavering commitment to all of the student-athletes and never missed a day of work or a game.”
After growing up in Pennsylvania, Zagar graduated nursing school and soon thereafter moved just south to begin her career at Delaware. She first spent several years working with UD Student Health Services, and then transitioned to aid the athletic programs, serving as a sports medicine nurse to countless athletes over the years.
Initially, an extension was added to the Delaware Field House for the sports medicine unit and she worked with the team physician there until the Bob Carpenter Center opened in 1992.
Although Zagar earned certifications in sports medicine, she describes her role as extensive on-the-job learning, especially in the early part of her career when the “sports medicine” area of medicine was not yet well-established.
Learning on the job is part of why Zagar sums up her time at Delaware as an adventure, with everyday bearing a new experience.
While she worked long hours and days as well as nights and weekends across a variety of programs, a comforting theme she found across all sports was what a pleasure it was to work with such a unique group of student-athletes.
“It's really been a good thing for me. I really enjoyed it,” she says of her career. “I had the chance to work with not only so many great student-athletes, but with outstanding, talented physicians over the years. I learned plenty from each and every one that came through.”
With the sports medicine and athletic training staffs working so closely together, she expressed how helpful and what great allies she also had just down the hall.
“We've been very fortunate to have so many great athletic trainers here as well,” she noted.
While learning on the job has always been the foundation of her experience, Zagar says she continued to learn even more after the sports medicine program welcomed the addition of Fellows from nearby Christiana Hospital and Crozer Hospital to the staff.
Zagar certainly has countless memories of her time at Delaware. She acknowledged some of the scary moments when athletes suffered significant injuries, but with a highly-capable and caring staff on hand, she knew that student-athletes were always in good hands.
But her favorite memories include seeing former student-athletes who return to campus after graduation to say hello. She beams when talking about how they've grown up from young adults to mature men and women with careers and families.
The seasonality component of sports medicine also added to the variety of her experiences. With different sports belonging to different seasons, the nature of the job continually changed and kept things challenging and interesting.
She particularly enjoyed caring for college-aged student-athletes.
“They're a particularly good age group,” she says. “I can't think of a single negative thing to say about my experience working with students. If I did, I never would have worked her for 39 years. It's been a blessing.”
But that doesn't mean she couldn't be tough on her kids when she had to.
“I always loved to watch Mary go after an athlete twice her size,” remembers Dr. Reisman fondly. “She had a way of making sure they did what they needed to do to take care of themselves. And if they argued with her – I never doubted who would win.”
In addition to working with and treating student-athletes, Zagar also expressed gratitude for the wonderful relationships she built with members of the Blue Hen coaching and athletics support staffs.
While she was especially close with some, she says there was no one she didn't get along with. She has nothing but good memories of everyone.
It's safe to say they feel the same way about her.
“Mary is a great lady,” said former Delaware men's soccer head coach, assistant wrestling coach, and UD Athletics Hall of Fame member Loren Kline. “She's been there forever, and I love the cooperation our athletes got from her. They really liked her because not only was she their nurse, she was like a mother to all of them.”
Former Blue Hen head football coach Tubby Raymond, who spent countless Saturdays sharing the same sidelines with Zagar, echoed those sentiments.
“Mary has always been a very, very nice lady and very compassionate,” said the Hall of Fame head coach, who won 300 football games over a 36-year career as head coach for the Blue Hens. “She was always ready to help the kids whenever and wherever it may be. We'll miss her dearly. She is a very important part of that group.”
Another former Delaware head coach with great memories of Zagar is Mike Brey, who led the Blue Hens to two NCAA Tournament appearances before moving on to Notre Dame where he has led the Fighting Irish to national prominence over the last 16 seasons.
Brey recalled how Zagar helped him find his first house when he moved to Delaware from Duke in 1995.
She knew of a nearby house up for sale and recommended it to him. Trusting her taste, he went to look at the house and ended up buying it.
"Mary was great with the men's basketball program,” praised Brey. “She was the ultimate professional and you could tell she knew her stuff."
With physicians, co-workers, coaches, and student-athletes having nothing but positive things to say about her, it's clear that Zagar gave it her all throughout her career.
She saw numerous changes during her time at Delaware and had the chance to see the University grow and evolve first-hand.
There have been many milestones in the athletic world over the last 40+ years, including the implementation of Title IX in 1972 that mandated institutions provide equal opportunity in education programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance.
Zagar notes how proud she was that Delaware kept up with the times as she saw more and more women's teams added over the years. She smiles when she thinks about how far those programs have come and that so many young student-athletes gained opportunities to compete.
With all the great memories of her career still moving around inside her head, Zagar says she is getting used to retirement and has a lot of things to catch up on.
University of Delaware athletics will certainly miss her, as will 40 years worth of coaches, staff, and especially student-athletes who wish her all the best in her retirement and thank her for her extraordinary service to the University.
MEDIA INFORMATION: Contact Scott Selheimer | selheime@udel.edu | Office: 302-831-8007 | Cell: 302-562-5129
