For the Blaneys, It's All About Family

By: Rob Dunning

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Family has always come first for John and Mary Louise Blaney. So when their oldest son Jack chose to attend the University of Miami in 2005, it was an easy decision for the Blaneys to become a part of the Hurricanes’ family.

For decades, the couple had been loyal supporters of their children’s teams and schools. It only seemed natural that when Jack – and later daughter Sasha and son Taylor – chose to attend THE U, for the Blaneys to support a place their kids now call home.

“I’ve been supportive of the schools my kids were in since grade school,” John said. “Grade school, middle school, high school…I always feel it is part of my responsibility to give back to the institutions that are giving so much to my children. I think it is the parent’s responsibility to support these institutions. Ultimately I think it is also part of the responsibility of the graduates to provide support to Miami on an ongoing basis, as they can, going forward.”

Despite the fact that none of the Blaney children are student-athletes at Miami, John and Mary Louise have connected with the athletic department in addition to the university. Maybe more than any other program in the country, Miami’s academics and athletics are tied together in its image. The Blaneys recognize that.

“It’s amazing how many kids I have talked to over the years that came to Miami because of the athletics,” John said. “Obviously Jack wouldn’t have come without the academics, but Miami has the best of both worlds. Great academic reputation that is improving all the time plus they have big-time sports.”

The Blaneys, who live in Chicago, try and make it down to Miami as often as possible to not only visit their kids, but attend games and events on campus. And while like so many other supporters of the program, they love football and basketball, but their support runs deeper.

Last year, John and Mary Louise Blaney chose to give a generous donation that would be shared by all of the department’s Olympic Sports.

“Someone needed to continue to support these programs and provide these student-athletes with what it is that they need to compete,” John said. “Everyone always thinks about football, baseball, and basketball to a certain extent, but a lot of these other sports are still very important to have. If they don’t get the funding, they don’t get the recognition.”

As expected, family also played a big part in the decision.

“When my kids were in high school, I always supported the sports they participated in and they were never the big sports that people came out to see,” Blaney said. “They participated in tennis, cross country and those types of sports. I helped support those sports because they had a hard time raising money because other than the parents, no one came to watch.”

One of the beneficiaries of the Blaney’s generosity was head rowing coach Andrew Carter, who chose to recognize the family in naming one of his team’s rowing shells.

“The Blaney family has been very generous to the athletic department,” Carter said. “Their generosity has gone across all Olympic sports and thankfully our team is one of the beneficiaries. I felt it was only fitting to give John the opportunity to name one of our boats to show our appreciation for his support.”

John chose to name the boat, The Mary Louise, and on Feb. 21 at halftime of a women’s basketball game against Wake Forest, the boat was officially christened with the Blaneys in attendance.

“It was exceptionally cool,” John said. “We really enjoyed the game first of all. The women have a great team this year and doing great things.

“The ceremony itself was nice, John added. “My wife was very pleased. We had the opportunity to meet with coach Carter and his staff there and everything went well.”

The decision to name the boat The Mary Louise was an easy one for John, who said his wife is just as passionate as he is about the University of Miami.

“Mary Louise feels the same way I do about the school,” John said. “She loves the university and loves the athletics and understands why these teams that don’t get recognition on a day-to-day basis need our support.”

The Blaney’s clearly had a vision, one that is both unique and vital to the future success of so many teams at Miami.

“I didn’t want to give money that goes into a pot and I have no idea where it goes,” John said. “I am the kind of guy who wants to know where my money is spent and I felt like it was going to the right people.”