McBride, Bryant 1965–

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Bryant McBride 1965–

Professional hockey administrator

Bryant McBride could have succeeded in any field he chose, but he wanted to combine his success in business with his love of hockey in his present position as the National Hockey League’s (NHL) Director of New Business Development. McBride followed his mother Julia’s first lesson that you can be anything you want and became the highest-ranking minority executive in the NHL. He is also one of the few African Americans in the NHL.

McBride was born on May 30, 1965 in Chicago, Illinois. His mother remarried a Canadian citizen, William McBride. At the age of five the family moved to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, near Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. McBride played hockey, soccer, and football as a child, but hockey quickly became his favorite sport. Even in Canada the Sault Ste. Marie area is considered a hotbed of hockey activity having produced upwards of 40 players that went on to the NHL including the legendary Episito brothers (Phil and Tony) and Ron Francis, who was a contemporary and regular opponent of McBride’s when the two were growing up. McBride was not just an athlete as a child. Both of his parents encouraged him to try everything that interested him from sports to singing. He was a member of an accomplished choir as a child that toured all over Canada and the British Isles and has continued his interest in singing throughout his life. McBride graduated from Bawating High School in 1983 and was a good enough hockey player to attract the interest of West Point Military Academy. Since his mother was an American citizen, the door to West Point was open.

The Academy wanted him to get some experience at an American school, so McBride attended Williston North Hampton, a prep school in East Hampton, MA. After one year there, McBride made his way to West Point. The future executive’s impact was immediate. In 1984 he became the first black class president in the history of the service academy. McBride also played hockey and was a member of the Glee Club. Despite his success and the close ties he had with his classmates, after one and a half years, McBride decided to leave West Point. “West Point is one of the greatest schools in the world at what it does; And that’s train Army officers,” McBride said in a personal interview with CBB “I just realized that becoming an officer was not what I wanted to do,” he continued. McBride went on to Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut in 1986. The Division II school offered him a scholarship to play hockey, but he had become more serious about his future and chose the school more for its academic reputation. On the ice McBride led his team to three Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships and was named Division II All-American in 1988. He was also the school’s first black class president his senior year.

McBride’s concentration on academics served him well as he went from undergraduate school to Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and earned

At a Glance…

Born Bryant Scott McBride, May 30, 1965, in Chica go, IL; son of Julia McBride (advertising executive); married Tina McBride; children: Taylor Jake McBride. Education: Graduated Bawating High School in 1983; Attended Williston North Hampton Prep School in 1984; Attended West Point Service Academy; graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, 1988; Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, Masters, public administration, 1990.

Career: Worked at Aldrich, Eastman, and Waltch, 1990-92; Pioneer Institute, 1992-93; Taubman Companies, chief of staff to chairman, 1993; National Hockey League, director of New Business Development, 1993-.

Honors/awards; Named the first black class president in West Point history while there: earned Division II All-American Honors in hockey, 1988; Trinity College first minority class president,

Memberships: Serves on the Boards of All Hallows High School and the New York Road Runners Club.

Addresses: Office—National Hockey League, 1251 Avenue of Americas, 47th Floor, New York, New York, 10020.

a masters in Public Administration in 1990. His first job after school was with pension fund company called Aldritch, Eastman, and Waltch. He began his career buying real estate for the pension fund fiduciary. It was at Aldritch, Eastman, and Waltch, McBride met his future wife Tina. He and the office manager became friends and then dated for six months secretly before announcing to their colleagues that they were getting married. While Tina went on to Columbia University to get her teaching degree, McBride left his job in 1992 to work with the Pioneer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. He became the director of Better Government Competition which provided grants to Bostonians who could find ways to save the government money. With his $5,000 grants, McBride saved the state $13 million in one year. In 1993 McBride moved to Bloomfield Hills, Michigan to become the chief of staff to the chairman of the Taubman Companies.

In the late summer of 1993 Gary Bettman was named commissioner of the NHL. McBride had a friend who worked with the Detroit Red Wings. The Red Wings executive faxed McBride’s resume to Bettman in New York and soon McBride was on a plane to meet the new commissioner. After their meeting McBride was named the director of New Business Development with the charge to grow the game and by giving more people a chance to play hockey. He divided his duties into four categories. His first task was to build more community ice rinks. With people of all ages going to the rink at all hours of the day and night in some communities, clearly demand had outstripped the supply. McBride spearheaded the construction of new rinks in New Hampshire, Connecticut, Indiana, and Michigan. Secondly McBride wanted to attract more minority kids to the sport. He was called names on the ice and though he responded only by telling the offending opponent to “keep his head up,” McBride wanted to make the experience of playing hockey less intimidating for the next generation of minority players. “I never had a black teammate,” McBride told CBB “I hope that the experience won’t be quite as daunting and that in the future there will be 30 to 40 minority kids in the NHL,” he added.

When he began his tenure with the NHL, there were only six hockey organizations for inner-city kids across the United States and Canada. Today, with the help of the NHL and USA Hockey, McBride has created a Diversity Task Force made up of 26 inner-city organizations across North America. He has even recruited Willie Oree, the first black player in the NHL, to give clinics and serve as a role model to young African American kids who might have an interest in hockey. Thirdly, McBride is in charge of the NHL ASSIST Program. ASSIST is an acronym for Assists Shooters and Skaters in Succeeding Together. The plan gives $100,000 a year to needy hockey organizations around the world. ASSIST has provided grants for hockey players in Hungary and Romania as well as for handicapped programs and girls teams in the United States. In addition to these ventures, McBride serves as the League’s representative in monitoring the European Hockey League which may someday provide an avenue for the NHL’s expansion into Europe.

Though his duties with the NHL keep him busy, McBride does have time for outside interests. He is on the Board of All Hallows High School in the South Bronx and serves on the Board of the New York Road Runners Club. McBride had a curiosity about marathons, so he trained and tried one and found that he loved running. By 1998, he had run seven Boston Marathons and three New York Marathons. He credits his parents with his ability to continue to try new things and be successful. McBride told CBB his father was “all about patience and perseverance” and his mother he called an amazing woman who was the first person in her family to graduate from college. McBride summed up his attitude—which is reflected in his work taking the NHL to places its never been before and in his personal life when it comes to trying new things: “I don’t ever want to be pigeon-holed. Who know’s what I’ll do next? There’s all kinds of great stuff out there.”