In 23 years as an SID, McDonald did more than just perform all the necessary functions in the most professional and productive manner. He taught those who worked with him and – more importantly – inspired them to go forward and become industry difference makers in their own right.

Even before he was named a 2011 CoSIDA Hall of Fame inductee, McDonald’s legacy was assured through the legion of his former assistants and students who are currently prominent figures in all levels of college athletics and beyond.

Those who benefited first hand from McDonald’s passion and compassion include: Herb Vincent, the Associate Vice Chancellor for University Relations and Senior Associate Athletic Director at LSU; Doug Ireland, the Sports Information Director at Northwestern State (La.) and Chairman of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame; Pat Murphy the head softball coach at the University of Alabama; and Joe Lynch, the Executive Director of Alumni Relations at Gettysburg College (Pa.).

There are so many others. It is a group as broad and diverse as McDonald’s own talents, which were apparent at an early age and which have been recognized repeatedly throughout his professional life.

As a student at Northwestern State, he was the student assistant SID under Pesky Hill and also spent two years on the campus newspaper. McDonald was part of the group that founded the school’s first radio station, KNSU, in 1974. All the while he relentlessly pursued his degree, which he earned in three years.

After one year in the newspaper industry, Northwestern State hired him – at 22 years old – to be the head SID of its Division I athletics department. After four years, he went to then Southwestern Louisiana (now Louisiana), where he spent the next 19 years.

He won numerous CoSIDA awards for writing and media guides and served two years on the CoSIDA Board of Directors. He enhanced his profile during that time as a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee media relations staff for two Olympic Games (Seoul, 1988 and Atlanta, 1996) and six U.S. Olympic Festivals. He also served two years as president, after a two-year term as vice president, of the Louisiana Sports Writers Association and remains a member of that group’s Executive Committee and Hall of Fame Committee.

He left then-USL to become senior sports writer at the Lafayette Daily Advertiser and over the next nine years won 31 writing awards from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association, including three ‘Writer of the Year’ awards in a five-year span.