Joe Reyda, longtime athletic director at Gonzaga, was a man for others

August 08, 2024

There is a phrase that is used often at Gonzaga College High, the private Catholic institution in Northwest Washington. It is a mantra, a slogan, a way of life: “Men for others.”

It’s about selflessness, service and loyalty. It’s about being there for the people you love and people you don’t even know.

Joe Reyda — Gonzaga’s longtime athletic director, who died Tuesday at 55 after suffering an apparent heart attack, the school announced — was a man for others. When friends and colleagues describe Reyda, that phrase peppers their thoughts and recollections.

“He didn’t just believe that idea; he lived it,” Eagles basketball coach Steve Turner said. “He showed you by example every day that he was true to that mantra.”

Reyda graduated from Gonzaga in 1985 and never strayed too far from Eye Street. He returned to the school as an assistant football coach in 1989, while he was a student at Catholic University, and never left. He served as assistant dean of students, assistant athletic director and director of special events before taking over as athletic director in 2001.

“If you were at Gonzaga in the 1980s — and especially our class of 1985 — having Joe there at Gonzaga was a source of pride for all of us,” said classmate John Ourand, now a reporter for Sports Business Journal, “because of the way he carried himself, how he conducted himself and just how successful he was. We all took great pleasure in how well Joe did at Gonzaga.”

In Reyda’s 22 years leading the department, Gonzaga was one of the most successful prep programs in the D.C. area and the country. The Eagles won more than 100 league titles in the competitive Washington Catholic Athletic Conference.

“I’d call him a silent visionary. He wanted every program to be good, to be coached by good people and to have a DNA of doing things the right way,” former colleague and longtime friend Bill Whitaker said. “He leaves a huge void in so many ways. … I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that in the history of Gonzaga he was one of the three or four most influential people to walk on that campus.”

He coached football for 18 seasons, including three as the head coach. He also was the golf coach for nine seasons. He was a stoic leader, the type who earned respect without theatrics.

“He had this discipline about him,” said 1996 graduate Casey O’Neill, who went on become the school’s lacrosse coach. “There was a sternness, but you never felt like he was against you. Instead, you wanted to work really hard for him because you knew he believed in you.”

He employed a similar style as athletic director, giving his coaches space to shape their programs.

“He always, always backed his coaches,” said Scott Waller, Gonzaga’s soccer coach since 2005. “He never really cared if we won or lost, never worried about that. He cared about how the students learned and progressed. There were years where we were great, and he was at every game. But there were down years, too, and he was there for every game.”

When O’Neill became an assistant athletic director in 2007, Reyda impressed on him that every sport was equal. Though football and basketball might get the most attention, it was important to give sports such as hockey, water polo or crew the same amount of care.

“He showed up,” O’Neill said. “He was just there for everyone. Whether it was the athletic trainer having an issue, a freshman soccer coach, a Division I college recruiter. There was so much going on, and you always knew Joe would be there and he would handle it. That’s a man for others.”

He was a key part of the WCAC administration, especially during basketball season. Each of the conference’s athletic directors is in charge of running a sport, and Reyda organized boys’ and girls’ basketball. During the hectic final week of the winter season, he was a calming and capable presence amid the chaos of the WCAC tournament.

Outside of work, he was a family man who loved to golf, see friends and root on the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Yankees. He was proud to be from the D.C. area and followed local athletes from Gonzaga and beyond as they pursued professional success. He would excitedly text friends about the latest accomplishments by former Gonzaga quarterback Caleb Williams or ex-Georgetown Prep golfer Denny McCarthy.

Even as Reyda dedicated his working life to athletics, friends say his foremost passion was his wife, Tricia, and their two daughters.

“He gave everything to Gonzaga, but when he was here at work he would just talk about his family and how much love he had for them,” Waller said. “His family was his life. We all knew how they were doing all the time.”

Turner, who came to Gonzaga in 1999 and was hired as the basketball coach in 2005, said Reyda felt like an older brother. In the years when Turner and his team won the WCAC championship, the coach would find his boss in the celebratory aftermath. In those moments, Reyda was always sure to tell the coach that he was proud of him. To Turner, that meant the world.

“If there was one lesson I learned from Joe, it was how to be loyal because he was as loyal as they come,” Turner said. “If he was your friend, he was your friend for life. No matter what you were doing or going through, he was there to support you. And I’m going to miss the hell out of that.”

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