St. Lawrence men's hockey alumnus and NCAA hockey coaching legend Ron Mason '64 passed away unexpectedly on Monday morning. He was 76.

Mason played three seasons for St. Lawrence in the early 1960s, serving as the captain for the 1962-63 team. He led the Saints in scoring in 1961-62 with 26 goals and 31 assists for 57 points and again in 1962-63 with 27 goals and 19 assists for 46 points. He sits among program leaders in both career goals (67) and career points (141).

Two years after graduating from St. Lawrence, he started his coaching career as the first men's hockey coach at Lake Superior State. After six years with the Lakers, he spent the next six years at Bowling Green before spending the final 23 years of his coaching career at Michigan State. He won a national championship with the Spartans in 1986, won 10 CCHA regular season titles, earned seven CCHA coach of the year honors and was named the AHCA National Coach of the Year in 1992. Additionally, he was inducted into the St. Lawrence Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999 and the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame on December 2, 2013.

After retiring from the coaching ranks, Mason served as the athletic director at Michigan State until 2008.