Nancy Malinowski retiring after decades-long run as Mercy AD
Nancy Malinowski has had a lot of memorable moments over her 42 years in education and athletics.
But, the last 18 months certainly created new challenges for the long-time Farmington Hills Mercy athletic director to deal with.
With the 2020-21 athletics year now completed, Malinowski has decided to retire, ending her career leading the Marlins athletic department that started in 1991.
“I thought about it last year, and then not knowing what was going to happen this year with COVID, I thought I could stick around another year,” Malinowski said of not wanting to retire during the pandemic. “It was a different kind of year, but I don’t think any of us ever thought we would ever experience anything like this in our lifetime. It was just unfortunate for the athletes, and students in general. I just decided, you know, I could stay another year. I mean, I probably could stay another five years, but I thought it was time to bring somebody else in and let them handle the day-to-day operations.”
Malinowski began her teaching career in Missouri before returning to her home state in 1979, where she began teaching at Mt. Carmel in Wyandotte. She would make the jump over to Mercy in 1985 and eventually take over the AD position from Suzanne Brown in 1991.
“I always loved athletics. It was always a part of my life, so when the opportunity came up, I said, ‘I think I want to do this,’” she said of applying for the position. “I had my education and leadership background, so I felt like it was something I could do, or at least wanted to try.”
Malinowski became a staple in the Catholic League over her career, developing a close friendship with fellow league AD’s in Regina’s Diane Laffey, Ladywood’s Sal Malek and Marian’s David Feldman.
“Dave was always so supportive of the athletes. Not just at Marian, but everywhere. It’s difficult to put into words what he has meant to me and to the Catholic League and high school athletics,” Malinowski said of Feldman following his passing last January due to complications from COVID. “I hope people remember how much he loved his job and how much he was there for his coaches, his community and his athletes.”
Malinowski was able to establish that same relationship with her coaches and athletes during her time at Mercy, allowing her to maintain her role for decades.
“I never wondered how long it would go, but it’s just been because of the great coaches and great athletes, the great parents that I’ve dealt with, it’s helped make it easier to last this long,” she said “And administration too. The administration has always been very supportive of athletics. So that makes the job much easier.”
Over her time at Mercy, Malinowski has seen the continued growth of female athletics. Mercy currently offers 20 different athletic options for students.
“It’s become more and more competitive, more opportunities for the girls, which has been great,” Malinowski said of how athletics has changed since she began as AD. “Not everybody plays basketball or volleyball or softball, but with the addition of some of these other sports that we’ve brought in, we’ve been able to get more and more students involved in athletics, which I think is great.”
Malinowski’s legacy will be passed on to her son, Brandon, who was hired to take over the position. Brandon is a former coach for the Marlins as well.
“I’d just tell him to work with the coaches closely, dealing with the day to day stuff,” Nancy said of her advice to Brandon. “He’s got a good background coming in having worked for Vic Michaels and Mike Evoy (at the CHSL), so he’s learned a lot through them. He’s pretty much grown up here. He’s been coming to the school since he was a little guy, so he’s watched it over the years and then coaching here, he knows people from coaching here and stuff like that. So, I’m pretty proud of him that he got this job. We’ve discussed things recently when he got involved in athletics, being a sounding board for each other. So, I look for him to do great things for Mercy.”
Though she will enjoy some time away, Malinowski knows it will be hard to keep her too far from Mercy.
“Somebody asked me what I was going to do with my time now. It’s not like I’m disappearing. I’ll be back around, especially now that my son was hired for the job,” she said. “I’ll miss the athletes and the coaches, seeing them every day. I’ve been around with some of my coaches quite a while and it’s been great having them around and seeing them all the time.”