Friends celebrate life of longtime USOC media professional Mike Moran
A celebration of life event was held for Mike Moran on July 30 at the Penrose House Garden Pavilion.
About 100 of Moran’s closest friends gathered in person and via Zoom to share stories of the man who was head of communication for the United States Olympic Committee for a quarter century.
“He’s a guy who touched a lot of folks on his 42 years in town,” said Dave Ogrean, who first met Moran in the late 1970s as a business associate. “This gathering today represents a whole network of the folks he worked with and was friends with and socialized with and went to Olympic Games with and all that kind of stuff.
“He did those things with people his whole career at the USOC and then later when he stayed in town working for the (Colorado Springs) Sports Corporation.”
Moran, a long-time Broadmoor-area resident, died at the age of 78 on July 7, 2020. He left a legacy in the world of media relations/communications that is unmatched in the Pikes Peak region.
Moran served as the USOC’s media relations director in six Summer Olympics and seven winter Olympics. He was the chief spokesman for the organization through the great times and most controversial moments.
Moran announced to the world in 1980 that the United States would not compete in that year’s Moscow Summer Games. The decision was made at The Antlers Hotel in downtown Colorado Springs.
Four years later, Moran expertly dealt with America’s response to the Soviet Union’s decision to boycott the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympic Games.
In 1994, he was front-and-center during the Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding figure skating controversy that took place prior to the Lillehammer, Norway, Winter Games.
One of his final great moments was when he helped land the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City.
Moran met several United States Presidents, including Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. He was the kind of guy who could mingle with royalty and sit down and have a beer with his buddies at local downtown Colorado Springs tavern.
Bonnie Blair, a five-time Olympic Gold medalist, was among those who remembered Moran at the Garden Pavilion.
“We used to come to Colorado Springs as a speed skating team every August to train,” Blair said. “That gave me time to go to Mike’s office at the USOC and visit with him. I knew him because of business, but on the flip side, because of that he became my friend. And that, to me, will always be really special.”
Moran retired from the USOC at the end of 2002. His successor was Darryl Seibel.
“I didn’t take over for Mike, I followed him,” Seibel said. “No one could ever replace Mike and no one could ever take over for Mike.
“I learned so much from him. Not only in the leadup to that role, but as I moved into the role in 2003 he stayed very close and supported me throughout and supported the organization throughout.”
Former USA Boxing executive Jim Fox first met Moran when he helped move the national governing body to Colorado Springs in 1981.
“Mike was invaluable because he knew Colorado Springs and he had a great network of sports people in the Rocky Mountains and across the nation,” Fox said. “He just opened doors for us when we needed national exposure.
“He always treated you like he wanted to be treated and he was such a good person. I miss him.”
Bill Hybl, executive chairman of the El Pomar Foundation and former two-time President Emeritus of the USOC, said Moran continued to be a positive force in the United States Olympic movement after he left his post.
“Many of us that are here today appreciate the fact that he continued the tradition and kept everyone that had been active in the Olympic movement up to speed and current with what’s going on,” Hybl said. “That is something that just doesn’t happen now.”
Moran’s retirement lasted about a year. He went to work for the Sports Corp. and was soon helping to grow other events like The Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, Rocky Mountain State Games and Labor Day Lift Off, better known as the Balloon Festival.
“The fact is, Mike truly made a difference in this place,” Hybl said. “Colorado Springs is a much better place because of Mike Moran.”
Mike Moran, a longtime sports icon in Colorado Springs, died in July 2020. A celebration of life event was held in his honor July 30 at the Penrose House Garden Pavilion.
Mike Moran got to know many Olympic athletes during his career. Among them was five-time Gold medalist Bonnie Blair.
Mike Moran met with several American presidents, among them Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
Five-time Olympic Gold medalist Bonnie Blair, third from right, was part of a Mike Moran-style panel discussion during his celebration of life event on July 30. The photo on the large screen behind them was from Jan. 20, 2018, when Moran interviewed Olympic Gold medalist Peggy Fleming during the “Legacy of Ice” event that focused on the Broadmoor’s storied history with figure skating, curling, speed skating and hockey. That event was held at the International Center.
Mike Moran wrote many newspaper columns for The Gazette — including this one on Dec. 29, 2002.