SUNY Potsdam Athletics

Over his four seasons in the North Country, Rob Mee proved to be one of the best two-sport athletes ever to take the field for SUNY Potsdam. Mee spent three seasons on the soccer pitch for the Bears and all four on the lacrosse field.
 
For his entire life, Mee has loved competing in sports. In high school, the Irondequoit, N.Y. native played sports all year round, including basketball in the winter, but he realized his collegiate future lay in soccer and lacrosse.
 
"As long as I was playing, I just felt the most comfortable while there was a game going on," said Mee. "I enjoyed them all equally, but I was starting to feel lacrosse might be my better game. But growing up, soccer was probably my first sport being that my parents were being from England and Ireland. It was the first game that I ever played and probably the basis of my athletic career."
 
As Mee neared the end of his high school years, he began considering colleges for both academics and especially to continue athletics at the next level. He received interest from RIT, Roberts Wesleyan and Houghton, but it was Potsdam that quickly jumped out for him.
 
"It was a gut instinct that it was the right place for me," said Mee. "Close to home, but not right on top of it. It had the right feel. After seeing the athletic facilities, it just seemed like the place I wanted to be. Particularly, I fell in love with Maxcy Hall."
 
Mee arrived on campus in August 1986 for soccer preseason, eager and ready to go. The first person he met was teammate Dan Kelley, who proved to be one of his best friends at Potsdam and another all-conference athlete.
 
As a freshman soccer player, Mee saw limited action and recorded just two assists as the Bears finished 6-8-1. He became an impact player over the next two seasons, recording 28 points on eight goals and 12 assists on two more .500 Potsdam squads. After totaling 30 points in 34 games, Mee decided he was going to focus on lacrosse during his senior year. He still ranks second in soccer program history for assists.
 
Mee slowly worked his way into the lacrosse lineup in the spring of 1987. He scored two goals and added assist for three points on a veteran heavy 9-6 Potsdam team. His offensive totals shot up every season afterward. Mee made his presence felt as a sophomore with 10 goals and 16 helpers as the Bears hovered around .500. In 1989, he cemented himself as an elite player in the Empire Lacrosse League with 19 goals and 22 assists and earned a spot on the all-conference second team. Potsdam finished the year just 4-10 and the Bears and Mee were determined to breakout in 1990.
 
"The thing that stands out about lacrosse is my senior year," Mee said. "It had to do with starting to grow up, starting to make wiser decisions and being more of team player. Doing what it takes to win. Making the sacrifices that you need to make. I saw a real shift in my attitude and the results showed."
 
He felt good about his teammates as well.
 
"I knew we had a special team and it wasn't just one line," said Mee. "It was a fairly deep team. There was a lot of anticipation. You take it one game at a time, but there was more anticipation for that year than there was any other year."
 
The 1990 season began with a Bears' 8-7 overtime victory over a ranked Hampden-Sydney team in Virginia in February. They then handled St. Mary's 18-13 before falling to a ranked Salisbury team, that featured current Bears head coach Rick Berkman, 14-8. After edging Hartwick 14-13 in overtime on St. Patrick's Day, thanks in part to three assists from Mee, Potsdam was 3-1. Two days later they found themselves ranked 19th in the nation. The Bears and Mee never slowed down the rest of the way and found themselves 10-5 at the end of the regular season. After being ranked nearly all season, and as high at 15th, Potsdam earned a bid to the ECAC Upstate Tournament. In the semifinals, Mee scored four times as the Bears hammered Hartwick 19-11 and earned a spot in the title game with Nazareth College. In the championship, the Golden Flyers couldn't stop the senior as Mee lit them up for five goals and two assists for seven points. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough as Nazareth pulled away for a 25-14 victory. Despite the loss, the Bears were ranked 20th in the final poll and set a program record with 11 wins.
 
Mee finished with a then Potsdam single-season record of 85 points on 49 goals and 36 assists. The 49 goals are still the best in program history. He was named first team All-E.L.L. and the conference player of the year, an honor he still struggles to believe.
 
"It was mindboggling," Mee said. "I knew I had a good year, but I thought about all the players in that league and that I was voted the best player. I never thought that was going to happen. It was a big surprise. It's really the biggest honor I've ever received and I've won some awards. But I would trade it all for that last win."
 
Mee ranks sixth on the Bears all-time scoring list with 155 points and third in assists with 75. He realizes his success wouldn't have been possible without his teammates.
 
"It's a team sport," said Mee. "If you're out there on the field alone, you're in trouble. Nobody won a game alone. I don't care if you scored the game-winning goal, you didn't win the game alone. That team (1990) is really what got me in (to the hall of fame). I appreciate all the people I played with and all the coaches because they all had a hand in it. But that particular team to me felt like a hall of fame team."
 
After his playing career ended, Mee focused on getting his degree. He graduated in 1991 with  degrees in Psychology and Philosophy and he's very proud of that accomplishment as well.
 
"A Potsdam education is an extremely good education, but I'll tell you this, no one gives you anything," Mee said. "I mean this with the utmost respect. It's a place where the education is not handed to anybody. It's not an easy education, but it's a very worthy education. If you receive a degree there, you have earned it. I'm very respectful of the teachers and the education I received there."
 
After Potsdam, Mee headed south and settled in Knoxville, Tenn. In 1993 he began a successful career in the furniture industry and has worked for Knoxville Wholesale Furniture for the last 18 years. Once with the company, Mee quickly rose to sales manager. He manages a floor that is 125,000 square feet. He loves his job.
 
"I'm proud of the place I work," Mee said. "The variety of the responsibilities makes it interesting and worthwhile. It's a fast paced environment. From something small to executing a $100,000 deal. I'm really blessed to be put in the position where I am, because it's a very high volume store and commission-based. You can make out of it what you earn."
 
Mee believes his background as an athlete has helped him achieve professional success.
 
"You blow the whistle and you go, so if you're putting two and two together, it's a lot like sports," Mee said. "It's competitive. It's time management. It's not fumbling or making mistakes and it's having a good attitude. Being able to think on my feet is important and there's an extreme amount of walking, so you have to be physically able to do it. I probably average nine or 10 miles a day walking. It's a great job. It's competitive."
 
The appreciation isn't one-sided. Last year, Knoxville Wholesale Furniture recognized five of its employees with Excellence in Performance awards. Mee was honored to be one of those five and he was the only salesperson to be so recognized.
 
Mee's personal life has been rewarding as well. He married his wife Kristi in 1998 and they have two daughters. Erin is 15 and Kaitlyn 11. Erin is on the cheerleading team and both are strong students.
 
Mee remembers his time at Potsdam fondly and would recommend the College to any student or student-athlete considering it.
 
"I would encourage them to go," said Mee. "I had a good time. If you don't have a good time there, it's not the school. It's you. It's a good opportunity. It's great place and the education is an extremely good value."
 
Mee will be inducted into the Bears Hall of Fame this Saturday night.