Greg Mancz: Keeping His Head Above the Crowd

In the world of sports, flash and self-promotion are everywhere. We are reminded of this every time we flip on the television or tune into sports radio.

Unfortunately, you don’t always hear about the student-athlete who does it the right way. The kind who goes to class, gets good grades and volunteers his time with local charities. The kind who wins on the field and inspires off it. The kind like Greg Mancz.

Mancz, a senior offensive lineman for the UT football team, seemingly does it all. He has already graduated with a bachelor’s degree in finance and is currently pursuing his MBA. He regularly volunteers for team charity events, and often organizes them. He even has found time to be the campus vice-president of Athletes in Action and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

“I am just being me,” Mancz said. “I never change who I am. I am proud of how I grew up and I try to do things the right way.”

Mancz, a two-time All-MAC player and an All-America candidate this season, is considered the leader of Toledo’s veteran offensive line. He leadership extends beyond the playing field, as evidenced by his tenure as President of the UT Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC) in 2013-14. SAAC is a committee made up of UT student-athletes assembled to provide insight on the student-athlete experience. The goal of the SAAC is to enhance the total student-athlete experience by promoting opportunity, protecting student-athlete well-being, and fostering a positive student-athlete image. SAAC couldn’t have asked for a better leader.

“Greg is everything you want in not only a leader of your football team but as a person,” UT head coach Matt Campbell said. “He loves his teammates and this football team, and he embraces Toledo as a community.”

Born and raised in Cincinnati, Mancz has adopted the Glass City as his own. He wants to bring the Mid-American Conference Championship Trophy back to his new home.

“We have done a lot here in Toledo but we have unfinished business,” Mancz said. “We have hurt ourselves late in the season the past few years but it is our job to make sure we don’t do that this year. We need to take care of business. We are on a mission and we will do whatever is necessary to complete that mission.”

In order to fulfill that mission, Greg may be asked to take on a new role this season.

Playing mostly at the guard spot in his first three years, Mancz may move to center in 2014. No surprise, Mancz said he is happy to play wherever Coach Campbell needs him. That’s what team leaders do.

While Mancz is unquestionably the leader of the UT football program, he is definitely a follower of other Rocket student-athletes and their quest for championships. A big sports fan, you can find Mancz (he’s not hard to miss at 6-5, 300 pounds), at a variety of UT sporting events, and not just when the teams are winning.

For example, back in 2010-11, a rebuilding men’s basketball team struggled to a 4-28 record, but that didn’t stop Mancz from cheering on his fellow student-athletes. He was there, sometimes in a near-empty student section, cheering like crazy after every made basket and slam-dunk.

“Those guys were out there doing the best they could and I felt responsible to show them it was not going unnoticed,” Greg said. “We are all Toledo student-athletes and we need to support each other. Now look at them. I can’t even find a seat!”

Once his own mission is accomplished on the football field, Mancz hopes to be enjoying more UT athletic events in his final year of school, though with the expected large crowds at Savage Arena this year it may be a little harder to notice him at men’s basketball games. Or maybe not. “I’ll be the big guy yelling” he said with a laugh.

It seems not matter what he does, Greg Mancz always stands out in a crowd.

–       Joe Mehling, UT Athletic Communications Office