Nanci (Mahoney) Salvidio ’73 has been a trailblazer in the emergence and popularity of women’s sports at Westfield State and in Western Massachusetts as a player, coach and official.

Salvidio was an outstanding multi-sport athlete during the formative years of the Westfield State women’s intercollegiate sports program more than 40 years ago, a few years prior to the passage of the landmark Title IX legislation in 1972. The three-sport standout was the field hockey team’s most valuable player and leading scorer, an aggressive power forward in basketball, and pitched and played first base in softball. Her field hockey talents were renowned as she played for an elite club team at Smith College on weekends.

Skills honed on the playing fields translated to leadership roles upon graduation from Westfield State and have sustained her throughout a long career in athletics and education.

Salvidio’s passion for sports began at an early age playing on the sandlots with boys in her hometown of Arlington, Mass. She was a four-year standout in field hockey, softball and basketball at Arlington High School, and helped to lead all three teams to undefeated seasons her junior and senior years. She was recruited and played for the Waltham Drifters, a semi-pro softball squad. 

Salvidio played softball in numerous leagues over the past four decades. As a coach and an official, Salvidio started the first indoor and outdoor soccer leagues for women in Westfield and coached youth and adult soccer and softball teams. She refereed softball, basketball and field hockey games in Western Massachusetts, helping to break the male dominated officiating in girls’ and women’s sports.

“Nanci followed the example of her mentors when she “paid it forward” by creating the first women’s indoor soccer league, coaching community softball and soccer teams, and organizing golf tournaments for charity,” said Dr. Carol Perrson, a former faculty member in the movement science department who is now Westfield State’s vice-present for enrollment management. “Additionally, she assisted other female athletes to become trained officials. She is without a doubt a “pathfinder” in women’s sport.”

Salvidio has accomplished a Hall of Fame professional career as well. She currently serves as Westfield State’s associate vice president of alumni and community relations. It is a position that builds on her years of service, commitment and dedication to the University. Her tenure at Westfield State began in 1980 as a counselor/advisor in the Urban Education/Special Services Program, where she was instrumental in recruiting many outstanding student-athletes who came through the program. From 1990-2005 she was the associate director of the Academic Achievement Center, helping to develop a campus wide plan modeled after the Urban Education Program.

Her sense of fair play, enthusiasm and team building skills continued to elevate Salvidio’s career. In 2002, she was elected as local chapter president of the Association of Professional Administrators (APA). She served as the assistant to the president (2005-2007), acting affirmative action/equal opportunity officer (2007-2009), and executive assistant to the president and associate vice president of alumni relations (2008-2011). In these roles, she was instrumental in developing the Office of International Programs; the Student Ambassador Program; the Advising Center, and the Horace Mann Awards for Public Service. 

The energetic Westfield alumna maintains a commitment to service as an active volunteer and as a community member. She has coordinated numerous charity golf tournaments, including the Kristen D. Nolan golf classic that honored her niece and Westfield alumna Kristen Nolan, who succumbed to cancer shortly after graduation. The event raised more than $400,000 for the Carole Fund to benefit other young people with cancer. In addition, she was recently selected as a director and second vice chair with the Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce.

Always a competitor, Salvidio now participates in golf, spinning and powerwalking, and is training for a half marathon in January after completing two full marathons.

Salvidio has a daughter, Rachel, who is a guidance counselor at Southwick Tolland Regional High School.