Football | 1/21/2016 12:14:00 PM

The third annual RMU Athletic Hall of Fame Dinner is set for Friday, Feb. 5, 2016, at the Sheraton Pittsburgh Airport. The Voice of the Colonials and a 2012 inductee into the RMU Athletic Hall of Fame, Chris Shovlin, will serve as master of ceremonies to induct six individuals and one team that make up the 25th annual class.
 
In a special series leading up to the RMU Athletic Hall of Fame dinner, veteran Pittsburgh sportswriter Joe Bendel takes a closer look at each of the inductees. Today's feature is former offensive lineman Mark Leyenaar. For more information on how you can take part in the RMU Athletic Hall of Fame Dinner, please visit this link.
 
Moon Township, Pa. – As a highly successful member of the corporate world, Mark Leyenaar still harkens back to his days as a star offensive lineman at Robert Morris University.
 
The wisdom shared by coach Joe Walton still applies, said Leyenaar, the finance director for the architectural coding division at PPG Industries.
 
"He taught us that preparation leads to good results," said Leyenaar, who played for the Colonials from 1998-2001. "You see that in the business world every day."
 
A quote Walton often shared with Leyenaar and his teammates was this gem from Vince Lombardi: "Football is like life -- it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority."
 
That says it all, Leyenaar added.
 
"It's attributable not just in business, but in life in general," said Leyenaar, who earned a degree in finance and later an MBA in finance and strategy. "Coach Walton taught you to be a leader. He taught you that it's not what you say, it's what you do."
 
Leyenaar pretty much did it all for the Colonials as a four-year starter, his first season at right tackle and the final three at center. He was an All-Northeast Conference First Team selection three times at center.
 
Walton recently called him the second-best offensive lineman he'd coached at RMU, behind only Hank Fraley, who went on to an 11-year NFL career.
 
"He not only was a very good player, but he was very smart," Walton said. "I always told him he would have made a great coach. He was a key member of those teams."
 
On Friday, Feb. 5, 2016, at the Sheraton Pittsburgh Airport, Leyenaar will be part of Robert Morris University's 25th Athletic Hall of Fame class. He's one of six individual inductees, along with the 1994 softball team.
 
Leyenaar was humbled upon learning of his inclusion.
 
"It was unexpected," he said. "We had a lot of good football players, so it's a huge honor. You have Hank Fraley and Tim Hall and Tim Levcik, a lot of great players who have come through here. So it means a lot to be nominated and to join that group of great guys."
 
As a sophomore in 1999, Leyenaar helped lead the Colonials to a Division I-AA Mid-Major national championship, per Don Hansen's National Weekly Football Gazette. The Colonials repeated as national champs the following year with a perfect 10-0 record.
 
In a span of two seasons, RMU won 17 consecutive games with Leyenaar at center. The Colonials set school rushing records in yards per game (187.3), yards per carry (4.96) and touchdowns (24) in his freshman season.
 
"An amazing run, when you think back on it," Leyenaar said.
 
One of Leyenaar's great memories was a late-season game against Wagner during the undefeated campaign. The Colonials trailed in the fourth quarter, but he never sensed any panic.
 
The team was self-assured.
 
The Colonials would eventually score a late touchdown and win the game in overtime.

"It was interesting to me that not one player thought we would lose that game," Leyenaar said. "There was a confidence we had. It's just interesting how, when you're winning, it can become contagious and infectious."
 
An Academic All-American, Leyenaar was the brains of the offensive line. He not only called out the blocking schemes, but often helped star quarterback Levcik check out of plays. He said Walton, a longtime NFL assistant and seven-year head coach of the New York Jets, demanded preciseness from his players.
 
"I remember the first day that I came in, Coach Walton puts the Jets playbook down on a table and it was probably three or four inches thick," Leyenaar said. "Every single play was outlined. You learned really fast that this game isn't all about how fast or how strong you are -- it's about how you can outmaneuver and outsmart the opposing team."
 
Today, Leyenaar resides in Glenshaw with wife, Lynn, and children, Jack, 4, and Sydney, 1. Originally from Palm Harbor, Fla., he followed a hometown friend to RMU.
 
He has no regrets.
 
"I thought Robert Morris was right for me academically and athletically," Leyenaar said. "I feel blessed that I got to be part of such a great experience."

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