Simply put, Mark Maggioncalda ’92 was a winner at F&M. During his four-year playing career, which saw him as a regular in the starting lineup during the final three seasons, Franklin & Marshall racked up 105 wins against just 14 losses. The team’s success vaulted the Diplomats to be the No. 1 team in the Division III national polls during three of Maggioncalda’s four years. A key member of the team during arguably its greatest run in program history, F&M played for the national championship during the 1990-91 season, with two additional trips to the Elite Eight (1989, 1992), and one appearance in the second round (1990). Those four national tournament appearances came in addition to three Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Southern Division Championships and four MAC Southwest Division Championships.
The only time that the Diplomats did not take home the MAC Championship came when Johns Hopkins was able to pull off a rare victory for the visiting team in the Mayser Center. However, the Blue Jays success story was short lived, as Maggioncalda and his teammates reversed that outcome just over a week later in the second round of the 1991 NCAA Tournament en route to the national championship game. That postseason success featured another nail-biter before F&M prevailed in overtime against Rochester. However, the Diplomats were able to dominate the nation’s best when at the top of their game as evidenced by a 96-63 Sweet 16 victory versus Geneseo State and 109-56 triumph over Ramapo in the Final Four.
Franklin & Marshall’s success as a team was certainly staggering. Even more impressive was the Diplomats’ success on their home court as Maggioncalda never experienced a regular season defeat inside the Mayser Center in 57 games. Including the postseason, F&M was 63-2 on its home court during Maggioncalda’s career. Success on the home hardwood was certainly crucial in the deep NCAA Tournament runs, and the Diplomats had plenty of chances to show out in front of the home crowd as they entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 seed in their regional during every season of Maggioncalda’s career, hosting postseason contests during each of those seasons.
Playing under legendary coach Glenn Robinson, Maggioncalda is most remembered for his winning style of basketball. Nevertheless, the F&M standout left his individual marks on the program’s record books as well. He averaged double figures in points during each of his three seasons in the starting lineup, scoring 1,280 career points to rank eighth in school history at the time of his graduation. Maggioncalda finished his career third in school history with 561 career field goals, a mark that is still in the top 10 all time at F&M. His best single-season total of 194 field goals came during the Diplomats’ run to the national championship game in 1991 and is still one of the top-10 single-season performances in school history. A versatile player, Maggioncalda also ranks among the programs all-time greats in games started (87), games played (114), field goal percentage (.532), rebounds (453), steals (115) and blocked shots (39).
After earning his bachelor’s degree from Franklin & Marshall in business and history, Maggioncalda began his professional career in the financial services industry. He spent over a decade as both the vice president of investments at Wells Fargo and as a senior client strategist at BNY Mellon Wealth Management. Currently, he works as a senior wealth advisor with Wilmington Trust – a position he has held since November 2021 as he celebrates over 30 years in his industry.
Even though his days of dominating the Mayser Center courts are behind him, Maggioncalda is still cited among professional peers for having the same traits he brought to the Franklin & Marshall basketball team. While some of his co-workers point to his hard work and dedication in every aspect of his life, many of his co-workers still say “winner” is the word that best describes the F&M Hall of Famer.
