USG President Alex Wright hasn’t missed a game since the Falcons won the NCAA hockey championship in 1984. Impressive, considering that he wasn’t born until after that hockey championship.

“My mother was at that game,” Wright said. “She was eight months pregnant with me. They brought the suitcases to the game.”

Wright has been going to Falcon athletic events with his parents ever since.

“Okay Mom, see you tomorrow. Love you too,” Wright said to his mom as he hung up the phone in the USG office.

Saturday, his parents will drive from their hometown of Wapakoneta to Bowling Green for the second hockey match against Western Michigan. Unlike the 1984 championship, this hockey game is at home.

“Our license plates get stolen when we go [to away games] because they say ‘GO BG’ or ‘BG FANS’ or ‘GO FLCNS,'” Wright said. “As all good Falcon families do, we have a strong sense of rivalry.”

But it took more than license plates and perfect attendance for the Wright family to be recognized as the Falcon First Family at the fall homecoming football game.

The Wright family has been involved in all three of the major boards on campus: the board of trustees, the alumni board, and the board of foundations. Wright’s father, Van, is a member of the alumni board. His grandfather, Kermit Stroh, was on the search committee that selected current President Sidney Ribeau. And Stroh also has a foundation scholarship named after him.

Alex comes from a legacy of BGSU graduates including both grandfathers, parents, his brother Cameron, two aunts and three cousins.

The Wright family has what Wright referred to as a “very long and good relationship” with the University.

“We did have some strong ties with the community and the University before I came here as well,” Wright said.

Stroh was a member of the board of trustees for nine years. The University gave Stroh an Honorary Alumnus Award in September 2003.

Wright phoned both his parents during the interview to ask about their favorite memories of BGSU.

He whispered to his mom, Tracey, on the phone.

“We’re not going to talk about that, no keg parties,” Wright said.

Wright’s parents met in a creative writing class as undergraduates at BGSU. Tracey remembered going with then-boyfriend, Van, to 25-cent movie nights at Eva Marie Saint Theatre. Both told Wright they enjoyed working together as campus tour guides. The couple graduated in 1977 with identical degrees in journalism and marketing minors. And for a number of years, Van and Tracey even worked together.

Wright’s parents ran the family business, Moulton Gas Service, Inc., until it was sold in December. Tracey did the advertising for the propane company, and Van led the company.

Stroh, Tracey’s father, founded the company in Wapakoneta.

Wright’s other grandfather, Volney Wright, was a pharmacist who ran Roger’s Drug Store in Bowling Green for over 40 years, Wright said. Volney and his store were town staples before Roger’s closed. The drug store had Bowling Green’s “first soda pop machine, first camera dealer in town, first camera store around,” Wright said.

Since Roger’s closed down years ago, Brewster’s bar opened in the same place. If you stand outside behind Brewster’s, look up. The vinyl “Roger’s” sign still hangs up above the backdoor.

Like his grandfather Volney, Wright has been in the community spotlight this year. This year was the first time USG took such an active role in working with the Bowling Green City Council.

“In the three years I’ve been a student, there hasn’t really been an issue that would cause students to get involved with city hall. [Until recently], we never really had an issue that would bring so many students together,” Wright said.

Wright led student efforts this fall to protest the zoning ordinance laws that would have left hundreds of off-campus students homeless. He sparked a letter writing campaign and

created the Coalition Against Rising Tuition last spring in response to the repeal of the one-cent tax. When he graduates next year with a major in political science and a minor in geography, Wright will leave a legacy of student activism at the University. But the question is whether Wright will live up to the legacy that his family left at BGSU. The Wright family has left Wright with a lot to live up to.

It could be that Wright is following in the footsteps of his family. Wright does that everyday when he leaves for school, because he walks down the same steps that his father walked down, out the same door and drives on the same street. Wright and a few roommates live in the house that his grandfather, Volney, built; the same house that his father, Van, grew up in.

“I’m far enough away where I thought my family would have to call to come see me,” Wright said. “And it’s still close enough that if I need anything, I would be close to home.”

Wright said he doesn’t know how long he will be close to his parents and hometown. He said he plans to apply to graduate school or law school. But no matter where he ends up studying, like his family, Wright probably won’t stay very far away from the University for very long.

“We really love this place,” Wright said.