BGSU Decades Celebration – 1995: Brian Holzinger's Journey Began at BGSU
Matt Markey, BGSU Athletics
7/23/2025
In the years following his successful hockey career, Brian Holzinger found a different kind of fulfillment—not on the ice, but in honoring a promise and building a life rooted in stability and leadership. After hanging up his skates, the former Falcon turned his focus to completing his college degree and establishing a career away from the unpredictability of professional sports. Now in his 17th year managing the business operations of a private golf club near Cleveland, Holzinger reflects on the lessons he learned as a student-athlete and how they shaped the person he is today. As part of the BGSU Decades Celebration series, this is his story of commitment, growth, and the lasting value of a Bowling Green education.
The stands shook, the sound of the crowd bounced off the ceiling and reverberated down the hallways and into the locker rooms. Rabid fans pounded the rink-side glass in anticipation of the teams taking to the ice.
And when the game began, things really got crazy.
Some three decades after his college hockey career ended, Brian Holzinger maintains a vivid memory of the way the arena that was the home of Bowling Green hockey had a seismic pulse all its own.
“The building itself was alive,” the former Falcon All-American said. “The atmosphere there on game days was second to none. As a player, you never forget that.”
Holzinger, who won the Hobey Baker Award as the top college hockey player in the country as a BGSU senior in 1995, was also a first-team Academic All-American that season, and the CCHA Player-of-the-Year. His 35 goals that winter ranked second in the nation, and he finished his Falcon career with 102 goals, seventh in program history. In 2001, Holzinger was named to the CCHA’s All-Decade Team for the 1990s.
“When I got to Bowling Green, the expectation of excellence had already been established by some of the great players who came before me and went on to the pros,” the native of the Cleveland suburb of Parma said.
“It was a tough decision because there were a lot of places I could have gone to play college hockey, but the legacy was in place at BG. The way the program had built a national profile, the campus had a very comfortable feel to it, and the way the community supported the hockey program – everything about that place was exceptional.”
Holzinger credits legendary BGSU hockey coach Jerry York and former Falcon greats such as Nelson Emerson, Rob Blake, and many others, along with the 1984 National Championship team, for anchoring the hockey program’s foundation of success, and significant expectations.
“You knew that Bowling Green was a place where hockey meant something, where hockey was very important. And I think that came from Jerry York and the staff he put together, from the players who were recruited to play there, and the strong connection with the community. That kind of atmosphere is a tribute to everyone involved.”
Holzinger, a sixth-round selection by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft, played 10 seasons in the National Hockey League. Following his four years at BGSU, Holzinger played professional hockey for Buffalo, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh and Columbus, most recently with the Penguins and Blue Jackets in the 2003-04 season.
In 547 career NHL games, he totaled 93 goals and 145 assists.
“A lot of the credit for what I was able to achieve in college and in the pros certainly goes to the great coaches I had, and to a lot of good players I had around me,” he said, adding that winning hockey’s Heisman Trophy, the Hobey Baker, was “one of my proudest moments as a player,” but one that certainly is shared with a strong supporting cast of teammates and coaches at BG.
He remains equally proud of the Academic All-American honors – Holzinger became just the third Falcon hockey player to be named to the first-team.
“With the very demanding schedule that Division I college athletes face, a lot of your time is consumed with the sport you are in, so it takes discipline and a commitment to time-management to keep the classwork up,” said Holzinger, who earned a degree in business, with a focus on information systems.
A lot of the credit for what I was able to achieve in college and in the pros certainly goes to the great coaches I had, and to a lot of good players I had around me.BRIAN HOLZINGER
He credits his parents with instilling an understanding of the importance of academics.
“My dad was a schoolteacher, and my mom started out in that profession, so education always came first. I knew that wherever I would go to college, I would put every effort into the academics, and I’m very proud of that Academic All-American honor.”
When he left BGSU for the pros after being drafted, Holzinger was four classes short of completing his degree, but made a pledge to finish, and did so.
“That provided one of the biggest senses of accomplishment, since I had made a promise to my parents to get my degree,” he said. “It was a good feeling to honor that promise.”
After leaving professional hockey, Holzinger considered going into coaching, but opted for the stability of a role managing the business side of a private golf club in Pepper Pike, near Cleveland.
“In hockey, the carousel keeps moving and your family bounces around a lot, so my wife and I decided to forgo that,” said the 52-year-old Holzinger, who has spent the past 17 years at the golf club.
“I basically manage the business end, and being in the business world requires that you are responsible for a lot of things, so you have to manage your time well,” he said.
“That is one of the things I learned the most as a student-athlete. You take a lot of those college experiences with you, and they can serve you well over the rest of your life.”
That is one of the things I learned the most as a student-athlete. You take a lot of those college experiences with you, and they can serve you well over the rest of your life.BRIAN HOLZINGER
