MSU’s two oldest players - junior left wing Brian Maloney and sophomore center Tim Hearon - were infants when Ron Mason took over the reins of the Spartan hockey chariot.

The rest of the 27-man roster hadn’t even been born yet.

While the current players were growing up, losing their teeth, playing floor hockey in gym class and passing notes to childhood crushes, Mason was building the framework for a college hockey dynamo.

Under his watchful eye and signature mustache (which has whitened a bit through the years), the Spartan program flourished into one of the elite programs in the country.

He arrived from Bowling Green in 1979 and suffered through a pair of losing seasons right off the bat. Those subpar seasons must have been hell for Mason, one of the most competitive guys you could ever meet.

He hates losing. Always has, always will. It’s best to keep a safe distance after a loss, or you might be on the cold end of an icy stare.

But since those first two years, the Spartans have never finished below .500 and have made the NCAA Frozen Four seven times. He won the school’s second national championship in 1986.

Star junior players from all over North America give MSU strong consideration, knowing that Mason’s time-tested defensive lessons will provide them an honest chance to make the NHL. Forty-five of his pupils have played in the league, and 12 still are there.

Mason’s imminent departure shakes everything - and everyone - up.

The current Spartans are grown men who live on their own, cook for themselves and play hockey for one of the best teams in the nation.

But they’re scared.

You could see it in their eyes when the news broke Saturday night. For however long Mason, 62, knew he was going to become MSU’s next athletics director, he didn’t let on to his players.

They were as shocked as everyone else.

They’re wondering what lies ahead for MSU hockey. Sure, the program will persevere. The Spartans should still be mighty for whomever gets to guide MSU for the next few years.

Mason is leaving the shelves stocked with talent. Only four seniors will depart alongside their coach at the season’s end, and this year’s eight-player freshman class is regarded as one of the nation’s best.

If junior goaltender Ryan Miller stays in school and puts off professional hockey for another year, MSU will make a run at a national title next season.

No matter what, the reverberations of Mason’s departure will be felt around Munn Ice Arena for a while. He has had the final say in almost every decision concerning the program in the last 23 years - from uniforms to scoreboards.

He’ll hand-pick his successor from a pool of eager candidates, but things won’t be the same. They can’t be.

And that’s OK. Spartan hockey will always be Spartan hockey one way or another, and the strong MSU fan base will likely accept the replacement and move on.

As for Mason, his motive for the sudden move is a little mysterious.

In October, right before he notched his 900th career win, he said he wanted to coach as long as he could. He gushed about how fun it is to go to practice and skate around with the team every day.

But this opportunity was apparently too good to pass up.

He didn’t do it for the money, although details of his new contract won’t be announced until today. The current athletics director, Clarence Underwood, makes about $20,000 less than Mason makes as a coach.

Plus, Mason isn’t one to finagle about money. In the past, he has commented on how lucky he is to make such a handsome living teaching kids how to play hockey.

More likely than anything, Mason did this as a kind of personal sacrifice to the school he loves. MSU has had well-documented problems with the athletics director position in the last decade, and the self-confident Mason feels he can stabilize the department.

His peers respect him and the university brass is probably sky-high on having such a no-nonsense guy as athletics director.

It seems to be a forgone conclusion that Mason will do a fine job as A.D. Hopefully, the hockey program won’t miss a beat in replacing its legend.

James Jahnke, State News hockey reporter, can be reached at jahnkeja@msu.edu.