Doug Mello’s Legacy to the Student Athletes of Rye and Harrison

Remembering Doug Mello who passed away on Monday, Rye Football Coach Dino Garr said on Tuesday that Mello’s engagement with the football program dated back to the 90s when his two sons JD and Chris were in the program. His son Chris was on the 1993 Rye team that was the first to go to the States. That engagement was the beginning of what is now a legacy of support across the Rye and Harrison communities that continues each year with the Chris Mello Award.

“He was willing to give and be a part of it,” Garr told MyRye.com. “He was very much involved with the Rye Football Association, continuing to make it go over all of those years. So when the tragedy took place, it just became a continuation of that goodwill that he had and sharing and caring for others.”

The tragedy of course was losing his son Chris in the 9-11 attacks. 

Since 2002, the Mello family has presented scholarships to Rye and Harrison football players in honor of their son Chris. Chris was on Flight 11 from Boston heading to California for a business trip when his plane went into the World Trade Tower. The Mello family, along with friends, and Verizon colleagues of Doug Mello, created the scholarship fund.

Each year a member of the Harrison Football Team and a member of the Rye Football Team have been awarded this scholarship. The Harrison and Rye football coaches and fellow players choose the recipients from each school. The criteria are sportsmanship, competitiveness, academic achievement and leadership. The presentation takes place each fall at “The Game” between Rye and Harrison.

In 2018, supporters across Rye and Harrison added an annual golf tournament to raise additional funds for the annual scholarship awards. The scholarship awarded to each student has grown over the years to $5,000 for each award.

“This guy was a fantastic, fantastic, man,” said Steve Feeney, a long time supporter of Rye football who met Mello back in the 90’s when his own son Stewart was in the football program. Along with others, Feeney helped the golf tournament come to fruition.

“My relationship with Doug only started in 2018,” said Bob Joyce of Harrison, who was involved with the Harrison Football Hall of Fame. “That was the year we created the golf outing event. Doug and Steve recruited me to help, especially representing Harrison. I found out very quickly he treated his close friends like they were his personal family (brothers and sisters).”

“Doug was a cherished friend to many and an even more remarkable person,” said Brian Pickup, who was the Rye player who won the Chris Mello Award in 2010 and is now a scholarship committee member.

Here is a list of the awardees since 2002, along with video of the 2024 presentation to Jake Kessner of Rye and Drew Haines of Harrison.