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Monday Morning Quarterback: Thunderbirds and Badgers again sweep national titles
When Ron Foxcroft took his first officiating job for a McMaster University basketball game, he had no idea that he would one day officiate over 1,600 international basketball games in over 30 countries, including the gold medal final of the Montreal 1976 Olympics or Michael Jordan’s first NCAA game.
He also had no idea that he would one day invent a whistle that has the frequency can penetrate any level of human-made noise. He simply did it because of his love for the game.
That love for the game has opened unimaginable doors for him, where he not only bettered himself, but bettered those around him. In December 2018, Foxcroft was appointed as a member of Order of Canada “for his contributions as a sports referee, inventor, entrepreneur and engaged community leader.”
“He’s the hardest working person I know and all his hard work paid off. It just goes to show that if you work hard you can get to those places you want to go,” says Ronnie Foxcroft Jr., his youngest son and Business Development Manager at Fox 40 International Inc. on the award.
“When you think of people who get recognized for the Order of Canada - it is the top .one per cent of Canadians.”
Graham Brown - President and CEO of U SPORTS
“They got it right with Ron Foxcroft - he is someone who I would suggest epitomizes what it means to be a Canadian.
“He is constantly trying to make communities around him better whether it is sports or society….When I took over at U SPORTS three years ago and we moved the Vanier cup to Hamilton, Ron was right there offering to help. He co-chaired the Vanier Cup Local Organizing Committee and did a really great job being hands on for the (event).”
Foxcroft’s roots in working hard go back to facing the reality that post-secondary education was not in his horizons.
“I always wanted to be a gym teacher but Grade 13 kept me out of university,” says Foxcroft. “I turned to officiating because I wanted to stay involved in the game I loved. And quite frankly I was poor. I needed that 75 cents I made in my first game at McMaster to live.”
Foxcroft’s start with refereeing U SPORTS basketball led him to the opportunity of a lifetime, representing Canada as a referee in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. It was during that championship final and a 1984 pre-Olympics contest in São Paulo, Brazil that he became frustrated with the traditional design of referees' whistles, which featured a pea – a cork ball – inside that often can jam and prevent the whistle from producing sound. With an obvious problem and an idea for a solution, Foxcroft was determined to design a pea-less whistle and ultimately change officiating forever.
“It was a lonely time being a referee and inventing the whistle. Every single person in the world told me it was a dumb idea, but the fact that they told me it would fail was the motivating factor.”
Ron Foxcroft
“I felt so confident in my idea that what kept me going was that I wanted to prove the world wrong.”
Throughout the process there were times where his goal appeared harder then it seemed, but it was during those times that he would remember that people would judge him on how he overcame adversity, which is a philosophy he carries with him to this day.
“Everybody can be a frontrunner and be terrific as a winner, but I judge people on how they react when things aren't going so good,” he says. “It’s easy to have a 10-0 record, but when you’re 0-10 how do you remain positive?”
Foxcroft kept that mentality with him and eventually created the Fox 40 Pealess Whistle that is sold in 140 counties and is sanctioned by almost all major sports worldwide. As a referee, he became the first and only Canadian to have a regular NCAA Division I contract. Though Foxcroft believes there are no borders in sport, the transition from U SPORTS to the NCAA “wasn’t easy,” he says.
In the beginning, the legitimacy of his calls were continuously discredited simply because he was not of the same nationality as his peers. He found himself constantly trying to prove that even though he was a proud Canadian, he was just as qualified for the role as any other referee.
But then something changed.
Officiating in Houston about two years into his career with the NCAA, he was paired up with a referee who was very reluctant to work with him because he was Canadian and was “taking jobs away from his friends.” He and Foxcroft went on to officiate the game that proved to be so successful, it no longer mattered where he was from.
“At the end of the game he gave me a big hug,” recalls Foxcroft. “And he said ‘I don't look at you as being Canadian, I look at you as being one of us – a very good referee.’”
“At the end of the game he gave me a big hug,” recalls Foxcroft. “And he said ‘I don't look at you as being Canadian, I look at you as being one of us – a very good referee.’”
NCAA Official
Though Foxcroft had found great success in NCAA, his parents reminded him to “Never forget where you come from.” So throughout his career, he would return to Canada on a weekly basis to officiate U SPORTS basketball.
“So many U SPORTS coaches have had an impact on my sons and my life,” says Foxcroft. “It was the head coach of the McMaster basketball team Coach Bill Fowler who recommended me to the university panel and I never forgot that.”
Likewise, Foxcroft has dedicated himself to giving back to his community and sport in as many ways as he can.
“He’s sponsored a number of different teams at McMaster. He was the head of the fundraising committee for the David Braley Athletic Centre which has meant so much to the students at McMaster and the teams.”
Glen Grunwald - Former McMaster Director of Athletics and Recreation and current President and CEO of Canada Basketball
“He’s also been a role model and mentor to a lot of referees and just really helps out in terms of (their) growth. He’s supported them and put people together and help build bridges. He’s a real community builder in every sense of the word. He helps cities and universities and teams be successful but he also helps individuals be successful.
“He’s just been a tremendous asset to anyone that he has come across, so we’re just thankful that he’s been supporting university sport and the sport of basketball.”
That impact has led to Fox 40 sponsoring all 21 U SPORTS Coach of the Year Awards for the next two years, beginning with the 2019 Winter Championship season. With a new sponsorship request coming in from around the world every 12 minutes, it is extremely important to the Fox 40 team to sponsor those who reflect their company’s mission.
For Foxcroft’s son Dave, President and COO at Fox 40, as well a referee in the CFL and the head official for the 105th Grey Cup, sponsoring the award was a “natural fit.”
“U SPORTS has always been near and dear to us. Sports is what we as a company and what we personally have always been involved in,” says Dave Foxcroft. “Whether it was through playing, officiating or now selling our products.”
For Foxcroft, the team decision was unanimous since U SPORTS embodies everything that Fox 40 represents.
“They mentor, they teach and they set an example. But more importantly they sacrifice so much to build tomorrow's leaders.”
Jessica is in her fourth year of the Honours Communication and Multimedia Studies program at McMaster University. She is a sports reporter for McMaster’s student paper, The Silhouette and challenges herself to produce stories that go beyond the field of play.