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Pischke, Boucher, Grossman, Bennett earn U SPORTS Honours Awards

10 Jun 2021, 12:30 PM 10 June 2021, 12:30 PM

U SPORTS Staff

Legendary men’s volleyball coach Garth Pischke of the Manitoba Bisons, former Windsor Lancers athletic director Dr. Bob Boucher, veteran amateur sports reporter David Grossman and Western Mustangs football graduate and Sportsnet personality Donnovan Bennett were honoured Thursday as the winners of the 2021 U SPORTS Honours Awards for their contributions to university sports in Canada.

Pischke took home the Jean-Marie de Koninck Coaching Excellence Award, while Dr. Boucher was recognized posthumously with the Austin-Matthews Award. Grossman earned the Fred Sgambati Media Award and Bennett was presented with the L.B. “Mike” Pearson Award.

The winners were announced virtually by namesakes of each of the awards or members of their respective families as well as the Canadian Sports Information Directors Association as part of the 2021 U SPORTS Conference and Annual Meeting. All winners will receive a commemorative ring from Baron, the Exclusive Provider of championship rings and recognition jewelry for U SPORTS.

For past U SPORTS Honours Award winners, click here.

Jean-Marie de Koninck Coaching Excellence Award

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GARTH PISCHKE
Manitoba Bisons
Men's Volleyball
1982-2020

Biography

As one of the most successful and respected coaches in Canada, Garth Pischke was at the helm of the Manitoba Bisons men’s volleyball team for 38 seasons.

During his tenure as bench boss, the Bisons qualified for the U SPORTS Championship 28 times, including streaks of 19 straight appearances and 14 consecutives years with a medal. In total, the Bisons captured 23 medals (9 gold, 9 silver, 5 bronze), and never finished lower than fifth place.

Pischke has earned Fox 40 U SPORTS Men’s Volleyball Coach of the Year honours a record six times, (1981-82, 1983-84, 1987-88, 1989-90, 1994-95, 2016-17), along with several CW Coach of the Year recognitions. Pischke holds an overall coaching match record at 1,358-419 (.764 win percentage) – the most overall coaching wins by a U SPORTS head coach in history.

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Internationally, 42 of Pischke's student-athletes have gone on to represent Canada at various level, while he served as head coach of the national team from 1996-2000, guiding them from 21st in world rankings to 10th. He has also been involved in coaching various developmental and experienced club teams to three Under-18 National Championships, four Under-20 National Championships, four Volleyball Canada Open Championships.

“We are delighted that Garth has been awarded the Jean-Marie de Koninck Award. It is a fitting recognition for a coaching career unapparelled in achievement and longevity,” said Gene Muller, Bisons Director of Athletic and Recreation. “He set the standard for excellence in a varsity volleyball program, and positively impacted the lives of Bison student-athletes for more than three decades. Garth earned the title of legend.”

Austin-Matthews Award (Outstanding Contribution)

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Dr. Bob Boucher
Windsor Lancers
1974-2011

Biography

As a former dean, professor, and director of athletics in the Faculty of Human Kinetics, Dr. Boucher had an outstanding career at the University of Windsor that spanned 37 years from 1974 to his retirement in 2011. He provided outstanding leadership for the school's athletic and recreation programs and played a central role in developing several widely respected programs in the faculty.

While athletic director, Dr. Boucher served as the Chef de Mission for the 1997 World University Games in Sicily, Italy and as the Assistant Chef de Mission for the 1995 World University Games in Fukuoka, Japan. In 2005, he was the chairperson of the organizing committee for the Junior Pan-American Track and Field Championships. He also the namesake of the Fox 40 Coach of the Year Award in U SPORTS men’s track and field.

In his field of sport management, Dr. Boucher was considered an expert and had extensive academic and applied experience. Most notably, Dr. Boucher served as the President of the North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM) and the Canadian Intramural Recreation Association (CIRA).

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Dr. Boucher published and edited a book and authored articles that have appeared in a wide variety of academic and professional journals. He was awarded the Dr. Earle F. Zeigler Lecture Award and the Distinguished Service Award for contributions to Sport Management in 1996 by the NASSM.

In 1997, Dr. Boucher was presented with the Lancers 'A Award' for his dedication and commitment to the Blue & Gold. He was inducted into the University of Windsor's Alumni Sports Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Windsor-Essex Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.

Dr. Boucher passed away on Nov. 15, 2020.

“Bob was my boss, my mentor and friend. His positive influence has been felt by many coaches and colleagues at UWindsor as well by those who had the pleasure to work with him in Ontario University Athletics and U SPORTS,” said Mike Havey, Director of Athletics and Recreation Services for the Lancers. “Bob was a trusted colleague whose primary focus was always the student-athlete experience. His perspective was always that of improving the national and conference offices above and beyond any individual benefit to either himself or his institution. He was the reasonable voice around the table that we all respected and admired.”

Fred Sgambati Media Award

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david grossman
Toronto Star / Sportsnet 590 The Fan
Laurier Golden Hawks

Biography

David Grossman is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster with some of Canada’s major media, having spent over four decades telling the stories of Canada’s student-athletes.

Grossman spent four decades as a sports reporter with the Toronto Star covering high school, college and university athletes, while also hosting a weekly radio show on Sportsnet 590 The Fan focusing on amateur sport. Fan_590.png (254 KB)

“David was instrumental in the promotion of amateur sports, the student-athletes, and the stories around them,” said Nelson Millman, former program director of Sportsnet 590 The Fan. “The station’s objective was to tell stories about the city, and David was able to find them, tell them and relate them. It was important to us be a part of the community.”

Locally, Grossman also co-hosted Hawk Talk on Waterloo’s 570 News, and has produced the Laurier Grads Soar multi-part series since 2017, featuring former Golden Hawks student-athletes and student-leaders in the Athletics and Recreation Department, and the success they have enjoyed since leaving Laurier.

“For over 40 years, David Grossman has covered the progression of many OUA and U SPORTS student-athletes, from high school, to university sport and onward to Olympic and professional levels, said Golden Hawks Director of Athletics and Recreation Peter Baxter. Laurier HawkTalk helped open the doors and set the standard for other U SPORTS institutions to create their own radio shows.”

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L.B. “Mike” Pearson Award (Outstanding achievements inside and outside of university sport)

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Donnovan Bennett
Western Mustangs
Football
2003-06
Sportsnet

Biography

Donnovan (D.J.) Bennett is one of Canada’s leading sports broadcasters, social justice advocate and former varsity football star with the Western Mustangs from 2003 to 2006.

While he was an outstanding varsity student-athlete at Western, he is best known for his media work on theScore and Sportsnet where he has used his platform to discuss social injustice and the experience of athletes from the BIPOC communities. Bennett’s work often touches on the intersections between sports and race, politics, gender and pop culture.

He is also an advocate for equity, diversity and inclusions (EDI) and is a member of the OUA’s Black, Biracial and Indigenous Task Force. At the national level, Bennet has worked with U SPORTS in multiple areas, including serving as a keynote speaker for its Black History Month celebrations in 2021, while also serving as Chair of the U SPORTS Football Top 10 media panel since 2017.

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“I want to offer a big congratulations to Donnovan. He played for four years for the Mustangs and was a well-respected player and leader both on and off the field, and continues to stay actively involved with our programs as an alumnus,” said Christine Stapleton, Mustangs Director, Sport and Recreation. “He has used his experience and success in media to cover not just sports, but also important social and cultural issues, and is an incredible voice for Western University and the Western Mustangs. He is very deserving of this prestigious award.”

From 2007 through 2013, he was an on-air reporter, host and analyst for the Score Television Network where he earned a Gemini Award nomination for his “The Score Celebrates Black History Month” series.

In 2013, he joined Rogers Sports and Media where he continued to build his portfolio by continuing to tell compelling sports stories in the areas of EDI.

While at Western, Bennett won broadcasting awards named after future Sportsnet colleagues Dan Shulman and Elliotte Friedman and was a nominee for the Sgambati Award in 2014, after winning the OUA media award that season.

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“Nobody in Canadian media continuously challenges the status quo and uses their platform to demand and celebrate social progress like Donnovan Bennett,” said Andrew Sutherland, VP Sportsnet Original Content, Marketing & Creative. “At Sportsnet, we are beyond proud to share that platform, and we are grateful for his willingness to use it for good and to challenge us to do better for all Canadians. Donnovan is an exceptional storyteller and content creator, and an even better human being. While he is truly one-of-a-kind, we can be certain he is inspiring a new generation of creators and athletes who will carry forward the fight for a brighter, kinder, and more inclusive Canada.”

Awards

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20 May 2021, 12:15 PM 20 May 2021, 12:15 PM

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Awards News

Pischke, Boucher, Grossman, Bennett earn U SPORTS Honours Awards

Jean-Marie de Koninck Coaching Excellence Award

Austin-Matthews Award (Outstanding Contribution)

Fred Sgambati Media Award

L.B. “Mike” Pearson Award (Outstanding achievements inside and outside of university sport)

Basketball grads Knowlton, Lengvari Jr. capture inaugural Mitchell Family Alumni of the Year Awards Presented by Makadiff Sports