John R. Vivian (May 14, 1941 – February 17, 2021) was a Canadian

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player,

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

player, ice hockey head coach, general manager, professional scout, and university administrator. He was most notable as the first head coach of the

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized programs and research facilities in the ...

(BGSU) varsity ice hockey program and the then-youngest general manager in professional hockey with the

Cleveland Crusaders The Cleveland Crusaders were a professional ice hockey team from Cleveland. They played in the World Hockey Association from 1972 to 1976. Their home ice was the Cleveland Arena from 1972 to 1974, and the Richfield Coliseum from 1974 to 1976. T ...

of the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

from 1973-76. He was a member of the

Adrian College Adrian College is a private liberal arts college in Adrian, Michigan. The college offers bachelor's degrees in 92 academic majors and programs. The 100 acre (0.40 km2) campus contains newly constructed facilities along with historic buildi ...

and Bowling Green State athletic halls of fame. Complete List of Hall of Fame Inductees - Adrian College
" Adrian College (September 8, 2010. Retrieved September 8, 2010. Bowling Green Athletics - Hall of Fame
" Bowling Green State University (September 8, 2010. Retrieved September 8, 2010. He died in February 2021.

Early life

Vivian grew up in Strathroy, Ontario, just west of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. After high school, Vivian joined the logging industry in

Dryden, Ontario Dryden, originally known as New Prospect, is the second-largest city in the Kenora District of Northwestern Ontario, Canada, located on Wabigoon Lake. It is the least populous community in Ontario incorporated as a city. The City of Dryden had a ...

. Vivian's heart has Bowling Green giving thanks
" NHL.com (November 25, 2009. Retrieved September 8, 2010. He left to enroll at Adrian College in

Adrian, Michigan Adrian is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Lenawee County. The population was 20,645 at the 2020 census. Adrian lies in Michigan's 7th congressional district. History Adrian was founded on June 18, 1826 by Addison Co ...

, where he played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

. He transferred to

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is amon ...

to play on the club ice hockey team for one year and then returned to Adrian. Vivian was awarded a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree from Adrian in 1966.

Coaching career

In 1966, Vivian was recruited by Bowling Green to be a graduate assistant coach for the BGSU football team, coach the club hockey team, and help direct the completion of the new BGSU Ice Arena. With a new ice arena, ice hockey became a varsity sport in 1969 and Vivian became the varsity team's first head coach. VIVIAN DONATES LEAD GIFT TO BGSU HOCKEY CAMPAIGN
" Bowling Green State University (November 14, 2009. Retrieved September 8, 2010. In addition to coaching BGSU, Vivian also helped start the youth hockey program for the city of

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep on ...

. Student Experiences History
" CENTER FOR ARCHIVAL COLLECTIONS NEWS (January 19, 2011. Retrieved September 8, 2010. Playing for two seasons without a conference, Vivian joined forces with four other hockey programs

Lake Superior State Lake Superior State University (colloquially Lake State, Lake Superior State, Soo Tech, and LSSU) is a public college in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. It is enrolls approximately 2,000 students. Due to its proximity to the Canadian border, and th ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

, and St. Louis University to create the

Central Collegiate Hockey Association The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) is a college athletic conference that participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The current CCHA began play in the 2021–22 season; a previous incarnation, which the curre ...

(CCHA). CCHA Announces All-Decade Team
" US College Hockey Online (September 8, 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2001. In 1973, Vivian directed BGSU to their first-ever CCHA Tournament championship. On May 15, 1973, Vivian accepted the general manager position for the Cleveland Crusaders of the WHA. At the time, Vivian was the youngest general manager in major professional hockey. The Iceman Cometh to MU
" The Journal News (October 30, 1976. Retrieved September 8, 2010. Crusaders head coach John Hanna was fired midseason 1974-75 and replaced by Vivian. Vivian coached the Crusaders to a 35-40-3 record after beginning the season 14-18-1.

Career in professional hockey

In 1973, at the age of 32, Vivian was named general manager of the Cleveland Crusaders of the WHA. Vivian also coached the team for 44 games during the 1974-75 season. Vivian submitted his resignation from the Crusaders at the end of January 1976Cheevers Can Begin Talks with Bruins
" The Ottawa Journal (January 28, 1976. Retrieved September 8, 2010. after growing tension between him and Cleveland's biggest star,

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

Gerry Cheevers Gerald Michael "Cheesie" Cheevers (born 7 December 1940) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) and World Hockey Association (WHA) between 1961 and 1980. Cheevers is best known for ...

, prompted Cheevers to quit and sign with the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

of the rival

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

.Vivian offers resignation to Jay Moore
" The Evening Independent (January 30, 1976. Retrieved September 8, 2010. Crusader team owner Jay Moore rejected his resignation Crusaders Improve $ Status Says Moore
" The Daily Reporter (February 6, 1976. Retrieved September 8, 2010. and Vivian stayed on through the end of the 1975-76 season before resigning again. The Crusaders folded after the 1975-76 season. In 1976, Vivian became a scout for the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

. He was with the Islander organization for 17 seasons.

Career in college athletic administration

After resigning from the Crusaders, Vivian was named the ice hockey facility director at

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 10 ...

. He oversaw the construction and opening of

Goggin Ice Arena Goggin Ice Arena was a 2,850-seat hockey rink in Oxford, Ohio. It was formerly home to the Miami University RedHawks ice hockey team. It was built in 1976, and renamed on October 11, 1984, in honor of Lloyd Goggin, former school vice president, ...

. He held the position until 1985.

JRV Management and Consulting

Vivian was CEO of JRV Management and Consulting, a firm specializing in ice arena construction, operation and management.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vivian, Jack 1941 births 2021 deaths People from Strathroy-Caradoc Bowling Green Falcons ice hockey coaches Cleveland Crusaders players University of Vermont alumni Adrian College alumni Canadian expatriates in the United States