Jim Hopson was the president and chief executive officer for the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL). Hopson served in this role from 2005 until 2014. Under his stewardship, the Roughriders captured the

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

in 2007 and 2013, and the team has recorded record profits. Hopson has been involved with football in Saskatchewan for much of his life. He played high school football for

Thom Collegiate Thom Collegiate is a public high school located in the Coronation Park area of north Regina, SK. A part of Regina Public Schools, it is named after Douglas J. Thom - a lawyer, author, and member of the Regina Collegiate Board. The school offers ...

in Regina, and then joined the

Regina Rams The Regina Rams represent the University of Regina, located in Regina, Saskatchewan in the sport of Canadian football in U Sports. The Rams joined U Sports in 1999 and have competed in the Canada West Conference since then. The program has won ...

to play junior football. After completing his junior career, Hopson joined the Roughriders in 1973. He became a starter on the offensive line for the Roughriders in 1974, when his career overlapped with Roughrider greats

Ron Lancaster Ronald Lancaster (October 14, 1938 – September 18, 2008) was an American-Canadian professional football player and coach in the Canadian Football League (CFL). As the starting quarterback for the Saskatchewan Roughriders for 16 seasons, he ...

and George Reed. During 1975 and 1976, Hopson played professional football while teaching in Lumsden, Saskatchewan. After the 1976 Grey Cup, which Saskatchewan lost to the

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine ...

, Hopson retired to focus on his teaching career. Hopson graduated from the

University of Regina The University of Regina is a public research university located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Founded in 1911 as a private denominational high school of the Methodist Church of Canada, it began an association with the University of Saskatchew ...

with a degree in education and went on to receive a master's degree from the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

. Divorced with two grown children, as of September 2010, he was engaged to marry Brenda Edwards. In 2021, Hopson was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopson, Jim Living people Saskatchewan Roughriders players University of Regina alumni University of Oregon alumni Canadian Football League executives Players of Canadian football from Saskatchewan Canadian educators Regina Rams players 1951 births