The Lois and Doug Mitchell U Sports Athletes of the Year Awards, formerly known as the Lieutenant Governor Athletic Awards, Borden Ladner Gervais (BLG) Awards, and Howard, Mackie Awards, are given annually to top male and female athletes in Canadian universities that are members of
U Sports
U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body of university sport in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country. Its equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is the Ca ...
. Each of the 56 member schools nominate a female and male athlete of the year which are further narrowed down to representatives from each of the four athletics conference of U Sports (
Atlantic University Sport
Atlantic University Sport (AUS; french: Sport universitaire de l'Atlantique) is a regional membership association for universities in Atlantic Canada which assists in co-ordinating competition between their university level athletic programs and pr ...
,
Canada West Universities Athletic Association,
Ontario University Athletics
Ontario University Athletics (OUA; french: Sports universitaires de l'Ontario) is a regional membership association for Canadian universities which assists in co-ordinating competition between their university level athletic programs and providin ...
, and
Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec
The Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ; literal translation: ''Quebec Student Sports Network'') is the current name for the organisation formerly known as the Fédération du sport scolaire du Québec (FSSQ; ''Quebec Student Sports Federa ...
).
The eight nominees each receive a commemorative durilium ring and the two winners receive $10,000 post-graduate scholarships and are awarded the Doug and Lois Mitchell Trophy.
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History
The awards were founded in 1993 by Douglas Mitchell
Douglas Harding Mitchell, (February 19, 1939 – July 20, 2022) was a Canadian Football player, executive, and commissioner.
A graduate of Colorado College and the University of British Columbia (UBC), Mitchell played three games for the BC ...
who wanted to provide more recognition for Canadian university athletes. They were initially named after Mitchell's law firm Howard, Mackie in Calgary, Alberta
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Canadian Prairies, Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,30 ...
. After a merger of law firms in 2000, the awards were renamed the BLG Awards after the new law firm Borden Ladner Gervais
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (abbreviated as BLG) is a leading, full-service law firm in Canada. With almost two hundred years of history going back to the 1823 founding of McMaster Gervais, it now has offices in Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver, Ottaw ...
.[ The awards were further rebranded as the Lieutenant Governor Athletic Awards in 2019 while continuing to be championed by Mitchell and his wife, ]Lois Mitchell
Lois Elizabeth Mitchell (née Boulding; June 22, 1939) is a Canadian businesswoman and philanthropist who was the 18th Lieutenant Governor of Alberta from 2015 to 2020. Her appointment as Lieutenant Governor was made by Governor General of Cana ...
, the 18th Lieutenant Governor of Alberta
The lieutenant governor of Alberta () is the viceregal representative in Alberta of the . The lieutenant governor is appointed in the same manner as the other provincial viceroys in Canada and is similarly tasked with carrying out most of the m ...
. The women's winner was awarded the Jim Thompson Trophy as of 2003 and the men's winner was awarded the Doug Mitchell Trophy as of 2009.[ Starting in 2020, both winners are awarded Doug & Lois Mitchell Trophies while the Jim Thompson Trophy is now given to a distinguished alumni beginning in 2021.][ The awards were rebranded again in 2021 as the Lois and Doug Mitchell U Sports Athletes of the Year Awards.]
List of past winners
References
External links
Official website
{{U Sports volleyball
Canadian sports trophies and awards
Annual sporting events in Canada
1993 establishments in Canada