Mike Morreale (born August 10, 1971) is the Commissioner and CEO of the

Canadian Elite Basketball League The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) is a men's professional minor league basketball organization. The CEBL was founded in 2017 and began play in 2019 with six teams competing all owned and operated by ownership group Canadian Basketball ...

(CEBL). He is a former award-winning receiver in the Canadian Football League (CFL).

Early years

A graduate of Cardinal Newman Secondary School, where he earned athlete of the year honours and was football MVP twice, Morreale played his university football with the McMaster University Marauders from 1991 to 1994. He finished his Marauder career with 116 receptions for 1,880 yards and a school-record 16 touchdowns and had 217 yards on 27 punt returns and 185 yards on nine kickoff returns. He also carried the ball four times for 33 yards and averaged 33.7 yards on 36 punts. He was a CIAU second team All-Canadian once and a two-time OUAA All-Star at wide receiver. He was named to the McMaster Hall of Fame in 2005 and a member of the McMaster University Football Team of the Century.

Professional football career

Morreale began his 12-year CFL career in 1995 with the Toronto Argonauts. He moved on to the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

in 1997 and played there for 5 seasons before rejoining Toronto in 2002. He rejoined the Tiger-Cats in 2004. His best season was 1998, when he caught 67 passes for 1076 yards and played in the Grey Cup, and won the

CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award The Most Outstanding Canadian Award is annually awarded to the best Canadian player in the Canadian Football League. The two nominees for the award are the Lew Hayman Trophy winner from the East Division, and the Dr. Beattie Martin Trophy winner ...

. He also won two

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 ...

championships, in 1996 with Toronto, and in 1999 with Hamilton, when he was named the Grey Cup Most Valuable Canadian. In 2000, Morreale was awarded the Tom Pate Award for his contributions on and off the field in the CFL. He was the CFL spokesman for the War Amps Champs program in 1997 and raised $26,000 for Hamilton Children's Hospital in the 1999 Morreale Macaroni campaign. He is also a first cousin of Toronto Argonauts legend Paul Masotti.

Post-playing career in football

Mike Morreale and fellow Hamilton, Ontario native linebacker Rob Hitchcock were released from the

on June 19, 2007. He officially announced his retirement on August 27, 2007, and joined the McMaster University football coaching staff. He was honoured by the Tiger-Cats at a halftime ceremony during the 2007 Labour Day Classic along with

Rob Hitchcock Robert "Rob" Hitchcock (born October 28, 1970) is a former linebacker and safety who played in the Canadian Football League. He played for his hometown Hamilton Tiger-Cats from 1995 to 2006 and the Edmonton Eskimos in 2007. On January 31, 2008, Hi ...

. Upon his retirement, Morreale became the Canadian Football League Players' Association (CFLPA) Director of Marketing, before being elected as the ninth President of the CFLPA in 2012, serving until 201

Morreale works as a colour analyst for U Sports football and was the colour analyst for the Hamilton Tiger Cats on

CKOC CKOC (1150 AM) is a radio station in Hamilton, Ontario. Owned by Bell Media, it broadcasts a business news format. CKOC is a 50,000-watt, Class B station operating on a Regional (not clear-channel) broadcast frequency, with transmitters located ...

from 2018 to 2019; after CHML reacquired the Tiger Cats radio rights, Morreale was retained as a studio contributor.TIGER-CATS LAUNCH ‘TICATS AUDIO NETWORK’, DELIVERING LIVE GAME BROADCASTS & ON-DEMAND CONTENT TO FANS
Press release, retrieved August 3, 2021.

CEBL Commissioner

Since 2017, Morreale has served as the Commissioner and CEO of the

(CEBL) which launched in 2019 with 6 teams. The league has since expanded to include 10 teams, adding its seventh franchise in Ottawa in late 2019, & another 3 franchises in Montreal, Scarborough, & Newfoundland ahead of the league's 2022 season. The CEBL is Canada Basketball's only licensed professional Men's Division 1 Pro league.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morreale, Mike 1971 births Canadian Football League announcers Canadian Football League Most Outstanding Canadian Award winners Canadian football wide receivers Canadian people of Italian descent Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Living people McMaster Marauders football coaches McMaster Marauders football players Toronto Argonauts players Sportspeople from Hamilton, Ontario Canadian Elite Basketball League