Jacques Cyr was Québec’s voice at the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association table for 17 years. Now, Cyr represents the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) in the CCAA Hall of Fame.
As a CCAA Board Member, Cyr served at the national table from 1989 until his retirement in 2006. He was entered into the Hall of Fame in the Builder category.
“Jacques worked tirelessly in Québec collegiate athletics for more than 30 years,” said Benoit Carrière, Collegiate Program Director at the RSEQ.
“I speak on behalf of all CCAA-member RSEQ colleges when I say that we consider Jacques to be extremely deserving of the honour of being inducted into the CCAA Hall of Fame.”
Cyr’s collegiate sports career began in 1960 at the Séminaire de Joliette, where he was hired as an Athletic Director. He encountered many challenges right from the get-go.
“They had just rebuilt a new sports complex following a fire that had destroyed a large part of their building,” said Cyr. “My mandate was to start new programs such as football, basketball, hockey and volleyball so that we could compete with other colleges in the Montréal region.”
At Joliette, Cyr would serve various roles; he coached both football and basketball and was an established official in hockey, basketball, football and baseball.
In August of 1974, Cyr made the move to Montréal, where he became the Program Director for the Fédération des associations sportives collégiales du Québec (FASCQ), which had recently been put in place as the collegiate sector of the Fédération Québécoise du sport étudiant (FQSE).
In 1978, Québec hosted all four CCAA National Championships simultaneously over the course of a week in Montréal and surrounding area. Without an official host institution, the FASCQ organized the unique event and held the competition in former Olympic sites. The Men’s and Women’s Basketball National Championships were held at the Velodrome, which would several years later be converted into the Biodome.“Not only was Jacques an active participant in CCAA meetings, he was an indispensable resource and guide to National Championship host colleges in Quebec,” said Carriere.
The 1978 championships are one of Cyr’s fondest CCAA memories.
“Fresh out of the Montréal Olympics, we hosted the National Championships in the Olympic facilities,” said Cyr. “We were new at this and could not wish for a greater opportunity to show the student population of the CCAA what they could achieve.”
Cyr was a familiar face at CCAA annual general meetings but it’s the friendships and after-hour gatherings that stand out most in his memory. Among the many souvenirs include the lobster feast hosted by Ken Marchant in Nova Scotia, skiing on the glacier in Whistler, BC, and the famous ‘rodeo competition’ in Banff, AB.
“Good moments spent among a great bunch of people,” said Cyr.
