Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Million dollar ice hockey coach

Intercollegiate sports work a little differently in Canada from what I understand. Though I don't know many details, Canadian hockey players I have talked to say they come to the U.S. to play college hockey because they can get athletic scholarships here. Basically intercollegiate athletics here get more funding.
But it also seems like athletics, in educational institutions anyway, are a little more sane up north. This also means that coaches are not making million dollar salaries. Coaching is actually more of a part-time gig supplemented by other work in the university.
This was the case of the McGill women's hockey coach, Peter Smith, who coaches the successful team part time and is the facilities manager for recreational sports the rest of the time. Until recently that is when a couple, the Kerrs, donated a $1 million to endow the head coach position. Both were associated with the team in the past: the husband as a former coach and the wife as a former player.
It is the largest donation to a Canadian university sports program men's or women's--ever.

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