Riders president honoured at CFL awards

Outgoing Roughriders president Jim Hopson is being honoured by the CFL.

Hopson was given the Hugh Campbell Distinguished Leadership Award for his contributions to the CFL, the game of football and sports in Canada at the CFL awards on Thursday night.

“It means quite a bit. When I grew up (Hugh Campbell), George (Reed) and Ron (Lancaster), those were the guys,” said Hopson.

“In many ways I’ve tried to model the Riders after the Eskimos that (Campbell) buildt. The standard of excellence and the expecations and so on. It means a lot that (Campbell’s) name is on there.”

Hopson became the president of the Riders in 2005 leading the team to four Grey Cup appearances and two championships. Under the watch of Hopson the Riders have turned into the biggest money maker in the CFL with record profits. The Riders have also been named on of Saskatchewan’s top 100 companies and top 20 employers. The team is also a regional winner for “most admired corporate culture” and an honorary ABEX award winner.

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“I had high expectations of myself and the organization. I truly felt that if we didn’t win a Grey Cup during my time it would have been a failure,” said Hopson.

“We could have success off the field and with ticket sales and marketing and so on. But, the true mark of excellence is to win a championship.”

The team has also kept its eye on the community as the team has won Paragon Awards for both marketing and community involvement.
As for Hopson, he’s received numerous individual accolades including Power 50 of Canadian Sports by the Globe and Mail and one of the most influential men in Saskatchewan by the Saskatchewan Business Magazine.

Hopson announced before the 2014 regular season began that he would retire in March of 2015.

Previous winners of the awards include Hugh Campbell, Bob Ackles, Stan Schwartz, Tony Proudfoot and Brian Williams.

Riders’ receiver Rob Bagg was also nominated for the Jake Gaudar award given to the player who best demonstrates the attributes of Canadian veterans. Argos linebacker James Yurichuk ended up taking home that honour.

Other winners on the evening include:

Other winners on the evening include:

Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Defensive Player: Lions linebacker Solomon Elimimian
Most Outstanding Canadian: Stampeders running back Jon Cornish
Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman: Stampeders centre Brett Jones
Most Outstanding Special Teams Player: Argonauts kicker Swayze Waters
Most Outstanding Rookie: Eskimos linebacker Dexter McCoil
Tom Pate Memorial Award: Stampeders defensive tackle Randy Chevrier
Commissioner’s Award: The Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group

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