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From Coach Flory's Desk

Summer is finally here and we are counting down the days until the start of the 2021 Canada West football season!

Our team continues work to prepare for the fall and the condensed and competitive season starting in late-September. The schedule from Canada West was released in late June. Our team will play a six game season and you can read more about it and the road to playoffs and the Vanier Cup in this edition of the newsletter. The three other conferences in U SPORTS have also announced their schedules. This is great news as all 27 university football programs in the country and all four conferences are committed to playing football this fall.

Our modified Fall Training Camp will coincide with the start of classes at the beginning of September. The training camp will be different and not include two-a-day practices because of the athletes' class schedules and work for the assistant coaching staff. This makes the summer training and development we are doing so important. We see our long term, incremental approach to returning to games will pay huge dividends for us when the live action starts again.

With the shortened schedule and later start to the season, a non-conference game at Griffiths Stadium against the Manitoba Bisons has been arranged. Kickoff for the game will be Saturday, September 18 at 2 p.m. The team is looking to this game to be the "unofficial" Homecoming and hope to have the stadium packed. Members of the Alumni Reunion Committee has planned an all-years event with special attention to the 25th Anniversary of the 1996 Vanier Cup win. Learn more about the reunion event in this newsletter. I, personally, would love to see as many of my former teammates and alumni from across the six decades of focus!

I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable summer. Please join us in Saskatoon to reminisce, tell stories, and support the current players in our quest for the Vanier Cup. You won’t regret it!

Cheers,

Scott Flory

2021 Canada West schedule released

With files from Huskie Athletics

A six game schedule that kicks off on September 25 on the road will mark the 2021 for the University of Saskatchewan Huskie football team.

Kicking off against the reigning Hardy Cup champion Calgary Dinos in Calgary, the Huskies will face the UBC Thunderbirds in Vancouver before returning home. The Alberta Golden Bears will travel to Saskatoon on October 16, followed by the provincial rival Regina Rams on October 23. The Huskies travel to Winnipeg to face off against the Manitoba Bisons before ending the season at home against the Dinos on November 6.

"With all the speculation and all the uncertainty over the last 16 months, to actually have something concrete and tangible that we can look at and plan for is really exciting," said Flory. "I know that our guys love football and they have been working so hard throughout to stay focused on the prospect of playing a game and I think there's going to be a lot of emotions in that first home game. We start on the road and will be able to get some team bonding in, but to actually get back to action here in Saskatoon at Griffiths Stadium will be really special."

The Hardy Cup playoffs begin November 13, followed by the 83rd edition of the Hardy Cup on November 20.

Full Huskie Athletics Release

Save the Date - Football Reunion

The Huskie Football Alumni are planning a football reunion for Saturday, September 18 in conjunction with a non-conference game at Griffiths Stadium in Nutrien Park against the Manitoba Bisons.

Headed up by Chris Flory (1992-1996), Zach Hart (2009-2013), Alan Merkowsky (1975-1979) and Brian Perkins (1976-1980), the Alumni Reunion Committee will be targeting groups of teams going back six decades for the event. Although groups are being targeted, all alumni are encouraged to attend.

1959 to 1961 - The sixty year reunion group
1970 to 1972 - The fifty year reunion group
1979 to 1982 - The forty year reunion group
1991 to 1993 - The thirty year reunion group
2000 to 2002 - The twenty year reunion group
2009 to 2011 - The ten year reunion group

Plans are to include a tribute to the 25th anniversary of the 1996 Vanier Cup win, the annual Alumni Golf Tournament and a postgame reception. More reunion details, packages and hotel accommodation information will be available soon.

The Alumni Reunion Committee is planning to host a reunion weekend every third year, targeting different groups of teams each reunion year to allow for planning ahead of time. Extra effort will be put into reaching out to those involved in the groups of teams targeted but all alumni will be encouraged to attend.

Father-son duo start craft brewery

A life-altering layoff forced Ryan Kemp to fuse a love of craft beer and the breed of his dogs.

The former offensive lineman, who played from 2006-10, teamed up with his fellow Huskie alum and father Jim (defensive tackle, 1974-76) to create Screaming Toller Brewing Company in 2021. Laid off from his sales job due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ryan decided to take the leap as an entrepreneur. The idea for the name came from his Nova Scotia Duck Tollers named Titus and Kuma.

"When they are excited, they make a distinct screaming noise," Ryan explained. "I started this company because of my love for craft beer and dogs."

Ryan and Jim are no strangers to working together. The two worked together as sales executives before starting the company and had many shared years on the football field as coach and player, as well as father and son. Both believe its the shared lessons learned decades apart as Huskie football players that make the partnership work.

"We have learned that hard work and teamwork pays dividends both in sports and business," said Ryan. The relationships and friends you build in sports have quite often carried over to the business world."

Future plans for the alumni - create a co-branded beer for the Huskie football team to provide scholarships for the program.

Currently, Screaming Toller Beer is available in 82 stores across Alberta with plans to expand into other western provinces.

Screaming Toller Beer

The Huskies have winning all-time records against three Canada West opponents: Alberta Golden Bears 54-33-1, Regina Rams 27-11 and UBC Thunderbirds 60-32.

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