EDMONTON - Canada West is pleased to announce that Neil Shewchuk has been named the 2006-07 Fred “Gus” Collins award winner, and conference nominee for the CIS Fred Sgambati Media award.
Shewchuk becomes the third “Gus” Collins award winner, after Ian Hamilton of the Regina Leader-Post (2005), who went on to win the national Sgambati award, and Howard Tsumura of The Vancouver Province (2006).
A pioneer in establishing full-time radio coverage for the Saskatchewan Huskies football team on CK750/CJVR, Shewchuk recently celebrated 10 years as the voice of the Huskies, having broadcast 115 games, five Vanier Cups, including national championships in 1996 and 1998. CK750, as sponsors, have taken part in all Huskies golf tournaments and Football Foundation golf tournaments for 10 years, raising money for scholarships for student-athletes.
“Neil has volunteered his time to M.C. many times at the Huskies golf tournament held every June, as well as the Huskies Football Awards Banquet since its inception, Huskie Athletics awards banquet and the University Cup awards banquet in Saskatoon. We are very lucky to have him as a member of our local media and our Huskie ‘family’,” said Tera Schneider, Sports Information Director at the University of Saskatchewan Athletics Department.
Under Shewchuk’s direction, CK 750/CJVR has provided comprehensive coverage of all other Huskie Athletics teams with interviews and sportscast coverage. Weekdays during the season they have the ‘Huskie Den’, Monday thru Friday, as well as other Huskie features associated with the football season, and he even broadcast live from the Dogs’ Breakfast, an annual fundraiser for scholarships for student-athletes.
Known for his passion of sports, his great sense of humour and outstanding talent as a professional sports broadcaster, Shewchuk is respected by his peers and recognized as one of the country’s best play-by-play broadcasters.
Shewchuk graduated from the Radio and Television Arts Program at NAIT in Edmonton in February of 1980. In September of 1980 he began working with CJVR, where he covered many national and provincial sporting events. He has now moved to Whitecourt, AB, where he is the Station Manager and General Sales Manager of the new XM105, though he will continue to be the voice of Huskies football play-by-play.
The Canada West media award is named after the late Fred “Gus” Collins, a long-time contributor to the development, success and promotion of Canada West Athletics, notably his endless effort to produce updated, accurate statistical information to all media in an era long before laptops, email and spreadsheets.