EDMONTON - Jerry Friesen, Head Coach of the University of Alberta Golden Bears football team, has gone from his family’s farm in Rosthern, Saskatchewan to forever being enshrined in the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame.
The announcement on Thursday was a long time coming for Friesen, who is entering his 8th season as Head Coach of the Golden Bears.
Friesen came out of Bedford Road Collegiate as an offensive lineman and then played for the Saskatoon Hilltops in 1973 and 1974 where he was converted to linebacker. It was a position he played for three years with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies, where he was twice (1976 and 1977) named an All-Canadian. After earning his Bachelor of Education and graduating from the CIS ranks, Friesen joined the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League in 1978 and played in Grey Cup games during his first two seasons. After three seasons with the Alouettes, Friesen went back to Saskatchewan where he spent six seasons with the Roughriders. He was honoured with the CFL's Tom Pate Award for contributions to the team and the community in 1986 and later became the defensive co-ordinator with the CIS Huskies in 1988, sharing in a Vanier Cup national title in 1990.
“First of all, being inducted into the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame is truly a tremendous honour an honour that is really a reflection of the support and contributions of coaches and family that were with me and helped me grow to become a better person and athlete.”
After a year as a coach with the Roughriders in 1996, he became assistant coach with University of Calgary in 1997 and head coach of University of Alberta in 2001. Friesen worked hard to change the Alberta football program, inheriting a non-playoff team and compiling a 7-17 record in his first three seasons. Through strong recruiting he re-built the Bears and guided them to back-to-back 7-1 seasons (2004and 2005), including a season (2004) where he was named the CIS Coach of the Year.
Some of the notable names joining Friesen as 2008 inductees are former NHL’er Brian Skrudland, former WHL commissioner and Canadian Hockey League president Ed Chynoweth (posthumously) as well as Ross Wilson (former Athletic Director at University of Saskatchewan) and former Calgary Stampeder slotback Marshall Toner.