CALGARY – University of Calgary offensive lineman Kirby Fabien will add his name to a long list of Dinos who have represented Canadian Interuniversity Sport at the East-West Shrine Game later this month.
Fabien will be the 11th Dinos player in history to attend the annual all-star showcase, which features more than 80 of the top players in NCAA football.
Representatives of Canadian schools have been invited each year since 1985, when the Dinos’ Tom Spoletini became the first. Fabien, along with McMaster offensive tackle Matt Sewell, will represent CIS at the week-long 2013 event in St. Petersburg, Florida. The game itself is scheduled for Tropicana Field, home of baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays, on Saturday, Jan. 19 at 2 p.m. MST. The game will be broadcast live on NFL Network.
All-time Shrine Bowl Selections
Of the 11 Dinos who have played in the Shrine Game, Fabien is the fifth offensive lineman to earn the distinction following in the footsteps of Spoletini, Craig Watson, Mike Pavelec, Ben Fairbrother, and his own offensive line coach, Rohn Meyer. Fabien, a three-time CIS All-Canadian, was drafted in the first round, seventh overall, of the 2012 CFL Canadian Draft by the B.C. Lions before electing to return for another campaign with the Dinos. In 2012, he resumed his usual spot on the right side of Calgary’s offensive line, earning the Dinos’ nomination for the J.P. Metras award as top lineman.
A First Team All-Canadian and Canada West All-Star for the second straight season, Fabien helped the Dinos capture an unprecedented fifth consecutive Canada West championship in 2012.
The Shrine Game has been played annually since 1925 to raise funds for Shriners Hospitals for Children and to raise awareness about the expert orthopedic, burn, spinal cord injury rehabilitation, and cleft lip and palate care, available at no charge to patients and families, through the 22 Shriners Hospitals for Children. The week-long event in Florida will include a visit by the two teams to a Shriners Hospital in nearby Tampa.
The East team will be led by former NFL coach Jerry Glanville, who served as head coach of the Houston Oilers and Atlanta Falcons in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Fabien and the West team will be coached by Leeman Bennett, who led the Falcons to their first NFC West title and also served as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 1980s.
For further information on the 2013 East West Shrine Game, visit www.shrinegame.com.
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