The former Bisons football head coach Brian Dobie has bid farewell to the sports community, marking the end of his coaching career. Dobie reflected on his journey, as the keynote speaker, sharing memories, lessons learned and words of wisdom with the audience at the 41st Annual Marjorie Ward Lecture on Tuesday, March 11.

This year’s lecture titled “Reflections on the Future of Football in Canada,” focused on Dobie’s experiences in the world of sports and his vision for the future of football in Canada.

“I love this university — I’m going to get emotional. I’m just emotional at the best of times,” said Dobie. “I love it for so many reasons. St. John’s [College] — my family moved away when I was in Grade 12, I lived with a friend and then away I went into residence, and I was a resident here at St. John’s [College] for two years.”

Dobie spoke about the challenges he faced when he first started coaching, including the issue of concussions. “Concussions I think has sort of died down. It’s not going to go away,” he said. “In a sport like football, we’re human beings. We have some football players in the room, and I guarantee — I guess I can’t guarantee this — but I want to guarantee that probably everybody that’s ever played almost regardless of how things turned out for them, were glad they took the risk.”

Dobie also discussed the issue of performance-enhancing drugs, recalling a significant incident in 2010. “There were a little over 10,000 student-athletes in the nation, 202 drug tests were taken in total of which [about] 70 per cent of them were [conducted on] football players across the country,” said Dobie. “Things started to really increase. I remember the next year, 2011, the [Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport] testers were at our practice field about every second week,” he said.

Dobie expressed his frustration with the lack of deterrents for players who test positive for performance-enhancing drugs, stressing that the responsibility with implementing stricter measures lies with the CFL. “It has to come from where they want to get to. It’s got to come from the CFL,” he said.

Dobie took pride in his proposal to the CFL, which led to a rule change requiring that players who test positive in university sports be banned from the draft for that year. “It took a couple years of lobbying, and finally, they put in a rule in 2017,” he said. “Since then, there’s only been a couple of people that have tested positive. To me, that was the deterrent, and it turned out to be that.”

Dobie also touched on the issue of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s revenue citing the significant revenue generated by top schools in the U.S. “They’re making unbelievable amounts of money,” he said, “[but] athletes, of course, weren’t making any money.” Dobie added “you can look at it one way, that they’re abusing hard work, taking advantage of those athletes.”

“But things changed,” the former head coach explained. “You recruit a player, and you’re getting incredible student-athletes, but you’re not getting millions of dollars.” He explained that thanks to certain changes, the system evolved. Now, when a player sees a better opportunity at another school, they jump into the transfer portal, leading to constant movement between programs.

Dobie expressed hope that the future of football in Canada will develop in a way that benefits student-athletes, ensuring they can reap the rewards of their talent, much like their counterparts in the U. S.

Dobie concluded his speech by reflecting on the inspiring journeys of some of his former student-athletes including Maya Turner and Nick Thomas. Speaking on Turner’s contribution to the team, “she is not [on the team] to make a statement,” he said. “She’s not here to be that person, that woman. She’s not here for that reason. She’s here because she wants to play, she wants to compete, and she wants to do that in a sport that she really loves and enjoys.”

Dobie told a story about Thomas, a player who once doubted himself and almost gave up on his football and academic careers. He claimed Thomas said to him, “‘coach, I’m going to leave, I’m going to quit, I’m going back home […] I’m too dumb to go to university,’ were his exact words.”

“That kid, a couple years later, that dumb kid, that kid that couldn’t learn defence and couldn’t spell cat or whatever it was he thought he couldn’t do,” Dobie said, “that kid became first-team All-Canadian linebacker.”

By ending with these inspiring stories, Dobie’s words reinforced the limitless potential within Canadian sports, showing how perseverance and self-belief can transform lives.

As Dobie stepped down from the podium, the audience erupted in applause, a testament to the coach’s enduring legacy and impact on the sports community.