The Lois and Doug Mitchell Awards for the U SPORTS Athletes of the Year will be announced on Monday, June 2, at a ceremony in Collingwood, Ontario. The awards ceremony is being held in conjunction with the U SPORTS Conference and Annual Meeting for the second straight year.
The Awards, which date back to 1993, were created to increase the profile and support of Canadian university student-athletes. Mitchell, the namesake for the annual Mitchell Bowl football game, continued his involvement up until his passing in 2022.
Each U SPORTS member has the opportunity to nominate their female and male athletes of the year, from which one finalist of each gender is chosen to represent the Atlantic, Canada West, Ontario and Quebec conferences. These eight nominees are considered for the U SPORTS Athletes of the Year based on their athletic accomplishments, outstanding sportsmanship and demonstrated leadership. A vote of the Canadian Athletic Foundation trustee will determine the winners.
The 2024-25 finalists are:
- AUS: Alliyah Rowe (Cape Breton, Women’s Soccer) and DJ Jackson (STFX, Men’s Basketball)
- RSEQ: Marie-Frédérique Poulin (Laval, Women’s Track & Field) and Philippe Morneau Cartier (Laval, Men’s Cross-Country and Men’s Track & Field)
- OUA: Favour Okpali (Western, Women’s Track & Field) and Taylor Elgersma (Laurier, Football)
- CW: Gage Grassick (Saskatchewan, Women’s Basketball) and Nate Petrone (Calgary, Men’s Basketball)
The awards ceremony is set to begin at 6 p.m. and will be streamed on the U SPORTS YouTube channel.