President Emeritus the driving force behind Griffins getting into Canada West

Dr. David Atkinson

(Inducted 2024)

Not only is the gym where the Griffins play named after him, Dr. Atkinson is the biggest reason why MacEwan is competing in the Canada West conference instead of the ACAC.

When he began a six-year tenure as MacEwan University President in 2011, David was barely on the job a week before he kick-started the process of trying to get the Griffins out of collegiate sports and into university play. His goal was to make every aspect of MacEwan a university, including its academics, its research, its faculty, its staff, its scholarships and its Athletics teams.

It was an extremely challenging process with opposition on many fronts, but David was the political driving force the mission needed, personally calling the President of every Canada West school to lobby for their support and making presentations to a room full of Canada West Athletics Directors twice.

It worked as MacEwan was granted entry into Canada West in 2014 in four sports.

Hockey, however, remained in the ACAC because they didn’t have a permanent home, at the time playing as nomads out of the Bill Hunter Arena. Dr. Atkinson made the difference again, securing a deal with the city of Edmonton as MacEwan became an equity partner in the Downtown Community Arena, which opened in 2016.

Thanks to David spearheading the effort, the Griffins hockey teams had a permanent home with their own dressing rooms and it was the difference in them being granted entry into Canada West in 2020.

A talented cross country athlete in his youth, David was an All American and Big 10 champion for Indiana University and won Canada’s Fred Tees Memorial Trophy as the outstanding university track and field athlete in Canada.

His lifetime contributions to sport have been immense and we’re proud that the legacy he’s left at MacEwan is his full circle moment in sport as he joins the Griffins’ Wall of Distinction in the Builder category.

Read more about Dr. Atkinson in THIS WALL OF DISTINCTION FEATURE

MacEwan and Lethbridge basketball teams pose for a photo with Dr. David Atkinson in a ceremony naming the gym after him on the opening weekend of the 2017-18 season (File photo).