CALGARY – University of Calgary Dinos quarterback Erik Glavic is the 2010 Canadian Interuniversity Sport male athlete of the year.

The 6-foot-6, 230-pound native of Pickering, Ont. was named the winner at the 18th Annual BLG Awards ceremony Monday night at Calgary's Jack Singer Concert Hall. He becomes the record seventh Dinos athlete to win the BLG Award since 1993, the inaugural year of the honours.

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Glavic beat out Western Ontario quarterback Michael Faulds and a pair of hockey players, Francois Verreault-Paul of McGill and UNB's Hunter Tremblay for the honour, receiving the Doug Mitchell Trophy.

UBC volleyball star Liz Cordonier won the Jim Thompson Trophy as the CIS female athlete of the year, finishing ahead of Wilfrid Laurier hockey goalie Liz Knox, Montréal soccer player Veronique Maranda, and Cape Breton hoopster Kelsey Hodgson.

Glavic joins a long list of Calgary BLG Award winners that includes track and field's Jessica Zelinka (2007), volleyballer Joanna Niemczewska (2004), basketball star Leighann Doan (2001), swimmer Curtis Myden (1997), football slotback Don Blair (1996), and volleyball player Andy Cameron (1993). His photo will be added later this summer to the Dinos' BLG Wall of Distinction outside the Athletics offices at the University of Calgary.

Previous football recipients include McMaster running backs Jesse Lumsden (2005) and Kojo Aidoo (2001), Blair, Wilfrid Laurier quarterback Bill Kubas (1995) and Western Ontario running back Tim Tindale (1994).

In his first Canada West season last fall after transferring from Saint Mary's and recovering from two knee surgeries, Glavic set a school record completing 67.5% of his passes and led the conference in total offence (336.1 yards per game), touchdown responsibility (20), rushing average (10.5 yards per carry), pass efficiency (181.6) and passing TDs (14), all of this while helping the Dinos set single-season team marks for total offence and first downs and tie the team record with 39 touchdowns.

After leading Calgary to a 7-1 mark in conference play – the program's best since 1988 – the social sciences student was named Canada West player of the year, MVP of the conference final and guided the Dinos to their first Vanier Cup appearance since 1995 thanks to a 38-14 win over his former team, Saint Mary's, in the Uteck Bowl.

On Nov. 26, Glavic became the first player in history to capture the Hec Crighton Trophy with two different teams. He had previously claimed CIS player-of-the-year honours with the Huskies in 2007, a season that was unfortunately cut short by a major knee injury that forced him to watch from the sidelines as his teammates lost to Manitoba in the national final.

Glavic, who also played basketball at Saint Mary's - reaching the CIS semifinals in 2007 - and may join the Dinos hoops team after the 2010 football season, comes from an athletic family. Both his brothers are currently playing pro football in Switzerland, including Marko who won the Euro Bowl in 2008 and the Swiss Bowl in 2009, and Sasha who played three years with Hamilton in the CFL. His father, Tomo, was a champion volleyball player in Croatia.

“This is a tremendous honour. Just to think the eight of us were selected amongst over 10,000 CIS athletes, it's pretty amazing,” Glavic said. “I was surrounded by very talented athletes with the Dinos last season and I can't wait to get back on the field with them.”

As it happens, he won't have to wait long to rejoin his teammates on the field as the Dinos hit the turf at McMahon Stadium for 2010 Spring Camp this coming weekend. The three-day event begins Friday with Recruit Signing Day followed by an evening practice and concludes Sunday with the annual Red-White scrimmage.

BLG Award Winners

2009-10: Liz Cordonier (UBC – volleyball), Erik Glavic (Calgary – football)
2008-09: Annamay Pierse (UBC - swimming), Joel Schmuland (Alberta - volleyball)
2007-08: Laetitia Tchoualack (Montreal - volleyball), Rob Hennigar (UNB - hockey)
2006-07: Jessica Zelinka (Calgary - track & field), Josh Howatson (Trinity Western - volleyball)
2005-06: Marylène Laplante (Laval - volleyball), Osvaldo Jeanty (Carleton - basketball)
2004-05: Adrienne Power (Dalhousie - track & field), Jesse Lumsden (McMaster - football)
2003-04: Joanna Niemczewska (Calgary - volleyball), Adam Ens (Saskatchewan - volleyball)
2002-03: Kim St-Pierre (McGill - hockey), Ryan McKenzie (Windsor - cross country & track)
2001-02: Elizabeth Warden (Toronto - swimming), Brian Johns (UBC - swimming)
2000-01: Leighann Doan (Calgary - basketball), Kojo Aidoo (McMaster - football)
1999-00: Jenny Cartmell (Alberta - volleyball), Michael Potts (Western Ontario - soccer)
1998-99: Corinne Swirsky (Concordia - hockey), Alexandre Marchand (Sherbrooke - track)
1997-98: Foy Williams (Toronto - track & field), Titus Channer (McMaster - basketball)
1996-97: Terri-Lee Johannesson (Manitoba - basketball), Curtis Myden (Calgary - swimming)
1995-96: Justine Ellison (Toronto - basketball), Don Blair (Calgary - football)
1994-95: Linda Thyer (McGill - track & field), Bill Kubas (Wilfrid Laurier - football)
1993-94: Sandra Carroll (Winnipeg - basketball), Tim Tindale (Western Ontario - football)
1992-93: Diane Scott (Winnipeg - volleyball), Andy Cameron (Calgary - volleyball)

About the BLG Awards

The BLG Awards were established in 1993 to recognize the top female and male athletes from universities affiliated with CIS. The BLG Awards are based on athletic accomplishments, outstanding sportsmanship and leadership. Each of 52 CIS schools selects one female and one male athlete of the year. From these nominees, one female and one male athlete are chosen within each of the four regional associations: Atlantic University Sport (AUS), Quebec Student Sports Federation (QSSF), Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and Canada West Universities Athletic Association (CWUAA). To be eligible, a student-athlete must have competed in a CIS sport for a minimum of two years and cannot be a previous recipient of a BLG Award.
 
Nominees receive a commemorative gold ring, and winners are presented with a trophy and a $10,000 scholarship to attend a Canadian University graduate school. Winners are selected by the Canadian Athletic Foundation, a not-for-profit Board established for the purpose of administering the BLG Awards and protecting the integrity of the selection process. The CAF Board of Trustees consists of 22 members from five Canadian cities representing major corporations from across the country who are committed to ensuring that Canadian University athletes receive the recognition they deserve.

About Borden Ladner Gervais LLP

With more than 750 lawyers, intellectual property agents, and other professionals working in six major Canadian cities, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP is the largest Canadian full-service law firm focusing on business law, litigation and intellectual property solutions. BLG provides bilingual services in virtually every area of law, and represents a wide range of regional, national and multinational organizations. For further information, visit www.blgcanada.com.

About Canadian Interuniversity Sport

Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Fifty-two universities, 10,000 student-athletes and 550 coaches vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. CIS also provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit www.cis-sic.ca.

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