Masterson and MacLean Inducted into ACAC Hall of Fame
Posted on: May 12, 2014
On Saturday, May 10th, the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference kicked off its 50th Anniversary celebrations with the inaugural ACAC Hall of Fame Gala. Fifty Builders, Coaches and Athletes were honoured at the induction banquet that was held in the Grande Ballroom of Edmonton's Sutton Place Hotel. Among the honourees were long-time Concordia Athletic Director Bernie Masterson (Builder Category) and 18-year hockey Coach Jim MacLean (Coach Category).
Bernie Masterson
Bernie Masterson was the long-time Athletics Director at Concordia, serving the University in that capacity for some 38 years. The final 22 years of his tenure were spent in the ACAC after Concordia joined the conference in 1992. When Bernie first became the Athletics Director, he was tasked with building the department from the ground up. Relative to most of the members of the ACAC, Concordia is a small school that has had incredible athletics results under Bernie’s direction. In describing Bernie, Concordia President Gerald Krispin says “Bernie’s leadership, choice of coaches and ability to forge positive working relationships with the athletics associations in the province all contributed to Concordia’s being a preferred destination for students who wanted to excel and succeed in athletics.”
Bernie has held numerous committee positions within the ACAC during his tenure as the Concordia Thunder Athletics Director. In 1997, he was elected to the Executive Committee as Vice President for 1 year before taking over as ACAC President from 1998-2002. His love of golf led him to become the conference Golf Convenor from 2000-2002 and later returned to this role in 2005 which he fulfilled each year until his retirement in 2013. In addition to these positions, he also served as the ACAC Badminton Convenor (2006-2009), Program Committee Chair and Member (2004-2009), and Non-Court Sports Committee Member (2009-2013). As a long serving member of various ACAC committees and roles, Bernie has been a valuable resource to other Athletics Directors across the conference and the CCAA.
Bernie retired in July 2013 after 38 years of overseeing the Concordia Athletics Department.
Jim MacLean
Jim MacLean was the Head Coach of the Concordia Thunder Men’s hockey team for 17 seasons. His tenure began in 1992-93 and ended when he announced his retirement following the 2008-09 season. During that period, his teams made the playoffs in 16 of 17 seasons and he led the Thunder to 1 ACAC Conference Championship in 2002-03. Under Jim’s leadership, the Thunder also won ACAC Silver in 2008-09 and Bronze in 2003-04 and again in 2007-08. Jim is also a two-time recipient of the ACAC Men’s Hockey Coach of the Year award (2000-01 and 2002-03).
In addition to being the hockey program’s first and longest tenured coach since Concordia joined the ACAC in 1992, Jim was regarded as an excellent instructor for various courses within the campus teaching community and was dedicated to the academic performance of his student-athletes. The alumni of the Thunder Men’s Hockey program regard Jim as one of the most influential people in their lives and many of those relationships between Jim and his former players remain to this day.
