As his student days fade behind him with new challenges ahead, McMaster’s standout quarterback Kyle Quinlan has captured one final honour, as he was named 2013 winner of the BLG Award as Male Athlete of the Year in Canadian Interuniversity Sport.
  
The 2013 BLG Female award winner was volleyball player Shanice Marcelle from the University of British Columbia.

The recipients of the 21st annual BLG Awards were announced Monday night at the John Bassett Theatre, in the Toronto Metro Convention Centre. The awards show will premiere on Sportsnet on Tuesday, May 28.


Kyle Quinlan becomes the fourth Marauder to receive the prestigious award, joining Titus Channer (1998, basketball), Kojo Aidoo (2001, football) and Jesse Lumsden (2005, football).

All eight nominees – one female and one male from each of the four CIS regional associations - received a commemorative gold ring, while Marcelle and Quinlan were also presented with a trophy and a $10,000 scholarship to attend a Canadian University graduate school. 

The winners were 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.

“On behalf of BLG and the Canadian Athletic Foundation trustees, I would like to congratulate Shanice Marcelle and Kyle Quinlan, the winners of the 21sh annual BLG Awards,” said Doug Mitchell, National Co-Chair of BLG. “The eight student-athletes who were nominated are all outstanding in their sport. I congratulate all the nominees for their great accomplishments.”

“I would like to congratulate all the BLG Award winners and nominees. As athletes of the year at their respective universities, they have helped maintain Canada’s reputation as a leading sport nation,” said Minister of State (Sport) Bal Gosal. “In addition, I offer thanks, on behalf of the Government, to Borden Ladner Gervais for creating and hosting these awards in partnership with Canadian Interuniversity Sport and the Canadian Athletic Foundation to honour our top university athletes.”

“This year’s nominees are all exceptional athletes who are also leaders on their campuses and in their communities. They are great representatives of our 11,000 student-athletes and are truly the future of our country,” said Pierre Lafontaine, chief executive officer of CIS. “On behalf of CIS, I sincerely congratulate each of them, as well as their school and coaches, and in particular Shanice and Kyle, who join the very prestigious group of BLG Award recipients.”

Quinlan received the Doug Mitchell Trophy, named in honour of the BLG Awards founder and Chair of the Canadian Athletic Foundation. Like Marcelle, the native of South Woodslee, Ont., was a repeat nominee as he was also in the running a year ago when McGill hockey player Marc-André Dorion claimed the hardware. 

The other male finalists were Lucas Bloodoff of Castlegar, B.C., a hockey player from Saint Mary’s; David Tremblay of Stoney Point, Ont., a wrestler from Concordia University; and Gagan Dosanjh of Abbottsford, B.C., a soccer player from UBC.

A year after he led McMaster on a magical playoff run which included three straight game-MVP selections and culminated with the first national title in program history, Quinlan completed his varsity career with one of the best statistical seasons in CIS football annals. 

In eight regular season contests last fall, the 6-foot-3, 210-pound quarterback led the country with 19 touchdown passes against only two interceptions, the lowest total among starting pivots. He ranked second in the nation in both passing yards per game (307.1) and completion percentage, with a new single-season OUA record of 68.9. The ultimate dual threat, he also led all CIS signal callers with seven majors and 550 yards on the ground. In the process, he set team records for most completions (162), passing yards and TD passes in a single campaign.

Armed with those exceptional statistics, Quinlan was a logical choice for the Hec Crighton Trophy as CIS player of the year. His stellar play helped the Marauders to their first 8-0 regular season since 2003, a second straight OUA banner and a return trip to the Vanier Cup final, which ended in a loss to archrival Laval in front of a record crowd of 37,098 at Rogers Centre in Toronto. 

Not surprisingly, the 24-year-old economics student has attracted interest from the professional ranks and now hopes to leave his mark on the CFL. After attending the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Montreal Alouettes’ training camps in 2011 and 2012, respectively, he signed a new contract with the Alouettes in December and will report to his third pro camp later this spring.

“As dominant as Kyle has been on the playing surface, his statistics and output are a small part of why he was the most valuable player on our football team,” says McMaster head coach Stefan Ptaszek. “He is a leader in every sense of the word. His drive and commitment to excellence willed us back to our second consecutive national championship game. I do not have the words to describe how proud we are of Kyle Quinlan. It has been a privilege to work with him over the past five years.”

For more information about the BLG Awards please visit the Official BLG Awards website: www.blg.com/blgawards