Life after football: CFL alumni offered education opportunities through Sask. Polytech
The Canadian Football League Alumni Association is teaming up with Saskatchewan Polytechnic to provide opportunities for athletes and their spouses to advance their education.
A signing event was held Wednesday morning at Mosaic Stadium to formalize the partnership.
“This is a big day for Saskatchewan Polytechnic,” said Paul Carter, dean of the School of Continuing Education at Saskatchewan Polytechnic. “Our goal is to inspire success in every learning journey. It’s a real opportunity for us to be able to work so closely with the CFL Alumni Association and help players and former players reach their next career goal for a life after football.”
The program will give those eligible access to the School of Continuing Education. It is similar to a program already in place with the CFLPA and Roughriders Alumni, which will benefit more players and their family members. Membership in the CFLAA is optional. There are currently over 2,000 members across Canada and the United States.
“No active player wants to believe that their career is going to be cut short or they’re not going to make the team,” said Andrew Greene, former Saskatchewan Roughrider and Saskatchewan Polytechnic alumnus. “Reality is going to set in. What are they going to do? Work, job, money, life still goes on.”
Greene said he hadn’t completed his degree before he was drafted, but went back and finished it after his football career ended. He also took a project management course at Saskatchewan Polytechnic to further his education.
“Unfortunately in football, there is a 100 per cent injury rate,” said Brett MacNeil, president of the CFLAA. ”Many off-seasons are spent under the surgeon’s knife and then in the treatment room for six months of rehab trying to win your job again come June.”
MacNeil said the program involves career counselling, tuition support, and credit support.
“Everyone wants to talk about career transition while you’re playing, but there are challenges,“ said MacNeil. “If you’re injured during the season, you’re not going to be available in the off-season to maybe take a course or to work towards a new job or even be self-employed. So career transition, particularly through a pandemic where forced retirements are at an all-time high, we need to help these guys out.
“I might go back and take another course now,” Greene said. “You never know.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.
Air France flight from Paris to Seattle lands in Iqaluit after heat smell in cabin
A plane travelling from Paris to Seattle was forced to make an emergency landing in Iqaluit after there was a heat smell in the cabin during the flight.