In honour of the distinguished career of Bob Bain, former head coach of the York University men’s basketball team and senior lecturer in the School of Kinesiology & Health Science, Sport & Recreation York will host a retirement dinner on Tuesday, June 21.
T
he dinner will be held at Famee Furlane, 7065 Islington Ave. (near the intersection of Islington and Steeles Avenues). The reception will begin at 6pm, followed by the dinner service at 7pm. The night will conclude with a chance to reminisce with Bain and his former players about all of the great experiences during his four decades at York.
Right: Bob Bain
The evening will also serve as a fundraiser for the new Bob Bain Scholarship, which will benefit members of the York Lions basketball program. Thanks to the generous support of distinguished basketball alumni Tim Rider, David Coulthard and Ev Spence, who have each donated more than $10,000 to the scholarship, there is a solid foundation in place to create a lasting legacy in Bain’s honour.
The longest-serving head coach in Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) history, Bain was at the helm of the men’s basketball program for 38 seasons. In that stretch, his teams made the playoffs 35 times, winning 11 Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East Division championships, six OUA championships and Canadian Interuniversity Sports (CIS) bronze medals in 1978 and 1979 while attending eight national championship tournaments overall. His teams amassed more than 700 victories during his tenure, including exhibition, regular-season and playoff games, and Bain has been named CIS coach of the year twice and OUA coach of the year nine times .
Bain has also made tremendous contributions to the field of coaching. An Ontario representative in the development of the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP), he was directly involved in the writing of Levels 1, 2 and 3 of the program. Through his instruction at York and his involvement with the NCCP, Bain has trained more Level 3 coaches than anyone in Canada.
Tickets to the event are $75 per person and can be purchased online. To register and order tickets, click here. For more information, contact Kim Mathoney at 416-736-5982 or mathoney@yorku.ca.