By SMU Alumni |
The Saint Mary’s University Sport Hall of Fame welcomed four new members on Homecoming Weekend in October; a long-serving athletics director, two outstanding athletes, and a championship basketball team.
Dr. David Murphy, already in the Hall as a member of the 1964 Atlantic Bowl-winning Huskies football team, now enters in the builder and athlete categories. While completing his dental studies that would see him become chief medical officer at Dartmouth General Hospital, Murphy served as an assistant coach, under Al Keith, on the first Huskie team to win a CIAU football championship in 1973. He served as the University’s Athletics and Recreation Director for five years starting in 2003. He made his return to Saint Mary’s in 2012 for a temporary second term in the position. Dr. Murphy’s leadership was instrumental in contributing to the academic success of the student-athletes. During his tenure, the school’s Academic All-Canadian numbers
rose from 21 to 71.
“His spirited stand for excellence in the classroom, citizenship and community service for all Huskie athletes, and unbridled enthusiasm in supporting athletes competing at the highest level of the AUS and CIS sport, have been key to developing the confidence, spirit and self-esteem of hundreds of young men and women each year who don the maroon and white and who contribute to a sports heritage and tradition that is unmatched in Atlantic Canada Universities for the past 50 years,” says former SMU head basketball coach and Acadia star Brian Heaney.
A star in both field hockey and basketball, Karen McKellar established herself as a two-sport star at SMU. As captain of both the field hockey and basketball teams for the Huskies, she was also named Rookie of the Year in 79/80 and a two-time SMU Athlete of the Year (81/82 and 82/83). Coach Helen Castonguay called her “one of the toughest players she coached in 40 years.”
Suzanne Muir was also a standout in two sports. A force in both soccer and basketball, she ran the Huskies’ offence on the court as a 5’8” point guard and was equally dominant on the pitch. Her list of achievements include being a five time AUAA All-Star and an AUAA MVP; a first and second team All-Canadian in 1990 and again in 1992.
In 1992, Muir led the Huskies to their first-ever CIAU women’s soccer final in Hamilton where they finished 5th. She was named an all-star in that tournament. She was a member of Canada’s national team from 1992 to 1999 and played in World Cups in Sweden and the United States.
Rounding out this year’s inductees to the Saint Mary’s Sport Hall of Fame are the CIS National Men’s Basketball Champions from 1999. Coached by Ross Quackenbush, who became the first in CIS history to win a national title as a player and coach on the same team, this Huskies team finished the regular season with a 12-8 record. In the 1999 AUS tournament they defeated Dalhousie and Acadia and were ranked 7th going into the CIS championships at the Halifax Metro Centre. Led by Jonah Taussig, Patrick Toulouse, Kurt Henry, Ryan McClintock, and Cory Janes, the Huskies defeated Western University, McMaster, and the University of Alberta Golden Bears to give the Huskies their fourth national basketball title. In the championship game, the first ever to be decided in overtime, the Huskies defeated the Golden Bears 73-69.
