PANTHER PRIDE
2017 UPEI Sports Hall of Fame inductees announced
Athlete Alanna Taylor among 2017 inductees in UPEI Sports Hall of Fame
George Morrison, Barb Mullaly (posthumously) and Alanna Taylor are going into the UPEI Sports Hall of Fame.
The induction goes at the Sports Legacy Celebration at the UPEI Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre on Thursday, Nov. 9. A reception begins at 6:15 p.m., and dinner follows at 7 p.m.
Chris Huggan, UPEI athletic director, said it’s a good way for the UPEI past to meet its present.
“This is a great opportunity for the Panther community to come together to recognize and celebrate the achievements of past student-athletes, coaches and builders, as well as instil pride in our current studentathletes to create their own legacies,” said Huggan.
The UPEI Sports Hall of Fame was founded in 2001 to recognize individuals who have made significant contributions to the athletic programs at UPEI, Saint Dunstan’s University or Prince of Wales College.
Each year, individual athletes, teams and builders are inducted to honour their contributions towards the university’s athletic success or community leadership.
It’s also part of a busy weekend in UPEI sports.
The regular-season home openers for women’s and men’s basketball are Friday, Nov. 10, at 6 p.m. and 8 pm., respectively versus UNB, while men’s hockey faces off against Dalhousie at 7 p.m.
On Saturday, Nov. 11, the basketball teams play UNB again (6 p.m., 8 p.m., respectively) and the women’s hockey team plays Université de Moncton at 3 p.m. and the men’s hockey squad faces St. Francis Xavier at 7 p.m.
Tickets for the gala are $50 each and can be purchased at the Panther Central desk or at 902-566-0368.
George Morrison (Coach)
For over 40 years, Morrison has been synonymous with basketball on P.E.I., most notably at UPEI.
Morrison established the UPEI women’s basketball program, then went on to build the men’s program in the 1980s that had the Panthers consistently ranked as one of the top teams in the country, and Morrison as one of the most successful coaches in Canada.
His 17-year coaching career at UPEI featured his UPEI men’s team reaching the now-Atlantic University Sport basketball conference playoffs 14 times and netting three Atlantic titles.
A three-time coach of the year in the Atlantic University Athletic Association (the AUS’s predecessor) – first with the women’s basketball team – Morrison’s accomplishments make him one of P.E.I.’s most successful coaches in any sport.
The Morell native was also the first head coach of the inaugural and successful Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association men’s program at Holland College.
Morrison has coached at every level on P.E.I., including numerous provincial and Canada Games teams in addition to being an outstanding organizer and administrator at the local and provincial level.
He was inducted in the P.E.I. Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.
Barb Mullaly, posthumously (Builder)
Mullaly’s four-decade career as a classroom instructor, coach and nationally decorated athletic administrator began in 1967 at Prince of Wales College.
When UPEI was formed in 1969, she moved on to begin a long career at the university, initially as the first women’s basketball and field hockey coach. She served 13 years as director of athletics, then retired and became the first director of Wellness and Fair Treatment Advocate in 2006.
Mullaly served as president of the AUS and chaired numerous committees and sports. Upon retirement, she was awarded an honorary lifetime membership in the AUS. She was the longtime chair of the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (now U Sports) finance committee and a member of the CIS executive committee, and was awarded the CIS Austin Matthews Award in 2007 for outstanding service to university sport.
Mullaly was also named a UPEI Founder in 2010, and is the 2013 winner of the Rotary Club of Charlottetown Royalty’s Mentor Award and 2016 Sports P.E.I. President’s Award for Service and Dedication to Sport.
She served as president and director of Sport P.E.I., as P.E.I. representative for the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women in Sport, as master course conductor in the National Coaching Certification Theory Program, and in several capacities over several Canada Games cycles.
At the time of her death in 2016, Mullaly was active in several community organizations, including the UPEI Retirees’ Association.
Alanna Taylor (Athlete)
Alanna Taylor is one of the finest student-athletes to attend UPEI and wear the green and white.
Taylor played with the UPEI women’s volleyball team from 1989 to 92 and became goalkeeper for the women’s soccer squad in 1991.
The multi-sport athlete was named rookie of the year in 1989 and MVP in 1990 for volleyball, and received the UPEI Mickey Place award in 1991.
In 1992 for soccer, she was named UPEI team MVP, AUAA first team all-conference, CIAU second team All-Canadian and finalist for the AUAA MVP.
That same year, Taylor was AUAA, UPEI female athlete of the year and the AUAA conference finalist for the national Howard Mackie Award, awarded for athletic performance, sportsmanship and leadership ability.
In 1993, she was named to the AUAA first team All-Conference squad and was a finalist for Sport P.E.I.’s female athlete of the year in 1992 and 1993.
Taylor excelled in the classroom and was recognized as a CIAU academic All-Canadian from 1990 to 93 and was awarded the Gordon and Muriel Bennett Award as the UPEI student-athlete with the highest aggregate marks over four years.
After graduating from UPEI with her bachelor of arts (major in political science, minor in history) with first-class standing, Taylor furthered her studies at UNB and graduated with a law degree in 1997.
Taylor has given back to her alma mater, including serving as an assistant coach from 1998–2002 and head coach in 2003 with UPEI women’s Soccer.
Taylor is a past board member of the P.E.I. Recreation and Sport Association for Physically Challenged, Upper Room Hospitality Ministry, Special Olympics P.E.I., and Glen Stewart Home and School Association. She currently serves as member of the board for Soccer P.E.I., and continues to coach minor soccer.
Taylor will be the first UPEI women’s soccer student-athlete to be inducted into the Hall.