Sports Hall of Fame Latest Inductees

Richard MacKay was a brilliant guard/forward who was respected for his deadly shot and speed during his three seasons with the Sir George Williams Georgians men’s basketball team.

In 1957-58, his senior year, MacKay played a pivotal role in the Georgians unprecedented success. Sir George was unbeaten in collegiate play and claimed the Ottawa-St. Lawrence championship. The team also won the city and provincial titles, and the coveted Dodds Cup for the first time since 1945. The game was symbolic of basketball supremacy in Montreal.

MacKay’s accomplishments were recognized in 1958 when he was awarded the university’s top athletic honour, the Col. E. Gill Trophy. It was presented annually to the Sir George Williams student that demonstrated the greatest degree of playing ability as well as sportsmanship.

The Montreal native was involved in many activities at the university. He was an original member of the Garnet Key Honour Society, chairman of the Athletic Advisory Council, coach of the Georgettes women’s basketball team, editor of the Students’ Directory and an executive with the Student Undergraduate Society.

Kicker-punter Dave Miller-Johnston is the most decorated athlete in the first 50 years of the Concordia Stingers football program.

He was a five-time Ontario-Quebec Interuniversity Football Conference all-star, receiving the honour three times for punting and twice for kicking. He was named the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union all-Canadian punter in 1997 and he was Concordia’s Male Athlete of the Year in 1998. Miller-Johnston was one of only two Canadians selected to play in the prestigious East-West Shrine Game in Palo Alto, Calif. in 1998.

Miller-Johnston was a member of two championship teams – 1993 and 1998. He played a significant role in the 1998 team’s success. With 1:21 to play in regulation time, he connected on a 45-yard field goal to win the Atlantic Bowl 25-24 over the Acadia Axemen. The dramatic win in the national semifinal game secured Concordia’s first ever berth in the Vanier Cup.

His accomplishments attracted the attention of the CFL, and in 1998 he was drafted second overall by the Toronto Argonauts. He spent time with several CFL teams, including his hometown Ottawa Renegades fulfilling a childhood dream.

Cat Tull was a tenacious, skilled guard who was at the heart of the Concordia Stingers women’s basketball team during a storied period that saw the program rise to national prominence.

Tull’s intensity and leadership helped Concordia earn three consecutive berths at the Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union (CIAU) championships. Her teams dominated the Quebec Student Sports Federation (QSSF) conference winning three titles and 70 per cent of their games in four years.

The smart and determined Stinger captain was a CIAU second team all-Canadian in 1999 and 2000. Tull was a two-time Quebec conference MVP and a three-time all-star. In her final season she was also named the Outstanding Defensive Player in the QSSF.

Her career contributions were recognized by Concordia in 2000 when Tull received a Merit Award.

In 2020, Tull was named to U Sports’ top 100 women’s basketball players of the century. The Initiative marked the 100th anniversary of the first Canadian university women’s basketball contest.

An exceptional prop, Sheila Turner was a key player in the Concordia Stingers’ dominance of the Quebec university women’s rugby conference in the early 1990s.

A powerful and dedicated student-athlete, she began her three-year university career in 1992 and quickly made an impact. In her last two seasons, she earned Quebec Student Sports Federation all-star honours and in 1994 she was the Stingers’ Most Valuable Player.

During Turner’s three years with Concordia, the team was undefeated and won three Quebec championships. The Stingers were riding a 33-game undefeated streak when she graduated.

In 1994, Turner joined the provincial senior women’s team and continued to represent Quebec until 2008. She won national championships in 2000 and 2001. From 1999 to 2005, she played for the Canadian national women’s rugby team, earning 15 caps. Her international experience includes competing at the 2002 World Cup in Barcelona, Spain.

Since graduating, Turner has stayed involved in the game. She returned to coach the Stingers for several years and she was still playing club rugby with the Montreal Barbarians at the time of her induction.

With his great generosity and leadership, George Lengvari has been one of the most influential and impactful figures in the history of Concordia University athletics.

Lengvari has supported the Concordia Stingers men’s basketball program with substantial donations for many years, including a $1 million gift in 2021. He also created student-athlete financial awards in honour of his former coach Jackson Winters, his friends and mentors Joe and Ben Weider and in memory of his mother Trude Lengvari.

He graciously agreed to let Concordia and McGill University initiate a rivalry game for men’s basketball – the George Lengvari Cup with the inaugural event taking place in 2019. Lengvari also spends time with the men’s basketball team, sharing his incredible success story and encouraging the players with their life journeys.

In 2021, Lengvari was the recipient of the inaugural Mitchell Family Alumni of the Year Award, celebrating former Canadian university athletes who have become leaders in their communities and who have made significant contributions to their former schools. He was nominated by both his alma maters - Concordia and McGill.

Lengvari is the first person to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in all three of its categories – builder, team and athlete. He was previously inducted as a member of the 1962-63 Loyola College men’s basketball team championship team and as an athlete for his prowess in golf and basketball.

Jackson Winters was hired to coach the varsity basketball team by Loyola College Athletic Director Jack Kennedy in October of 1962. The addition of the personable 33-year-old former University of Portland star and Harlem Globetrotter brought great optimism to the campus.

Upon his arrival, the new coach boldly told the Loyola News he expected to have a top-flight team and wanted to win the Ottawa-St. Lawrence Athletic Conference championship. Winters and his rejuvenated team delivered. They had a 10-4 win-loss record in the regular season and beat the Sir George Williams Georgians in the semifinal and the Bishop’s Gaiters in the final. It was the first ever OSL championship for the basketball team and it earned Loyola a berth at the inaugural Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union championship tournament.

Loyola also played in the City Intercollegiate Basketball League where the team hit another milestone. In November of 1962, Winters and his players defeated the Georgians 49-48, marking the first time in nearly a decade that Loyola triumphed over its crosstown rival.

Winters coached Loyola for three seasons, earning respect for his cool, even temperament and for his new methods. During his years at the college, he also worked in the field of social work and served as a player-coach in the Montreal Basketball League.

Winters eventually left Montreal and went on to great success back in the United States. He moved his wife Marilyn and children to Southern California where he worked for more than 30 years as an investment advisor and in the oil industry.

Under the direction of coaches Thomas Ingerman, Christine Regimbal and Linda Miller, the 1994 Concordia Stingers women’s rugby team put together one of the most dominant campaigns in the history of Concordia athletics.

The Stingers completed the regular season with a strong 8-0-1 win-loss-tie record and finished in first place in the Quebec Student Sports Federation conference. The only blip was a 10-10 tie with Macdonald College on Oct. 14 which they later addressed in the playoffs. Even with the tie, they outscored their conference opponents 233-13.

Concordia defeated Macdonald College 29-5 in the league semifinals, setting up showdown with the McGill Martlets for the Quebec conference championship on Nov. 6.

Playing in the rain and against the wind, the Stingers found themselves trailing the Martlets 5-0 at halftime. But with the wind at their backs, they put up 18 unanswered points in the second half.

It was Concordia’s fourth straight Quebec title and the third straight win over McGill in the final.

The Stingers also won two exhibition games that season, highlighted by a 10-0 victory over the University of Edinburgh in an intense and rough game.

At the end of the 1994 season, the women’s rugby program was riding at 33-game undefeated streak.

The Stingers had a history of developing top women’s rugby talent and relying on star players to deliver wins. But in 1994 the success was earned as a result of a total team effort. Concordia had strength at every position and the coaches encouraged strong team play.