Ward Bros. Construction named title sponsor for Pronghorns basketball

Boras played forward for the Pronghorn’s men’s basketball team from 1985 to 1990, and his team was a Canada West regional finalist in 1985.

“Having gone through the process myself and understanding the struggles of being a student athlete and making all ends meet – being able to study, train, and just look after yourself on a day-to-day basis – so you know, anything we can do to help,” says Boras.

Neil Langevin, executive director of Pronghorns Athletics and Horns Recreation, says this is a momentous announcement.

“We’re so excited. This is our first true title sponsor of men’s or women’s basketball,” says Langevin. “It shows significance by the promise of the local community into what we do here at the University of Lethbridge.”

Part of the money will go towards program enhancements in the university’s Co-Op Centre for Sport & Wellness.

Some examples of how it will be used include improving strength and conditioning training, mental skills, and increased exhibition play.

“The Canada West landscape in basketball is extremely competitive – we play against very large schools,” says Langevin. “This investment is going to help us, obviously, get better athletes here and, hopefully, just turn the notch up a little bit more and get back to the days of championships and top four.”

If these investments lead to more student-athlete success, Boras explains that it will help to give the U of L more name recognition as post-secondaries are often known through their athletics programs.

Darren Boras on the importance of the investment from Ward Bros. into the Pronghorns basketball programs.

The investment from Ward Bros. will also create new scholarships through the U of L’s Endowment Fund. The U of L Board of Governors will provide an extra $25,000 in matching funds for the bursaries.

Langevin tells LNN that it will help to address the affordability of attending university.

“Tuition is going nowhere but up, and it’s more challenging for students, so being able to offer more money and scholarships is a goal of ours as an athletics department, and this, obviously, is a major key in that.”

He adds that increasing sponsorship revenue has been a major focus for the university’s athletics department in recent years.

South Country Co-Op was recently announced as the new naming sponsor for the Centre for Sport & Wellness, as they are paying $4.25 million over 25 years, or $170,000 annually.

Neil Langevin on the importance of community investments into athletics programs.

Given that the Alberta Government has decreased funding to advanced education over the last six years, Langevin says this has been a necessary part of maintaining and growing their programming.

“It’s very clear that external dollars are going to be needed in order for athletics to thrive and survive,” says Langevin.

He adds, “It’s very clear that there’s no more money coming from the province, and the senior administrators here have been very supportive of athletics, but we have to do our part to make sure that their investment is also matched by the community, and we continue to grow it financially and for every athlete here.”

Langevin hints that more sponsorship announcements will be made in the coming months.

by David Opinko

Ward Bros. Construction named title sponsor for Pronghorns basketball

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