Alberta Sports Hall of Fame Inductee Jim Donlevy passes away

As a football coach he was a national champ and an absolute institution at the University of Alberta.   But it’s likely that Jim Donlevy may actually have made an even bigger impact in hockey where he was instrumental in the formation of the post secondary scholarship system in Junior Hockey. Jim was inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame just a few months ago.  

His brother Michael is a long time Red Deer resident and recently retired from a brilliant career of his own at Red Deer College.   Here’s what Michael shared with friends after the death of his oldest brother:

Early Sunday, we lost an amazing individual in Jim Donlevy. A great husband, father, uncle and Grandpa – and my oldest brother. He was a friend and mentor to me over many years in my career and in life, who encouraged all of what I did. I was and remain deeply proud of what he accomplished, benefiting so many people and am very grateful that Jim was properly recognized this year, with his induction into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame. Jim was a coach and dedicated educator, totally committed to teaching, learning and student athletes.  He leaves an incredible legacy and all of us will miss him dearly.

Here’s Jim Donlevy’s Alberta Sports Hall of Fame induction video.

‘Jim’ Donlevy devoted his professional career to more than 50 years of coaching, teaching and administrative leadership. His career in football began in 1954 coaching Bantam and High School Football teams. He joined the Edmonton Huskies from 1961 to 1963 and won two Canadian titles. At the University of Alberta, he led the Golden Bears to four National Championship games and brought home the Vanier Cup in 1972 and 1980. He had the most wins of any Golden Bears football coach with 89 wins, 69 losses and 3 ties. From 1993 to 2015, Jim was the Western Hockey League’s Education Consultant. He built a formal education and scholarship program for the student athletes playing in the league. It is now considered one of the most comprehensive education programs for hockey in the world today.

Please consider sharing this inspirational story on your own social media channels so others can learn about and enjoy Alberta’s rich sports history. Click here for more inspirational stories from the Class of 2019.

Kreg began competitive water skiing in the late 1970s. In 1979 he won his first Provincial Junior Boys Overall Title and later that year set his first Canadian Junior Boys Trick Record.

In 1984, he became an integral part of the Canadian National Water Ski Team and for the next 20 years competed in the Overall events of Slalom, Trick and Jump. Kreg held 24 Canadian Records and won 7 individual World Championship medals, 3 Gold Team World Championship Medals, and 18 Pan American medals including: 7 Gold, 9 Silver and 2 Bronze.

Kreg was an innovator and was willing to try anything, doing “tricks that couldn’t be done to doing them fast”. He also helped design and test the first ever Skurfer, which was a precursor to the evolution of Wakeboarding. Kreg won the first ever World Wakeboard Championships in Hawaii.