Eisler, Dal Cin, Brannagan, McCauley honoured at U SPORTS Conference and Annual Meeting
Legendary women’s volleyball coach Laurie Eisler of Alberta, former Queen’s athletic director Leslie Dal Cin,longtime television producer Mike Brannagan and Dr. Ed McCauley, president of the University of Calgary, were honoured at the 2025 U SPORTS Conference and Annual Meeting for their contributions to university sports in Canada.
Eisler took home the Jean-Marie de Koninck Coaching Excellence Award, while Dal Cin was recognized with the Austin-Matthews Award, Brannagan earned the Fred Sgambati Media Award and McCauley was presented with the L.B. “Mike” Pearson Award.
Jean-Marie de Koninck Coaching Excellence Award: Laurie Eisler, Alberta
Laurie Eisler spent 32 seasons as a women’s volleyball coach. She started her career in 1989-90 with her alma mater, Saskatchewan, before moving west to coach of the Alberta Pandas, where she served from 1991 until 2023. In that time, she won six national championships, including five straight from 1995-1999, and 10 conference titles. She is a three-time national coach of the year (1995, 2003, 2004) and won the Canada West award 10 times. Eisler posted 440 wins in regular season play – most of any coach in Alberta school history – and led her teams to 16 national medals, with seven silver medals and three bronze to go along with her six national titles.
A leader and role model for female student-athletes and aspiring coaches, Eisler has left an indelible mark on Canadian volleyball. Arguably her biggest impact is the student-athletes, coaches and administration staff who have benefitted from her mentorship. As of 2025, four U SPORTS women’s volleyball head coaches are former assistants under Eisler, including current Pandas head coach Carolyn O’Dwyer. Additionally, Canadian Women's National Team Sitting Head Coach Nicole Ban is a former Pandas assistant.
She was inducted into the City of Edmonton Sports Hall of Fame in 2017, the Volleyball Canada and Volleyball Saskatchewan halls of fame in 2023, and the Volleyball Alberta Hall of Fame in 2024.
Austin-Matthews Award (Outstanding Contribution): Leslie Dal Cin, Queen’s
Leslie Dal Cin retired in 2022 after an outstanding 35-year career in sport administration, the 15 of which were spent at Queen’s as the university’s first female athletic director. A former university student-athlete and coach, she championed the Queen's varsity experience to enhance student-athlete success. This included the development of tailored programming and structures to promote Gaels' academic skills and achievements, as well as the implementation of initiatives to promote student mental health, equity and diversity, inclusion and Indigeneity.
She led a review of the sport model that resulted in full-time professional varsity team coaches and ensured the growth and sustainability of sport and recreation clubs. She also spearheaded the redevelopment of every athletic facility across the Queen’s campus, including the Athletics and Recreation Centre, Richardson Stadium, outdoor fields, and new varsity training spaces.
In addition, in collaboration with campus partners, Dal Cin has led the successful charge for Queen's to host many provincial, national and international sporting events. A respected leader in the national post-secondary sport sector, she led and was involved in numerous initiatives through service on U SPORTS and OUA boards and committees.
Fred Sgambati Award (Contribution by a media member): Mike Brannagan
Mike Brannagan is an award-winning television producer and director who retired this spring after a 45-year career in television production. Over the past 15 years, Mike has had a significant role in telling the stories of Canadian university student-athletes in his roles at Sportsnet, CBC and consultant with U SPORTS.
While at Sportsnet, Brannagan served as the Executive Producer of SPORTSNET U including 15 games per year and studio programming, in addition to serving as executive producer of the Vanier Cup broadcasts. He then joined U SPORTS as executive producer for the 2019 football bowl games, helping broker the organization’s return to network television after a more than two-decade absence. He led productions of the Uteck and Mitchell bowls for CBC/CHCH/ SaskTel in 2019 and 2021, as well as linear production of the Vanier Cup from 2019-22.
He continued to produce football broadcasts as U SPORTS pivoted to all-digital production of bowl games and later advised U SPORTS in its transition to remote broadcasting, allowing the association to best adapt to technological and fiscal realities.
Brannagan helped U SPORTS tell more compelling stories and allowed the organization to take digital broadcasts and deliver them to linear networks, including TVA Sports (basketball and hockey since 2022) and CBC (2025 Final 8).
L.B. “Mike” Pearson Award (Outstanding achievements inside and outside of university sport): Dr. Ed McCauley, Calgary
Dr. Ed McCauley has served as the University of Calgary’s ninth president and vice-chancellor since January 2019. Since becoming president, he has made supporting athletics a cornerstone of his presidency. His view – which he shares widely – is that student-athletes epitomize excellence and are the best possible ambassadors for the university
In 2021, as the university emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. McCauley invited proposals for targeted investments. At the end of the process, he made a five-year commitment totalling more than $4.3 million of additional support for the Athletic Department (over and above the annual operating budget) to a variety of areas, including direct funding of varsity programs, expanding opportunities for women in coaching, expansion of the university’s sports science program and investing in marketing and sponsorship to expand the reach of Dinos Athletics both on and off campus.
As the president of a large research institution with a budget approaching $2 billion, his time is precious, and he manages multiple priorities. He has made Canadian university athletics a better place because of his contributions, and has set an example for what an engaged, supportive university president can be.