London, ON – The Mustangs family joins the entire sports community in mourning the passing of coach, professor and leader Craig Boydell.
Boydell passed away this week after complications from acute myeloid leukemia, just days before his 80th birthday.
"Craig was my coach, mentor and friend for more than 30 years. His imprint on our program and Canadian basketball is cemented as one of the great coaches in U SPORTS basketball history." said Mustangs Head Coach Brad Campbell "He had a tremendous impact on the lives of countless former players and staff and continued to reach out and stay connected in their lives. At heart Craig was a teacher and received great joy and fulfillment in coaching by teaching the fundamentals and tactics of the game. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Boydell family and his Western family".
During his 40 year career at Western Boydell was a leader in the classroom and on the basketball court.
He was lead assistant to Head Coach Doug Hayes for five years until the end of the 1990 season. During his 14 year tenure as head coach Boydell's five conference, four provincial championships and Western's only National Championship. He was also voted coach of the year on numerous occasions by his coaching colleagues. He holds many Western Coaching records and his 327-123 won-loss record established him among the elite coaches in Canada.
"Craig is a legend here at Western and I join the entire Mustangs family in mourning his passing," said Christine Stapleton, Director of Sports and Recreation "To bring a national championship to a university is no small feat and Craig's passion for the game was so evident every time I spoke with him. We will all greatly miss him but his legacy will live on forever,"
Not only was Boydell impactful on the basketball court, he was also extremely passionate about the academic pursuits of his players and the student population as a whole. Over a 30 year span he spent time with both the Faculty of Social Science & then Faculty of Kinesiology (now Faculty of Health Science).
"I'm deeply saddened to hear of the loss of Dr. Craig Boydell, Professor Emeritus in our School of Kinesiology. Craig was an outstanding teacher, researcher, and coach who contributed broadly to our School (formerly Faculty) of Kinesiology from 1987-2008." said Karen Danylchuk, Professor and Acting Director of the School of Kinesiology in the Faculty of Health Sciences.
"Craig Boydell was a brilliant basketball coach. He was a highly respected coach and leader within the university community. His passion and dedication for the game went beyond his own program, as he was so very committed to the development of the game and raising the profile of CIAU basketball." said former Western Athletic Director Therese Quigley.
Once memorial details are available we will share those here at westernmustangs.ca
In lieu of flowers, Craig asked those who can to please donate blood, a way to honour the many people who gave blood for strangers like him.
Please join us in sending our deepest condolences to Boydell's friends & family at this extremely difficult time.
