Dr. Bob Boucher has won the Austin-Matthews Award for Outstanding Contribution at the U SPORTS Honour Awards, announced today by the U SPORTS office.
 
As a former dean, professor, and director of athletics in the Faculty of Human Kinetics, Dr. Boucher had an outstanding career at the University of Windsor that spanned 37 years from 1974 to his retirement in 2011.  He provided outstanding leadership for the school's athletic and recreation programs and played a central role in developing several widely respected programs in the faculty.
 
While athletic director, Dr. Boucher served as the Chef de Mission for the 1997 World University Games in Sicily, Italy and as the Assistant Chef de Mission for the 1995 World University Games in Fukuoka, Japan. In 2005, he was the chairperson of the organizing committee for the Junior Pan-American Track and Field Championships. He also the namesake of the Fox 40 Coach of the Year Award in U SPORTS men's track and field.
 
In his field of sport management, Dr. Boucher was considered an expert and had extensive academic and applied experience. Most notably, Dr. Boucher served as the President of the North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM) and the Canadian Intramural Recreation Association (CIRA).
 
Dr. Boucher published and edited a book and authored articles that have appeared in a wide variety of academic and professional journals. He was awarded the Dr. Earle F. Zeigler Lecture Award and the Distinguished Service Award for contributions to Sport Management in 1996 by the NASSM.
 
In 1997, Dr. Boucher was presented with the Lancers 'A Award' for his dedication and commitment to the Blue & Gold. He was inducted into the University of Windsor's Alumni Sports Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Windsor-Essex Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.
 
Dr. Boucher passed away on Nov. 15, 2020.
 
"Bob was my boss, my mentor and friend. His positive influence has been felt by many coaches and colleagues at UWindsor as well by those who had the pleasure to work with him in Ontario University Athletics and U SPORTS," said Mike Havey, Director of Athletics and Recreation Services for the Lancers. "Bob was a trusted colleague whose primary focus was always the student-athlete experience. His perspective was always that of improving the national and conference offices above and beyond any individual benefit to either himself or his institution.  He was the reasonable voice around the table that we all respected and admired."
 
For a full list of U SPORTS Honour Award winners, and to read the full release, please click here.