Cougar pride reunites at Champlain

Dozens of former football players from Champlain Regional College gathered on campus Sunday for a special Wall of Champions unveiling ceremony, honoring the championship teams from 1975, 1979 and 1981. Among the football alums in attendance were several members of team 1974, the very first team at Champlain, coached by Tom Allen. “This is before we had uniforms, before we had the Cougar paw logo,” explained John Ellyson, Mark Winokur and Rob Wright, three members of the original team. Champlain College opened in 1971. During the first few years, athletes attending Champlain who wanted to play football joined the Bishop’s University team. In 1973, the rules changed. When a handful of players found out, they went to see the administration at Champlain. With the help of Peter Hill and Tom Allen, the players got the green light to do enough fundraising to put a team together. “It was just plain jerseys with no names, just numbers,” the players remembered. “But we had fun.” See full story in the Monday, Sept. 16 edition of The Record.