The Saskatchewan Roughriders former CEO and president Jim Hopson has died at the age of 73. According to team officials, Hopson passed away on April 2 after a three-year battle with colon cancer. He was diagnosed with stage four in 2021.
“I’m being very honest when I say I’ve had an incredible life,” Hopson told The Canadian Press in January. “I feel blessed.”
According to a release from the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Hopson was a titan for the Saskatchewan Roughrider Football Club both on and off the field. The Regina native grew up attending Roughrider games and suited up for his hometown team from 1973 to 1976, lining up alongside his heroes: George Reed and Ron Lancaster. In each of his four seasons in Green and White, the team made the West Final.
Aside from his career achievements, Hopson advocated for the importance of testing following his diagnosis.
“If I would’ve got checked even six months before or a year before for sure, it probably would’ve been a situation where they could’ve done something,” according to The Canadian Press. “If you can do that and get people to pay attention, that’s what I’ve wanted to do, to leave that message with people and tell them to be positive and try as hard as they can to enjoy every day and every good moment.”
The current Riders CEO and president Craig Reynolds stated in a release that he is returning from a family vacation and will be available to speak on Thursday morning.
“As president, Jim ushered in a new era for our organization that included two Grey Cup Championships, incredible financial success, and perhaps most importantly, a belief in Roughrider football that will never fade away,” Reynolds said.
“But more than that, Jim was an optimist, someone who made you feel better by just being around him and a friend to all who knew him. On behalf of Rider Nation, I want to send our condolences to Brenda, Tyler and Carrie, as well as our thanks for everything Jim brought to our team, and our community.”
Rod Pederson, who was the voice for the Saskatchewan Roughriders as their play-by-play announcer, said it’s a difficult day with the news of Hopson’s passing as he learned so much from him.
“Jim is the greatest leader that I’ve ever been around in sports, and I’ve spent a lifetime in sports. He was just a very gregarious, very big personality and he ran the team,” Pederson said.
“To be honest, he had his thumb on every person (in) every department because he wanted to know what they were up to, what they were doing that day … He held people accountable, and some people didn’t like to be held accountable. I was one, but I knew what he was doing, and I knew that it was going to lead to the outcome that it did, and that was championship. So, he got the best out of everybody, and he made you feel very important.”
Pedersen added that Hopson was a great leader and didn’t care if you didn’t like him.
“Everything he did was for the best of the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Period. End of story,” he said. “He was not insecure. He was a visionary.”
Hopson was inducted into the Riders’ Plaza of Honour in 2018 and was also inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2019 and also to the Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund Hall of Fame.
Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2019 Riders’ Plaza of Honour in 2018 and the Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund Hall of Fame
In another statement, the CFL also expressed their sympathies on Hopson’s passing.
“His beaming smile, his loud voice, his crushing handshake – and most of all, his dreams for football in Saskatchewan – were only available in size XXXL,” the statement read. “As the Riders’ first full-time President and CEO, he played an equally big role in the transformation of the Saskatchewan Roughriders from the little engine that could to a powerhouse of a modern franchise, working with the team’s talented Board of Directors and passionate fan base.”
Rob Vanstone, a veteran journalist who refers to himself as a Roughrider historian, said Hopson touched everyone on a personal level.
“We lost a friend. I lost a friend. People have that feeling about Jim Hopson,” Vanstone said. “It’s so much more than a list of accomplishments.… Everybody’s got a personal recollection, a personal anecdote that doesn’t really pertain to the score of a game or the outcome of a season. It’s just how he resonated with people.”
Hopson was the Saskatchewan Roughriders first full-time president and CEO from 2005 to 2015.
More to come…
– with files from The Canadian Press
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