U Sports honours basketball graduates for leadership in communities

U Sports basketball graduates Nancy Knowlton of the Bishop’s Gaiters and George Lengvari Jr., of the Concordia Stingers and McGill Redbirds have won the inaugural Mitchell Family Alumni of the Year Awards.

The new awards are for former varsity athletes who have become leaders in their communities and recognizes the continued contributions by each alumnus to their alma mater.

Knowlton, who led the country in scoring in 1972-73 and 1973-74, founded SMART Technologies following graduation and served as its CEO — putting interactive whiteboards into millions of classrooms and boardrooms around the world. 

With her husband, David Martin, she also founded the SMARTer Kids Foundation in 2003 to provide grants reducing the price of SMART products to all accredited, not-for-profit educational institutions, museums, libraries and home schools in Canada and the U.S.

Lengvari was team captain at McGill in 1964-65.

After practising law, he became vice chair of Weider Health and Fitness and then Nutrition International, two American companies.

He also has worked as a sports agent, representing former Montreal Canadiens star Jean Beliveau and former Montreal Expos catcher Gary Carter.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 20, 2021.

The Canadian Press