True Double Blue: A career spent teaching and building through sport

Jim Flack is sitting at his desk in the Trafalgar Road Athletic Centre, reflecting on his upcoming retirement from the Sheridan athletics director position he's held for the past quarter-century, when conversation turns to his role in planning enhancements to Brampton’s Davis Campus in 2007.

Then his inner historian comes out.

"We were talking about paving a pathway that ran from the athletics building to the Sheridan Student Union office. The existing path was unlit and a mud pit, yet the students used it all the time," recalls the 61-year-old Flack, who taught history and law at Brampton's North Park Secondary School prior to becoming Sheridan's athletics director in 2000. "It reminded me of how Frank Lloyd Wright would advise developers not to install sidewalks at a new place until people had walked there for a year, because they'll tell you where the sidewalks should be."

Waiting for others to define the optimal pathway forward was not a luxury afforded to Flack when he took the reins of Sheridan Athletics and Recreation. The department — and similar departments throughout Ontario — were struggling to stay afloat in the wake of provincial budget cuts. Sheridan, which once featured varsity teams in such niche sports as judo, table tennis and skiing, now had just two squads: men's basketball and women's volleyball. In order to sustain athletics at Sheridan, the mandate was simple: don't lose money, and don't ask for money.

Fortunately, Flack had his own plan how to not only rebuild Sheridan's athletics program but use it to elevate other areas of the institution. And that plan was already devised before he even got the job.

“(Jim's plans) seemed like way too much and way too thorough. But he ended up doing everything he said he was going to do, and more.”

– Rob Till, former Sheridan Director of Student Services

"Jim came to the job interview with this looseleaf binder that detailed what he was going to do in every aspect of athletics and recreation. I've hired a lot of people over the years, and nobody has come into an interview as prepared as that," says Rob Till, who oversaw athletics and other non-academic services in 2000 as Sheridan's Director of Student Services. "Did I believe he was going to be able to do all of those things? Not at first, because it seemed like way too much and way too thorough. But he ended up doing everything he said he was going to do, and more."

The first step was founding the Sky Blue Endowment Fund, which now awards more than $100,000 annually in scholarships to student-athletes who demonstrate excellence on and off the field. Other key moves included setting up an emergency reserve fund (which would later help the department navigate economic challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic); establishing the Sheridan Bruins Hall of Fame and annual Homecoming event; building a consistent and distinctive brand anchored by the Double Blue colours and Sheridan 'S'; designing an academic course to help first-year varsity athletes transition to postsecondary studies; creating the first full-time student-athlete advisor position within the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA); and organizing high school tournaments such as the Sheridan Cup that enhance the college's visibility and build community connection.

"Branding, athletic advisors, scholarships... these are all things that U.S. athletic programs have long had as priorities," says Wayne Allison, a former star basketball player at Ohio's College of Wooster who coached Sheridan's men's team from 1980-93. "And Jim made them priorities at Sheridan."

Flack also spearheaded improvements to athletic facilities at each of Sheridan's three campuses, such as converting the old gymnasium at Davis Campus into a weight and fitness centre and building a new gym next to it; constructing the Sheridan Stadium artificial-turf field behind the Trafalgar Road Athletic Centre; and including an athletic facility in the 70,000-square-foot student and athletics hub that was recently added to Hazel McCallion Campus. Some enhancements even extended off campus into Sheridan’s home communities, including a recent partnership with the City of Mississauga that will see Sheridan adopt maintenance of Quenippenon Meadows Park as its new home diamond for varsity baseball and softball.

The growth of Athletics and Recreation has been reflected on the varsity courts and fields. Flack may be best known for his success as the long-time head coach of the men's basketball team (four national silver medals, nine OCAA titles, 11 Coach of the Year Awards and six provincial silvers since he succeeded Allison as head coach in 1993), but he's just as proud that Sheridan now offers a dozen varsity squads — six men's and six women's — ranging from basketball and volleyball to flag football.

"I can say with humility that I'm leaving the place better than when I found it," Flack says. "Which is all we're supposed to do, right?"

Providing ‘a place where all students can come to let off some steam’

With Flack set to retire at the end of February (although he plans to continue coaching the men’s basketball team), we took the opportunity to pick his brain one last time about his career as Sheridan’s athletic director.

What has been your approach or philosophy to the role that athletics and recreation should play at Sheridan?

I see varsity as leadership training more than accumulating rings and banners. Study, compete, graduate, succeed. Be humble, do things the right way, take no short cuts and make no excuses. Sheridan has always run a very tight ship when it comes to academics, and we’re known for that in the sector.

It's also important not to relegate the general student body who aren't varsity athletes. Instead, you celebrate them and help them use athletics and recreation to address challenges like mental health or integration into the Sheridan community. Ultimately, athletics and recreation needs to be a place where all students can come to let off some steam and have fun and connect with their peers.

To make it that type of place, it's vital to stay ahead of trends in the athletics and recreation space. When I started here, we noticed enrolment in intramural hockey was dropping each year. Students were rejecting structured programs and wanted access to fitness centres and self-directed athletics spaces, so we converted the old gym at Davis Campus into a spacious fitness studio and reclaimed park space from the City of Brampton that we now use for touch football and rugby. We also were one of the first schools to organize cricket, providing our south-Asian population with something that they're passionate about.

None of this would be possible without the support of the Sheridan Student Union, which has always seen the value of having vibrant athletics and recreation spaces on our campuses, and our responsive staff. Our staff is a very passionate, qualified and diverse group of people who are reflective of our community and of Canada.

What attracted you to Sheridan College in the first place?

I played at York University during a time where the men's basketball team was a dynasty. I didn't play much — even making that team was a big deal — and felt my passion for playing the game waning quickly, but I knew I wanted to coach.

Then I came to watch my younger brother play a game at Sheridan, and I thought to myself, 'These guys are good! How come no one pays attention?' I felt it was vastly under-appreciated for what it was, and I've felt that way since.

In many of our sports, we can compete with the bigger programs. We may win, we might lose badly, but in no way should be we spoken about in a hushed tone like we don't belong. College sport is unique because we don't have full-time coaches or big budgets, but it's so beautiful too.

Why were you so adamant about building and promoting the Sheridan brand through athletics, particularly the Double Blue and Bruno and the Sheridan 'S'?

Sheridan's first colours were actually eggplant and green. Then there was a brief flirtation with royal blue and orange, and then we settled into Toronto Maple Leafs-style blue and white. Double Blue started with our former football team that was coached by the late Bernie Custis, who was the first Black quarterback to play in the Canadian Football League.

I've seen other schools change their colours, and it can disassociate your alumni. I appreciate how Dr. Janet Morrison, our current President and Vice Chancellor, recognized the importance of saying 'this is who we are.' The Double Blue was not a Jim Flack issue, it was about student life and legacy and having the wherewithal and pride to say 'this is who we are.' Look at the University of Texas. They're burnt orange and white, and they lean into it.

When you establish this pride and culture and sense of belonging, it can affect everything from domestic enrolment to development. If you want to fundraise, don't keep changing your brand. You keep it, or you at least keep the identifiers the same so people can come back and still feel that sense of belonging and investment about something you're proud to have in your community.

What is your favourite moment or accomplishment from your time as Sheridan's athletic director?

There's too many to narrow it down to one, but winning the national soccer championship on our home field in 2014 — after everything we did to bring the program back and build the stadium — was very special. After everyone went home that day, I sat in the stands with my wife and daughter, looked out at the field as the lights went down, and absolutely loved it.

That was the beauty of the job. You could think of something, execute it properly and watch it come to life, whether that was our Sheridan Cup basketball tournament, our soccer stadium or other initiatives. It was an extremely blessed way to live.

What are you going to do now?

I'll spend more time playing music and golf, help my brothers take care of my parents, maybe do some other stuff around the house. I'm also hoping I can practice some self-care. None of us are promised tomorrow, so I might have pushed myself too hard at times because I wanted to make an impact.

I still plan to coach men's basketball at Sheridan. I was in New York a couple of months ago at the Jimmy V Classic and saw two of the four teams were coached by people in their 70s. If those guys can do it, why can't I? Coaching has been a passion project of mine since I left the history classroom, figuring out the puzzle that helps players be the best they can be.

As long as Sheridan will have me, I'll be coaching here. I have had some opportunities at other schools, but I'm kind of married to this place. I can't picture myself in anything except Double Blue.

Help celebrate Jim Flack's career with a gift to the Sky Blue Endowment Fund. Your contribution will help our Bruins reach their dreams and preserve a lasting legacy for 'Coach' Flack. Give now.

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Pictured in photos are (from top to bottom) retiring Sheridan athletic director Jim Flack; an aerial view of the Sheridan Stadium soccer field behind Trafalgar Road Athletic Centre; the recently-built athletics facility at Hazel McCallion Campus; students playing ping-pong at Hazel McCallion Campus; the Sheridan Bruins logo and Double Blue font;  and a 2002 photo of Jim Flack with basketball players in the background.