Montreal, June 7, 2018 The Foundation for Athletic Excellence (FAEQ) announces the restructuring of its collegiate and university recruitment program.
Seeking to create a more attractive offer and provide long-term services and support to university student-athletes, the Foundation announced that it will offer 30 individual scholarships of $10,000 $ annually, which will be distributed over a five-year period. In addition, the FAEQ also announced the expansion of its college recruitment program to include a third year of support for student-athletes competing in a RSEQ Division 1 sport.
The university recruitment program, created in 1985, offers financial support to student-athletes wishing to pursue their university and athletic careers at a Quebec institution. With this new structure, the Foundation hopes to help college and university programs create an offering that is competitive with what exists outside the province.
«The university program has undoubtedly had a positive impact on the development of university sports in Quebec. However, in 2018, the recruitment context is very different from what it was 30 years ago. We are losing our student-athletes earlier and earlier in their careers. The Foundation wants to do its part to promote academics and sports here in Quebec,» said Patricia Demers, Executive Director of the FAEQ. «We believe that with this new structure, we will be able to have a greater impact on the decision-making process of student-athletes and we will be delighted to follow their academic and athletic progress for eight years.»
The Foundation will distribute $375,000 $ annually to the most deserving Quebec student-athletes at the college and university levels.
The FAEQ is also taking the opportunity to reveal the incoming collegiate and university recruit classes. In its second year of existence, the collegiate program boasts a strong group of promising student-athletes, such as hockey player and member of the Canadian U18 team, Audrey-Anne Veillette. Veillette was a key player for the Canadian team that won the bronze medal at the 2018 U18 World Championship held in Dmitrov, Russia, and hopes to have the same impact when she joins the Limoilou Titans this fall.
Alongside Veillette are also basketball stars Kenya Côté-Lysius and Donna Ntambue. Having helped Team Quebec win gold at the 2017 Canada Games in Winnipeg, Côté-Lysius will join the Champlain College Cavaliers and Ntambue will play for the Montmorency College Nomades for the upcoming season.
The football players are definitely the headliners of the 2018 university recruiting class. Vincent Forbes-Mombleau, who has represented Campus Notre-Dame-de-Foy for the last three seasons, will join star Division 1 players Joanik Masse (running back) and Philippe Robitaille (offensive line) as they try to break into the Rouge et Or's solid lineup. At the University of Montreal, defensive back Bruno Lagacé will join linebacker Michael Brodrique as they try to maintain the Carabins' traditional defensive strength.
On the basketball side, Alix Lochard is joining the UQAM Citadins. Named twice as the college player of the year in RSEQ Division 1, Lochard helped the Montmorency Nomades reach the CCAA National Championships in 2017 and 2018, bringing home the championship banner in 2017.
