Alumnus Falconer fosters Kingston-uOttawa connection
Gee-Gees football will gain a hard-hitting hybrid defensive back / linebacker from Kingston this fall thanks to a first-time scholarship from a champion alumnus.
David Andres, a six-foot-one, 220-pound linebacker and safety who carries an 80 per cent average from Kingston's La Salle Secondary High School, is the inaugural recipient of the Gilbert-Fraser-Morrison scholarship.
The bursary, established this year by Gee-Gees alumnus Doug Falconer, is the first entrance scholarship of its kinds in the 109-year history of uOttawa's football program.
Falconer, a defensive back on the Gee-Gees 1975 Vanier Cup winner and a Grey Cup winner with the former Ottawa Rough Riders, named the bursary after three former coaches: uOttawa hall of fame football coach Don Gilbert (1971-75), La Salle basketball coach Doug Fraser, and La Salle football coach Bob Morrison.
"I wanted to give back to the Kingston area as I still consider it my hometown," said Falconer, who is one of eight Gee-Gees to earn both a Vanier Cup and Grey Cup championship.
"David exhibits all the attributes looked for in a student athlete and will undoubtedly become a tremendous asset to the University of Ottawa as he moves into his collegiate career."
Falconer lives in Los Angeles and is President /CEO of Pacific Media&Entertainment.
"I'm looking forward to being the little guy again," said Andres, 18, also an Eastern Ontario all-star rugby player. "I want to see how I match up once I get into camp."
"I love rugby players," said Gee-Gees head coach Denis Piche. "There is no doubt he is going to have a great career."