Brandon University Dick and Verda McDonald Sports Wall of Fame
Brian Pallister was known for his imposing sky hook as a member of the Brandon University men's basketball team and he continued to shoot for the sky beyond the Bobcats.
'Big Pal' joined the Bobcats in the mid 1970s after graduating from Portage Collegiate Institute. The 6-foot-8 centre played with BU from 1974-1976, and then returned for the 79-80 season to help the Bobcats win their first-ever conference championship and reach the national final.
His connection to Brandon University Athletics remains strong today. He founded a scholarship to benefit female student-athletes in 2014.
A multi-sport athlete, Pallister is also an accomplished curler and represented Manitoba at the Canadian Mixed Curling Championship in 2001 after winning the province the year prior.
On the ball diamond, Pallister has been enshrined into the Manitoba Softball Hall of Fame both as an individual and a team member. He played for Manitoba at 13 Canadian championships and was named MVP of the 1988 senior men's national tournament. He also helped form the Portage Diamonds, who captured the Winnipeg Senior Men's Fastball League championship and qualified for nationals in their inaugural year in 1986.
Pallister taught at William Morton Collegiate in Gladstone, Man. from 1976 to 1979 before becoming a prominent businessman with the formation of Pallister Financial in the 1980s.
He has also been dedicated to public service since entering politics in the 1990s. He started as the MLA for Portage La Prairie from 1992-1997 and became a key cabinet minister in the provincial government of Gary Filmon.
From 2000-2008 he represented the riding of Portage-Lisgar in the Canadian House of Commons before becoming leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba in 2012.
From MLA to MP, Pallister completed the political triple crown in April of 2016 when he became the 22nd Premier of Manitoba.
