Brandon University Athletics

George Birger took over Athletic Director duties in 1978, laying the groundwork for the most successful years of the Bobcats athletic program. In the process, he helped launched the small prairie city onto the national stage.
 
Birger was known for regularly working from 8 am to 10:30 pm, constantly on the phone looking for new, creative ways to manage university athletics.
 
He brought a new comprehensive approach to athletic administration, and was considered an innovator in marketing, helping the Bobcats have some of the largest home crowds in the Great Plains Athletic Conference and CIAU.
 
Birger was a champion for establishing scholarships in the early 1980’s, encouraging other universities across Canada to establish scholarship funds specifically for student-athletes.
 
Always wanting to do more, he took a hands-on approach to athletic administration, helping coaches grow budgets, fundraise for scholarships, as well as working as an assistant coach for the hockey and basketball teams.
 
Birger went on sabbatical in the 1985-86 season, before returning for his final year at BU in 1986-87.
 
His crowning achievement was traveling to Halifax with the Bobcats men’s basketball team in 1987 to watch his beloved Bobcats capture the school’s first national championship.
 
Birger was also a staunch supporter of all Brandon sports, never missing a Wheat Kings game in his time in the Wheat City.