Bison Sports is saddened to hear of the passing of legendary coach, athlete and mentor Bruce Pirnie. 

Pirnie was a member of the Bisons' coaching staff from 1984 to 1998. He was the personal coach of the men's CIAU shot put Champion nine years in a row, from 1986 through 1994 (Lorne Hilton, Kevin Pommer, Bojan Paunovic, Trevor Neumann, Nicolas Pauletto), and served as the head coach of the program for three years during the Bisons "dynasty" era, which saw the program win seven Canada West and CIAU (U SPORTS) titles in nine years, between 1988-96. 

Born in Boston and educated at Yankton College in South Dakota (inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2008), Pirnie moved to Canada in the 1970s, where he was a household name in the throwing scene. As an athlete, he won silver in the 1973 Pacific Conference Games and a bronze at the 1974 Commonwealth Games. In 1975, he secured gold at the Pan Am Games in Mexico City. Pirnie also qualified for the 1972 and 1976 Olympics in shot put, where he was a captain for the track and field team. 

 After coaching and teaching at Nelson McIntyre Collegiate, Pirnie -- who was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in 1987 --  transitioned to the University of Manitoba, leaving a lasting legacy on countless athletes for many decades to come. 

"Bison Sports and the University of Manitoba Track and Field family were saddened to hear of Bruce's passing. Bruce was an integral part of the program from the mid 1980's to the early 2000's," said Bisons head coach Claude Berube.

"He contributed to the program as a volunteer coach, an assistant coach and head coach through some very strong years for both the women's and men's teams. His expertise in the area of throwing had a huge impact on the success of the throwing program for many years and he was continuing to share his knowledge with young throwers. Bruce was one of the driving forces that made the Bisons track & field program one of the top teams in the country. "