• Played for the Edmonton Eskimos from 1955 to 1962 and won two Grey Cups.
• Coached the Golden Bears wrestling team, winning two WCIAA Championships, as well as the Golden Bears football team, winning three WCIAA Championships and the 1963 Golden Bowl (the unofficial national championship).
• Coached the University of Windsor football team for 19 years, winning CCIFC and OUAA championships and taking the OUAA Coach of the Year Award in 1976 and 1979.
• Received the Edmonton Wrestling Association Award of Merit and the CFL Award of Merit in 1987.
• Football Canada established the Gino Fracas Award in 1988, and he has been inducted into four different Halls of Fame.

Great athlete programs do not simply happen; they are created, nurtured, built by dedicated, capable and committed leaders. Gino Fracas (BPHE ’55 UWO; Bed ’58; MA ’60 UMich) is one of the outstanding builders of Green and Gold athletic programs. As an athlete, Gino was a member of the Edmonton Eskimos from 1955 to 1962 during which time the team won two Grey Cups and was a finalist in a third. He joined the University’s Faculty of Physical Education in 1960 to build the intramural program and to coach the Golden Bear inter-university wrestling team. Under his guidance the team won two WCIAA championships. His love of this sport has kept him involved as a Drawmaster at the international, national, provincial and local levels over many years. He received an F.I.L.A medal and Certificate of Honour for his contributions to the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

Following his retirement from the Eskimos, Gino was named head coach of the Golden Bears football team. Between 1963 and 1966 Gino’s teams won 3 of 4 WCIAA championships as well as the 1963 Golden Bowl (an unofficial national championship match played against Queens’ Golden Gaels). Gino’s Golden Bears played the University of Toronto in the first official College Bowl in 1965 dropping a close 14-7 verdict. While Gino followed in the footsteps of outstanding Golden Bear football coaches, the standards of excellence that became the hallmark of the Golden Bear football program in the “modern era” were cemented by Gino Fracas. A brilliant leader, a considerate coach, a great strategist and motivator, Gino’s contributions to the lives of the player in the Golden Bears’ program are legendary.

The high quality of the wrestling and football programs at the University of Alberta bear the mark of this great sport program builder. In 1968 Gino went home to the University of Windsor where he coached the Lancers football team for 19 years, winning CCIFC and OUAA championships along the way. He was selected as the OUAA Coach of the Year in the 1976 and 1979, a year in which he was also selected by his peers as the head coach of the CIAU All-Canadian team which competed in the Can-Am Bowl in Tampa, Florida. In 1987 the Edmonton Wrestling Association Award of Merit was given to Gino in recognition of his dedicated service to this sport and in that same year he received the prestigious CFL Award of Merit for a lifetime of contributions to football. In 1988, Football Canada established the Gino Fracas Award to honour his dedication, enthusiasm, and contributions to football in Canada. Gino Fracas has been inducted into four different Halls of Fame – true recognition of greatness.

Those involved with Gino know that he has played an important role in shaping the sports of football and wrestling at this University. He is a builder of outstanding athletic programs and a leader par excellence: a man whom we are proud to honour.