John R. Vivian (May 14, 1941 – February 17, 2021) was a Canadian

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player,

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

player, ice hockey head coach, general manager, professional scout, and university administrator. He was most notable as the first head coach of the

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a Public university, public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized progr ...

(BGSU) varsity ice hockey program and the then-youngest general manager in professional hockey with the

Cleveland Crusaders The Cleveland Crusaders were a professional ice hockey team from Cleveland. They played in the World Hockey Association from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 to 1975–76 WHA season, 1976. Their home ice was the Cleveland Arena from 1972 to 1974, and t ...

of the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association () was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 to 1978–79 WHA season, 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (N ...

from 1973-76. He was a member of the

Adrian College Adrian College is a Private college, private United Methodist Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Adrian, Michigan. The college offers bachelor's degrees in 92 academic majors and programs. The 100 acre (0.40&nbs ...

and Bowling Green State athletic halls of fame. Complete List of Hall of Fame Inductees - Adrian College
," Adrian College (September 8, 2010. Retrieved September 8, 2010. Bowling Green Athletics - Hall of Fame
" Bowling Green State University (September 8, 2010. Retrieved September 8, 2010. He died in February 2021.

Early life

Vivian grew up in Strathroy, Ontario, just west of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. After high school, Vivian joined the logging industry in

Dryden, Ontario Dryden is the second-largest city in the Kenora District of northwestern Ontario, Canada, located on Wabigoon Lake. It is the least populous community in Ontario incorporated as a city. The City of Dryden had a population of 7,388 and its Census g ...

. Vivian's heart has Bowling Green giving thanks
" NHL.com (November 25, 2009. Retrieved September 8, 2010. He left to enroll at Adrian College in

Adrian, Michigan Adrian is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Lenawee County, Michigan, Lenawee County. The population was 20,645 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Adrian lies in Michigan's 5th congressional district. The c ...

, where he played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

. He transferred to

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

to play on the club ice hockey team for one year and then returned to Adrian. Vivian was awarded a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree from Adrian in 1966.

Coaching career

In 1966, Vivian was recruited by Bowling Green to be a graduate assistant coach for the BGSU football team, coach the club hockey team, and help direct the completion of the new BGSU Ice Arena. With a new ice arena, ice hockey became a varsity sport in 1969 and Vivian became the varsity team's first head coach. VIVIAN DONATES LEAD GIFT TO BGSU HOCKEY CAMPAIGN
" Bowling Green State University (November 14, 2009. Retrieved September 8, 2010. In addition to coaching BGSU, Vivian also helped start the youth hockey program for the city of

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

. Student Experiences History
" CENTER FOR ARCHIVAL COLLECTIONS NEWS (January 19, 2011. Retrieved September 8, 2010. Playing for two seasons without a conference, Vivian joined forces with four other hockey programs Lake Superior State,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

, and St. Louis University to create the

Central Collegiate Hockey Association The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) is a college athletic conference in the Midwestern United States that participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The current CCHA began play in the 2021–22 season; a previ ...

(CCHA). CCHA Announces All-Decade Team
" US College Hockey Online (September 8, 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2001. In 1973, Vivian directed BGSU to their first-ever CCHA Tournament championship. On May 15, 1973, Vivian accepted the general manager position for the Cleveland Crusaders of the WHA. At the time, Vivian was the youngest general manager in major professional hockey. The Iceman Cometh to MU
" The Journal News (October 30, 1976. Retrieved September 8, 2010. Crusaders head coach John Hanna was fired midseason 1974-75 and replaced by Vivian. Vivian coached the Crusaders to a 35-40-3 record after beginning the season 14-18-1.

Career in professional hockey

In 1973, at the age of 32, Vivian was named general manager of the Cleveland Crusaders of the WHA. Vivian also coached the team for 44 games during the 1974-75 season. Vivian submitted his resignation from the Crusaders at the end of January 1976Cheevers Can Begin Talks with Bruins
" The Ottawa Journal (January 28, 1976. Retrieved September 8, 2010. after growing tension between him and Cleveland's biggest star,

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

Gerry Cheevers Gerald Michael Cheevers (born December 7, 1940) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) and World Hockey Association (WHA) between 1961 and 1980. Cheevers is best known for his two s ...

, prompted Cheevers to quit and sign with the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

of the rival

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

.Vivian offers resignation to Jay Moore
" The Evening Independent (January 30, 1976. Retrieved September 8, 2010. Crusader team owner Jay Moore rejected his resignation Crusaders Improve $ Status Says Moore
" The Daily Reporter (February 6, 1976. Retrieved September 8, 2010. and Vivian stayed on through the end of the 1975-76 season before resigning again. The Crusaders folded after the 1975-76 season. In 1976, Vivian became a scout for the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...

. He was with the Islander organization for 17 seasons.

Career in college athletic administration

After resigning from the Crusaders, Vivian was named the ice hockey facility director at

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

. He oversaw the construction and opening of Goggin Ice Arena. He held the position until 1985.

JRV Management and Consulting

Vivian was CEO of JRV Management and Consulting, a firm specializing in ice arena construction, operation and management.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vivian, Jack 1941 births 2021 deaths Sportspeople from Strathroy-Caradoc Bowling Green Falcons ice hockey coaches Cleveland Crusaders players University of Vermont alumni Adrian College alumni Canadian expatriates in the United States