Renowned Regina sportswriter Darrell Davis cooked up questions for Cohon, and the commissioner dished out his thoughts on CFL topics such as the Saskatchewan Roughriders, "Swaggerville", the 99th Grey Cup in Vancouver and David Braley. Also, in a topic geared towards the university athletes in attendance, Cohon stressed his belief in the importance of continually developing CIS sports – football specifically.
"Being here to support CIS athletics and support the university is important for the CFL, because we get so many great players coming through the system," Cohon told reporters in a post-breakfast interview. "Through our evaluation camps, we’re bringing all the young CIS football players up and we’re profiling them. We’re working with the CIS on drug tests – making sure the integrity of our game is in place.
"It was pleasing for athletes in attendance to hear of Cohon’s commitment to CIS sports. Marc Mueller, who entered the season as the starting quarterback for the Rams and took part in the Edmonton Eskimos ’s training camp in the off-season, is one Canadian university athlete hoping the CIS system can help him land a professional job.
"It feels good to hear (Mark Cohon) saying that supporting and promoting CIS football is a priority for the CFL," Mueller said. "It means that CIS football has a very bright future and will continue to get better and better each season, on and off the field. The Regina Rams program has definitely helped me.
"According to Dick White, U of R director of athletics, the event used to be conducted as a dinner, but for the last two years has switched to a breakfast. The speaker at last year’s event was Jon Montgomery, an Olympic gold-medalist skeleton racer.
U of R sports team can raise money for their programs by selling tickets to the event and, according to White, having a speaker like Cohon in attendance should be beneficial for the event heading forward.
"I think everybody who was here enjoyed themselves," he said. "So that makes resale a little bit easier and hopefully will provide the foundation for a future sellout."
