Scott McRoberts, newly appointed Director of Athletics and Recreation at the University of Toronto Scarborough can vividly recall being in the Canadian team’s changing room in the aftermath of Canada’s shocking 5–3 loss to Russia in the World Junior Hockey Championships earlier this year.

“You [could] hear a pin drop. There were a lot of emotions going around. It wasn’t anger. It was devastating; I’ve never experienced emotion like that as a bystander,” said McRoberts, who was on the Host Organizing Committee for the WJHC.

McRoberts graduated from Brock University with a Bachelors degree in sports management before obtaining a Masters in sports management at the University of San Francisco. He was an adjunct professor from 2007 to 2009 in the graduate program and, while collaborating with San Francisco City Hall to develop its Sport Tourism strategy, co-founded the San Francisco Sports Council. He was most recently Director of the Niagara Sports Committee.
McRoberts is the founder of McRoberts LLC, an international sport management firm specializing in marketing, sponsorship, and the hosting of major sporting events, and also of West Coast Tennis Services, which focuses on community programming.

The Varsity sat down to ask him about his impressions so far and how he hopes to bring his experiences to his new role.

The Varsity: What have been your impressions of UTSC so far?
Scott McRoberts: I really love it. The most impressive thing is the relationships and family atmosphere…the open door policy where you can just talk to students all the time. From the top down, everyone has been tremendous and welcoming.

TV: What about UTSC appealed to you?
SM: U of T is a well-known establishment, but UTSC has something growing here and it’s exciting to be a part of. I’ve been teaching at universities and I’ve been working in athletics…this job allowed me to take my passions — which [are] community development and working with students in sports facility management — [and wrap them] into one job. I knew one day I needed to go into athletics [in] a university setting to consolidate those passions of mine.

TV: As an educator and sports consultant, could you outline how the sports management that you’ve specialized in can be applied to a university setting?
SM: I think it’s [about] integrating more of the community in here, and having people who haven’t yet realized that they can achieve something…come here. I think the most impressive thing the new Pan Am facility offers is the fact that in lane one, you could have an Olympian, in lane two an aspiring Olympian, and in lane three someone who’s learning to swim for the first time, all in the same pool.

TV: What major sporting events have you been a part of?
SM: [While on the San Francisco Sport Council], we held the largest International Children’s Games event in the world, which was one of our biggest achievements. A number of friendships between the youth were formed, and [these] broke down the barriers. It educated the children on what was happening in [one-anothers’] countries. I worked at Stanford University and we put on the National Senior Games — that was 10,000 athletes, 23 sports, and 16 days. I helped run the NCAA March Madness Tournament and Sweet 16 to the Elite 8 for basketball in 2007 and this past year I was on the board of directors for the Host Organizing Committee for the 2011 WJHC, which is an event I watch religiously, so being a part of that was great.

TV: How do you feel about the results both on and off the ice?
SM: It was an emotional event from start to finish. I was with the team seconds after the loss, and they took it really hard. The fact that some reports came out after, saying they didn’t care was astonishing because I saw first hand how devastated they were. It’s great for Russia; they came back and won it, but knowing that some of those [Russian] players were on the plane that recently crashed is devastating. The result was devastating as a Canadian, but what made me proud that day was the class [with] which they handled themselves; they didn’t throw anything around the dressing room or break anything. They were very supportive of each other. It was a fantastic experience. I think the greatest thing about the event was that I got to work with the [Buffalo] Sabre’s organization and really got to see the inner workings of [the team] from an NHL standpoint.

TV: What do you hope to bring to UTSC?
SM: I hope to continue my success of bringing partnerships and collaborations [between] the community and schools. There’s nothing more powerful than bringing kids over to a university and being recreational in its facilities. Some people don’t think they can achieve going to a university, and I think this helps provide that. [Having been] a part-time faculty at a few universities, I would love to see a sports management program at U of T. I think it’s growing among colleges and universities, and with the new facilities here, there’s greater opportunities for internships and co-ops.

TV: Will you be proposing that to the university board or the dean any time soon?
SM: (Laughs) In due time. I’d love to…see a few courses on campus and I think, with where the university is going, it would be a great asset.