The University of Windsor is mourning the loss of long-time head coach Dennis Fairall.
He was 67 years old. Fairall battled progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a rare degenerative brain disease that has no cure that slowly affected his mobility and speech.
Fairall coached the cross country and track and field program for the Windsor Lancers from 1985 until his retirement in 2015.
“Dennis Fairall was a special person,” said Director of Athletics Mike Havey. “His record of accomplishment put the University of Windsor and the Lancers track and field and cross country programs on the map. But that was not what made him special. He was a humble and incredibly effective team builder and collaborator. He positively impacted so many student-athletes and community groups over the years that keeping count was impossible. His coaching tree is wide and deep; and that impact will continue to be felt for years. When you met with Dennis you always felt better afterwards. He made you feel good. That was his gift. We were lucky to have him as a colleague. Our hearts ache for Janet and Jeremy and Erin… and the entire Lancer family.”
Fairall had many achievements in his career including leading the Lancers to 25 Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) championships, 46 Ontario University Athletics (OUA) titles, and had been honoured 65 times as either CIS or OUA coach of the year in track and field and/or cross country.
