REGINA RAMS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Finance
- Title / Vice President, Finance
Job Titles:
- Manager of Business Development / Events & Marketing Coordinator
- Title / Manager of Business Development / Events & Marketing Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Operations
- Title / Vice President, Operations
Job Titles:
- Equipment Manager
- Equipment Manager for the Rams
- Title / Equipment Manager
Now in his second stint with the Rams, Bob Thomas has been the equipment manager for the Rams since 2013 and also held the position from 2004 to 2008.
He was also the equipment manager for the Saskatchewan Roughriders for a four-season period from 2009 to 2012, which included two Grey Cup appearances.
Job Titles:
- Sports Information Director
- Title / Sports Information Director
Job Titles:
- Executive
- President
- Title / President
Brian Eltom was appointed to the Board Executive in April of 2017.
Eltom has a long history of involvement with the Rams, beginning as a player from 1984 to 1988 during a career which included two national junior championships. He served as president of the Regina Rams Alumni Association from 1992 to 1999, and joined the Board of Directors in 2013.
Eltom has worked for SaskTel since 1993 and is currently the assistant vice president of the Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) program. He and his wife Colette - an elementary teacher with the Regina Catholic School Division - have a son and a daughter.
Eltom graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Regina in 1989 and earned his Master's in Business Administration from the University of Saskatchewan in 1995.
Job Titles:
- Offensive Assistant & Academic Coach
Bruce Anderson was added to the Rams' staff as an offensive assistant and academic coach in March, 2020. His role includes helping with special teams, offseason training, film breakdown, recruiting, summer camps, academics, and running scout teams.
Anderson played for three seasons with the Rams, starting at middle linebacker during the 2008, 2009, and 2010 campaigns and earning Canada West all-star honours in his final year of eligibility. After graduating from the U of R with a Bachelor of Kinesiology degree in 2011, Anderson became the head strength and conditioning coach at the Athol Murray College of Notre Dame in Wilcox, Sask. He spent two seasons at Notre Dame before joining the Regina Sports & Physiotherapy Clinic as a kinesiologist in 2014. During his time as a kinesiologist, Anderson also served as the strength & conditioning coach for the Regina Thunder for two years.
Originally from Port Moody, B.C., Anderson attended Centennial Secondary in Coquitlam before starting his post-secondary career with the Butte College Roadrunners in Oroville, Calif. Anderson and his wife Shirrae - a former standout pitcher for the U of R's softball team - have two daughters, Harper and Evelyn.
Chris Briltz began his involvement with the Rams Board of Directors in 2014 and began a two-year term as president prior to the 2017 season.
Briltz was a four-time national champion with the Rams, playing with the team at the CJFL level from 1994 to 1998 and at the CIS level from 1999 to 2002. He was a key part of the Rams team that won the Canada West championship and the Atlantic Bowl in 2000 on their way to a Vanier Cup appearance.
He's still in the individual record book, as his 51-yard fumble return in a game against Alberta (Oct. 20, 2001) is still the fourth longest by a Rams player since the move to the CIS level.
Briltz works for SaskPower, where he's the director of customer strategy and research. He earned Bachelor of Business Administration and Executive Master of Business Administration degrees from the U of R. His family has been longtime supporters of the Rams, as Elite Auto Body was the first corporate sponsor of the team and has a relationship with the program dating back over 20 years.
Job Titles:
- Title / Vice President, Planning & Human Resources
- Vice President of Corporate Counsel at SaskTel
- Vice President, Planning & Human Resources
John Meldrum began his involvement with the Rams Board of Directors in 2013 and was appointed to the Board Executive in 2016.
Meldrum is the vice president of corporate counsel at SaskTel and has been a member of the SaskTel Executive Committee since 1986. He did two years of pre-law at the University of Regina in the early 1970s and earned a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Saskatchewan in 1977.
Meldrum is married to Charlen. They have three sons who all played football, including Alex who played for three seasons with the Rams including one as the team's starter at middle linebacker.
Job Titles:
- Title / Vice President, Special Projects
- Vice President, Special Projects
Job Titles:
- Director
- Director of Sport, Community Engagement & Athlete Development
- Vice President, University of Regina Representative
Lisa Robertson began her role as the Director of Sport, Community Engagement & Athlete Development at the University of Regina in September of 2017.
Prior to taking on the role at the U of R, Robertson most recently worked as an Associate Director at the Olympic Oval in Calgary and was responsible for leading marketing, communications, events and competition teams. During her two years at the Oval, Robertson worked to align with the five-year strategic plan and led an organizing committee that managed the 2016 ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating competition. Robertson also led the Oval through a brand refresh and assisted in developing a new governance model for the teams she oversaw.
Before working at the Olympic Oval, Robertson spent 18 years in the athletic department at the University of Calgary. Much of Robertson's career with the Dinos was focused on fund development, including time as the director of development from 2012 through 2015. Robertson's experience at the U of C included selling sponsorships, serving as a member of organizing committees for national championships, high-level strategic planning and program execution.
Robertson played five years with the University of Calgary women's basketball program from 1990 to 1995 while earning a Bachelor of Arts degree. Robertson was a part of a Canada West champion Dinos squad in 1991, was a Canada West first-team all-star in 1994 and was named a second-team Canada West all-star on three other occasions. Following her time at the University of Calgary, Lisa received a Diploma in Radio, Television and Broadcast News from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology.
Lisa and her husband Chris have a daughter (Sophia) and a son (Jack). They currently reside in Wilcox, Sask.
Job Titles:
- Assistant
- Equipment Manager
- Title / Assistant Equipment Manager
Job Titles:
- Coach
- Head
- Title / Head Coach
Mark McConkey was hired by the Rams in April, 2015 as the team's offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach, and academic coach. He was elevated to interim head coach in February, 2020 and officially announced as the program's full-time head coach on Feb. 3, 2022.
Over McConkey's two years as the team's interim head coach, he guided the squad through the COVID season in 2020 and through the pandemic-shortened 2021 campaign. The highlight of McConkey's interim season came in the team's home opener as the Rams pulled out a 34-21 win over a Calgary team that entered the game ranked No. 1 in the nation. The Rams collected a 5-3 record in 2022 to finish second in the Canada West standings and earn a home playoff game in McConkey's second season as head coach. Besides the team success, the Rams had five Canada West all-stars, four All-Canadians, the Canada West Defensive Player of the Year (Ryder Varga), and had players selected in each of the first four rounds of the 2023 CFL Draft.
Highlighting the list of individual accomplishments under Coach McConkey's tenure as a coordinator with the Rams was the selection of quarterback Noah Picton as the Hec Crighton Trophy recipient in 2016, an annual award given to the top player in Canadian university football. Picton was an All-Canadian in both 2016 and 2017, while his cousin Mitchell Picton earned All-Canadian status in 2016. Mitchell Picton, Atlee Simon, and Jeremy Zver were all selected in the CFL Draft.
One of the most prolific receivers in Rams history, McConkey's time at the U of R began after graduating from Lord Beaverbrook High School in Calgary back in 2007. McConkey redshirted the 2007 season with the Rams, and immediately jumped in as a key member of the team's offence as a first-year player in 2008. His best statistical season was in 2010, setting career highs in both receptions (45) and receiving yards (509). After missing almost the entire 2012 campaign due to injury, McConkey collected 180 receptions in his career - a mark which stood as the most in Canada West history until former teammate Jared Janotta set a new standard the following season.
McConkey was a Canada West all-star in 2011 and earned Academic All-Canadian status in his final season with the Rams. He's also fifth in Rams history with 1991 career receiving yards.
McConkey received a Bachelor of Kinesiology from the U of R in 2012 with a major in human kinetics, and earned a Bachelor of Education in 2014 with a major in physical education and a minor in health. He interned at Greenall High School in Balgonie, Sask. before taking on a full-time role at the school in spring of 2014, teaching mainly Grade 9 and Grade 10 classes and serving as a coach with the Griffins' football team and as the head coach of the school's senior boys' basketball team and the track & field teams.
McConkey and his wife Taylor live in Regina and are the parents of two children, Owen and Ellie.
Nicole Renneberg was hired in July, 2015 as the school's first head athletic therapist. Her duties consist of medical services for student-athletes from all 16 of the University of Regina's varsity teams, including providing therapeutic treatments and developing and managing a concussion management plan.
After graduating from the U of R in 2009 with a Bachelor of Kinesiology degree, Renneberg amassed a litany of related experience including serving as the athletic therapist for the College of Notre Dame beginning in 2010. She also provided medical coverage for countless major sporting events, including home games at the U of R.
Renneberg played soccer for five years at the U of R, appearing in a total of 67 Canada West matches for the Cougars from 2004 to 2009 and earning Academic All-Canadian nominations in both 2006 and 2007. She also completed a two-year term as the president of the Saskatchewan Athletic Therapy Association, which sets education, certification, and discipline standards for its members in the province.
Sheldon Gray was added to the Rams' coaching staff as a defensive backs coach prior to the 2015 season and was announced as the team's defensive coordinator under new head coach Steve Bryce in early 2016. Gray's defence has produced four Canada West all-stars during his tenure as well as the 2016 Canada West Rookie of the Year.
Prior to joining the Rams, Gray had most recently been with the Regina Thunder in 2013 and 2014 as an assistant. He also has coaching experience at the provincial level and with both Dr. Martin LeBoldus High School and Miller Comprehensive High School in Regina. Gray played for the University of Regina Rams in each of their first five seasons at the CIS level. His 83-yard interception return in his second season stood as a school record for almost a decade before it was finally broken.
Gray and his wife Michelle live in Regina with their twins, son Emerson and daughter Alexa. He received his Bachelor of Education from the U of R in 2004 and has almost a decade of experience as a chemistry and science teacher at LeBoldus.
Job Titles:
- Title / Vice President, Marketing & Fundraising
- Vice President, Marketing & Fundraising
Job Titles:
- Title / Vice President, Marketing & Fundraising
- Vice President, Marketing & Fundraising
Job Titles:
- Manager
- Defensive Assistant
- Manager of Football Operations
- Member of the Collegiate Sport Video Association
Thomas Retzlaff is the team's manager of football operations and also serves as a defensive assistant coach. He initially joined the Rams as a digital media producer in 2013 and took on video coordinating duties starting with the 2015 campaign.
A member of the Collegiate Sport Video Association, Retzlaff is an alumni of the University of Regina and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in film and video production in 2012. He's also an assistant coach with both the Regina Riot (WWCFL) and the F.W. Johnson Collegiate Wildcats and has almost a decade of coaching experience with Regina Minor Football teams.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Alumni Relations
Job Titles:
- Title / Vice President, Board Relations
- Vice President, Board Relations