Concordia hires new director of Recreation and Athletics

Claude Morin steps in to lead the Stingers after a storied Cégep stint

SportsSamuel Kayll — Published March 31, 2026 3 minutes

Morin played NCAA Division I hockey with Clarkson University and later enjoyed a 14-year professional career across Europe and North America. He says his time as a student-athlete prepared him well for his role as athletic director. 

“I know exactly what it takes to be successful, what it takes to be a student athlete at that age, what they need to do, what they're hoping to accomplish,” Morin said. “So I think it's a great base to start with."

Morin welcomes the challenge of recruiting in the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec, a conference rich with high-end talent. At André-Laurendeau, he helped the Boomerang bring home two national and 18 provincial titles, an organizational strength he aims to bring to the Stingers.

But Morin also wants to expand Concordia’s influence beyond Quebec. He hopes to make Concordia a destination not only for provincial student-athletes but for national talent as well. 

"I want to try to put Concordia at the top and make sure that everybody thinks about Concordia when it's time to apply to university, and that their life experience is going to be great,” Morin said.

Morin’s arrival comes at a crucial juncture for the Stingers organization. Seven of Concordia’s eight varsity programs made the playoffs in 2025-26, with the women’s hockey team advancing to its fifth straight national championship. With strong teams in place, the future looks bright for Concordia athletics. 

The department also received a boost through student backing. After failing to pass in the fall, students voted in favour of an increase to Concordia Recreation and Athletics’ per-credit student fee levy from $2.92 to $4.19 at the Concordia Student Union elections.

However, the university still lags behind other Quebec institutions in areas like attendance and fan support. Jadynn Somerville, a guard for the Concordia women’s basketball team, pointed out the disconnect many students face when supporting the school’s teams.

“I think one of the biggest things we need to improve is the overall school culture around sports and getting more students to show up to games,” Somerville said. “Because the university is split between two campuses, I’ve noticed that a lot of students downtown don’t even realize how many teams we have or when we’re playing.”

Morin hopes to build the program around a unified front, with Stingers teams supporting each other and improved student participation. He says he wants to get the entire community involved in the department’s actions.

“I'd really like to survey students, student-athletes, regular students, also the whole community, staff and everything, and see what they want to have,” Morin said. “What do they have right now that they like? Where could we improve?"

Alice Fleming, a fellow guard for the women’s basketball team, supports Morin’s plans for the future. 

“I think that having more support from the department would help all of the Stingers programs,” Fleming said. 

Officially, Morin’s job doesn’t start for another month. But he already has big ideas, and he’s excited to get to work.

“It's a big challenge, but I'm ready for it,” Morin said. “I can't wait to get going and get to know the people we'll be working with and work for the whole community to make Concordia the best place possible.”