By William Crooks
Local Journalism Initiative
The Université de Sherbrooke (UdeS) will soon join the ranks of universities offering high-level hockey, thanks to a $6-million donation from philanthropist and businessman Herbert Black. Announced Aug. 12 at the annual Serge Savard Invitational, the gift will create both men’s and women’s Vert & Or hockey programs—the first in the institution’s history.
“This is a donation of $6 million over the next five years and the idea is to start a hockey program for girls and boys at the university,” said UdeS Rector Jean-Pierre Perreault in an interview. “Our intention is to be in a position to start as fast as possible.”
Perreault said the initiative will be an important recruitment tool and a way to bring “exciting games, hockey games, which is our national sport.” The men’s and women’s teams are expected to begin competition in September 2027, following the mandatory registration with Quebec university sports authorities before Dec. 1, 2025.
The Herbert Black – Serge Savard Vert & Or Hockey Support Fund will cover start-up and operational costs, including hiring coaches, recruiting players, and running the program. “Mr. Savard and Mr. Black are really giving the university a chance to move on,” Perreault said. For now, he is leading the project with the UdeS sports services team, which oversees all varsity programs. The detailed agenda for the next steps will be developed this fall.
UdeS currently has no ice rink on campus, so the university will partner with existing facilities in the region. “We will look at different possibilities in towns with the different rinks that are available already around us,” Perreault explained.
Beyond the ice, the rector stressed the broader benefits. “It will contribute in terms of recruitment” and provide entertainment for the community, he said. The addition of hockey will expand Vert & Or’s roster, which already includes six high-level varsity sports and six competitive clubs.
The project aligns with UdeS’s goal of raising its athletic profile as part of its $250-million “Choosing to Change the Future” major fundraising campaign. It builds on Savard’s ongoing support for UdeS athletes, including a scholarship fund launched in 2019 that has secured nearly $5.5 million in commitments.
“This is a whole dream that the students may have a program where they complete their studies at the university level and at the same time they play hockey,” Perreault said, adding his “big thank you to Mr. Black… who is a generous donor.”