Today, January 18, York University Athletics & Recreation will honour the life and legacy of former Lions men’s hockey player Mark Cross on the fourth annual Mark Cross Memorial Day.
Cross, who played with the Lions from 2011-2016 was one of 16 killed in the devastating Humboldt Broncos bus crash on April 6, 2018. Since Cross’ untimely passing, the Lions men’s hockey program has made it its mission to keep Cross and the rest of the Broncos in their minds and hearts through Mark Cross Memorial Day and the Mark Cross Memorial Game.
“We work to honour Mark’s Legacy throughout the year by working to embody the CROSS (Character, Respect, Optimism, Sacrifice, Selflessness) Spirit in all aspects of life,” said Lions men’s hockey head coach Russ Herrington. “When it comes to the Mark Cross Memorial Game, this has quickly become one of the most important dates on our yearly calendar as we get the chance to not only honour Mark, but, by extension, all the Humboldt Broncos who were involved in the tragic accident of April 6, 2018, and this is our chance every season to remind ourselves to be #HumboldtStrong and to keep their memories alive.”
York Director, Athletics Alex Dominato says the importance of Mark Cross Memorial Day stretches beyond the men’s hockey program and all across Lions Athletics & Recreation.
“The Mark Cross Spirit embodies what it means to be a Lion and our entire department strives to live up to this everyday,” said Dominato. “His legacy lives with us every day and continues to have a major impact that supports our student-athletes through his donor fund that we hope you can make any contribution to.”
The Lions are looking for support in one of the following ways:
- Donate $18 (or a multiple of $18) to the Mark Cross Memorial Fund
- Under DONATE AMOUNT, click on OTHER and enter $18 into DONATION AMOUNT.
- Choose desired Payment Frequency
- Enter Donor & Contact Information
- Record a video of 18 reps of an exercise of choice and post on social media, tagging @yorkulions and including the #MC18 hashtag
- Take a selfie wearing MC18 gear and post on social media, tagging @yorkulions and including the #MC18 hashtag
- Talk about how you live out the CROSS pillars of character, respect, optimism, sacrifice and selflessness and post on social media, tagging @yorkulions and including the #MC18 hashtag
The Lions will host the UQTR Patriotes in the fourth annual Mark Cross Memorial Game on Saturday, Jan. 27 at 3:15 pm. Ticketing information, including prices, can be found at https://york.universitytickets.com/.
All media inquiries may be directed to Kim Servinis, Interim Manager, Marketing, Communications & Corporate Partnerships, or Ben Browne, Representative, Sport Information. Servinis can be reached by email at kserv@yorku.ca, and Browne at bbrowne@yorku.ca.