Mike Morreale is returning to the Canadian Football League.
TSN Football Insider Dave Naylor reports the Ottawa Redblacks are set to name the former Canadian Elite Basketball League commissioner the team’s new president as soon as Wednesday.
A 55-year-old native of Hamilton, Ont., Morreale stepped down as commissioner of the CEBL last fall after seven seasons in the role. He was also a co-founder of the league.
A slotback in his playing days, Morreale appeared in 509 CFL games across 12 seasons with the Toronto Argonauts and his hometown Tiger-Cats from 1995 to 2006. He won Grey Cup titles in 1996 and 1999. In 1998, he was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Canadian after a season in which he recorded 1,076 receiving yards and six TDs for the Ticats.
Following his retirement, Morreale joined the CFL Players’ Association, first as its director of marketing before becoming president in 2012. He served two years in the role.
Morreale will succeed Adrian Sciarra, who stepped down as team president in August. Shawn Burke, the team’s vice-president of player operations, was fired a week later.
The Redblacks are set to wrap up a dreadful season in which they started the year at 0-16. The team finally picked up its first victory of the campaign last Friday, defeating the Argos by a score of 40-39. The win broke a 22-game losing streak across two seasons. The Redblacks visit the Ticats on Saturday to end the season.