"The real magic to the heart of what we do is student athletes. They're our future."
The Atlantic University Sport Basketball Championships have been a signature event at Scotiabank Centre since the beginning. After the facility's opening in 1978, the CIAU Men’s Basketball Tournament was the first-ever sports event, launching a sports legacy that continues today. Operating under different monikers until the 1990s, AUS brought the top five men’s and women’s collegiate basketball teams from the Atlantic provinces to compete for the banner year after year.
In 1998, longtime Halifax coach Phil Currie joined AUS as the Executive Director. Over the next almost 30 years, Phil would grow the AUS Basketball Championship from a local competition to a major regional event, generating significant impact, corporate sponsorships, and partnerships, and creating moments that student athletes, families, and fans would remember for the rest of their lives.
This year, Phil announced his retirement from AUS before the 2025 tournament. It would be his last basketball championship at Scotiabank Centre in 24 years. As a partner, Phil has helped Scotiabank Centre build a welcoming home for AUS, become a host for the national U SPORT Championships, and carry on a passion for university sport that inspires our whole community. His belief in collegiate sport and student athletes took AUS to new heights.
Before his final tournament in March 2025, Phil shared that one time he built a legacy for AUS.
