HISTORY OF THE DINNER

The Dinos 5th Quarter Dinner started after the team’s first Vanier Cup triumph on November 19, 1983. The first Dinner was held the following spring at the Danish Cultural Centre and featured former CFL great George Reed and the late sports columnist Jim Coleman as keynote speakers. The original organizing committee consisted of John Siroishka, Al Bailey, the late Sandy Harvie, all of whom had sons on the 1983 Championship team as well as Coach Peter Connellan and former players Gary Durbeniuk and Cal Broadhurst, both of whom were instrumental in the founding of the Dinos Football 5th Quarter.

The Dinner eventually outgrew the confines of the Danish Cultural Center and moved to the Red & White Club at McMahon Stadium where over 500 people attended. In 1996 following the previous year’s Vanier Cup triumph, the event moved downtown and has become one of the premier sportsman’s dinners in Calgary, frequently attracting over 1,000 supporters. The continued growth of the dinner is a testament to the energy and commitment of the many alumni and friends of the program who have given generously of their time and money over the past 27 years

THIS YEARS SPEAKER

RICK EISEN

Rich Eisen has spent the last seven NFL seasons as the host of the Emmy-nominated NFL GameDay Morning on NFL Network, the most comprehensive NFL pregame show on television. Eisen is joined each week by analysts Michael Irvin, Steve Mariucci, and Kurt Warner. Eisen also anchors NFL Network’s special on location coverage of the NFL Draft, Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction Weekend, Super Bowl, and NFL Scouting Combine where he does his annual Run Rich Run 40-yard dash to help raise money for St. Jude’s Children Hospital. His latest NFL Series The Grind recently premiered on Epix.

Eisen also served as main emcee of the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Canton, OH in 2009 and has served as the annual emcee of the Friday Night Gold Jacket dinner every year since then.

In 2010, Eisen added to his already versatile resume by launching NFL.com's first ever podcast, which surpassed the 16 million download mark during its four-year run. Additionally, he also co-hosted a weekly podcast with his wife Suzy Shuster called Eyes on Sports for Podcast One. Weekly they would chat with their celebrity friends about everything from sports to pop culture to parenthood.

One of television’s most visible anchors and personalities from the past decade, Eisen was a mainstay on ESPN’s SportsCenter from 1996 to 2003. Outside the world of sports, Eisen recently served as the host on TNT's first-ever reality competition program The Great Escape.

Eisen lives in Los Angeles with his wife and long-time ABC, FOX and TNT sports broadcaster Suzy Shuster. Together, they have three children and two rescue dogs, Halo and Dylan.