Jim Hopson, former Riders president and CEO dead at 73 [Video]

Jim Hopson, the former president and CEO of the Saskatchewan Roughriders has died, his family confirmed Wednesday morning.

According to Hopson’s family he died surrounded by family and friends on Tuesday, April 2.

Hopson was first diagnosed with stage four colon cancer in April of 2021 and announced in January 2024 that he was no longer undergoing treatment. 

Born in Regina in 1951, Hopson played high school football for Thom Collegiate. After graduating he moved on to the Regina Rams junior football team and eventually the Saskatchewan Roughriders, where he was an offensive lineman for four seasons from 1973 to 1976, playing alongside the likes of Ron Lancaster and George Reed.

Hopson announced his retirement as a player following the 1976 Grey Cup game. He then became a full time teacher and eventually a principal and director of education for what is now the Prairie Valley School Division, spending more …