Bright-Brundle retiring as Trent athletics and recreation director

As Deborah Bright-Brundle walked around campus in her final week at Trent University, she admitted having bittersweet emotions.

After eight years as Trent’s director of athletics and recreation, Bright-Brundle, 55, is retiring.

Friday was her final day at the office on the eve of the university’s 50th Homecoming Weekend and Head of the Trent Regatta. The university will send her off with a ceremony Saturday afternoon at Justin Chiu Stadium.

On one hand, she is excited to join her husband, Tony Brundle, who retired from running Town and Country Marine in Buckhorn with his brothers last spring as they look forward to the next stage of their life. At the same time, she’s going to miss Trent.

“We have such a great team at Trent,” Bright-Brundle said. “It was a feeling that it was the right time for me once Tony retired. We’re not out of the pandemic but we’re in a different phase and we can travel again and we felt it was the right time for us personally in our lives.”

Bright-Brundle is the university’s third athletic director following in the footsteps of Paul Wilson and Bill Byrick.

“It really was an honour to be athletic director for eight years,” she said.

“I don’t say this lightly but I don’t think there is a job I’ve had where I’ve been inspired daily on campus by our student-athletes and our team at Trent and the wonderful people I’ve had the pleasure to work with. I will miss a lot of things but mostly it’s about the people.”

She was proud to keep varsity athletes and coaches active in a training setting when the 2020-21 season was cancelled due to the pandemic. Not all universities maintained programs through that season.

“Everyone did such an amazing job in uncharted territory,” she said. When she was hired, she was tasked with making budget cuts and creating a business plan to get the athletics department out of some financial stress.

She also returned the rugby and volleyball programs to the OUA after competing in the college league.

Not all the decisions were popular at the time but Bright-Brundle believes the Excalibur programs are in good shape.

“There are so many things I’m proud of. To be honest, all the things we’ve done, we’ve done as a team. Not just our Trent athletics team and the university as a team but also our varsity coaches and student-athletes,” Bright-Brundle told The Examiner. “We’ve had some great successes on the field. I’m proud of all of our varsity teams and how they’ve grown and advanced in their own way over the last eight years but I walk by beautiful Justin Chiu Stadium and I think of our lacrosse program, the success of our women’s program and the strength of our men’s program.

“We were the hosts, along with the city and Fleming College, to the World Under-19 Lacrosse Championship with 22 international teams. Sport is such a wonderful and powerful thing and to have that on our campus and tie in the success of our lacrosse program,” she added. “I also think of how our men’s and women’s rugby teams have continued to grow and how strong they are.

“Of course walking by the river you can’t help but think of our amazing rowing program and our great partnership with the Peterborough Rowing Club. It’s not just the varsity rowing program, it’s amazing to see our rowers have success on the international and national levels.”

Leslie Spooner, who has served as assistant director for over 14 years, will be stepping into the role of interim director of athletics and recreation as of Saturday.

The University will be conducting a search for a new director of athletics in the near future, according to a statement from Trent communications staff.

Leslie Spooner, who has served as assistant director for over 14 years, will be stepping into the role of interim director of athletics and recreation as of Saturday