The Bedford Road Invitational Tournament (BRIT) family and the Saskatoon community mourn the passing of Donald (Don) Floyd Cousins on October 24, 2026, at the age of 87. As one of the six founding fathers of BRIT - alongside Walter Mudge, Merv Houghton, Carl Chiko, Roger Hughes, and Dean Dickson - Don’s vision and humility helped build a local eight-team event into one of Canada’s premier high school basketball tournaments.

Building a Canadian Classic

Alongside Walt Mudge, Don shaped BRIT into a complete entertainment package featuring cheerleading and art competitions, halftime shows, and special guests. He also helped expand the tournament's reach across Canada and internationally - most memorably navigating months of administrative hurdles to bring the famed New York Gauchos to Saskatoon in 1988 to inspire local players. Always quick to share credit with his fellow volunteers, Don remarked in 2018: "Just to come here and see kids and students get excited about the game of basketball puts enough energy in me to go for a few more years".

After moving to teach at Walter Murray Collegiate, Don and Walt Mudge were honoured as BRIT’s Special Tournament Guests in 1993. He proudly attended all 56 tournaments through BRIT’s golden anniversary in 2018 and remained a beloved fixture in the gym every January.

A Beloved Teacher, Coach, and Community Builder

Born in Radville, Saskatchewan, and educated at the University of Denver and the University of Saskatchewan, Mr. Cousins was a cherished physics, science, and homeroom teacher at both Bedford Road and Walter Murray. Former students and colleagues fondly remember his infectious laugh, prankster wit, the Bedford Road Christmas Melodramas he wrote (first solo and later with Hugh Kurz), and his classic classroom saying: "If it's green it's biology, if it stinks it's chemistry, and if it doesn't work, that's physics!"

Beyond BRIT, Don coached Bedford Road football from 1968 to 1991 (winning the 1968 provincial title), served as an assistant coach on the 1972 provincial championship senior boys' basketball team, and coached champion minor hockey and baseball teams across Saskatoon - including leading Saskatoon Kenko baseball all-star teams to Tokyo in 1987 and 1988. For his lifetime of service, he was named Kinsmen Sportsman of the Year (1996) and inducted into the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame as a Builder (2001).

Our Condolences

On behalf of the BRIT Organizing Committee and Bedford Road Collegiate, we extend our heartfelt sympathies to Don’s wife Kathy, his son Todd (Kenapha), his grandchildren, and the countless students, athletes, colleagues, and friends whose lives he enriched.

As was fittingly noted at the tournament's 50th anniversary: "It wouldn't be BRIT without Don Cousins." Rest in peace, Mr. Cousins.

To read Don’s full obituary, view celebration of life details, or share a memory with the Cousins family, please visit his memorial page here.