Athlete - Football
Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015
A key ingredient in one of the most prolific offenses in the country in 1995, Larry Jusdanis helped to apply a CFL-style offensive playbook to the Canadian university game.
Under the watchful eye of then head coach Sonny Wolfe and offensive coordinator Danny Laramee, Jusdanis set AUAA records that still stand to this day.
From Hamilton, Ontario, Jusdanis set his eyes on the NCAA after graduating from Glendale High School in 1989. After two seasons at the University of Central Florida, he joined the Acadia Axemen in 1991 to start what would become a record-setting career.
His impact was immediate. In his first season, Jusdanis had a conference-high six touchdown passes in a single game and a season-high 12 passing majors. In 1992 the team went 3-5, but Jusdanis recorded 199 pass attempts with 98 completions for 1,350 yards passing.
He passed for 2,055 yards in 1993. In the AUAA Championship against the CIAU No. 1-ranked St. Mary’s Huskies, the Axemen forced the game into overtime after tying it at 28 on a last second TD pass and a two-point convert. Jusdanis threw for 383 yards in the 48-28 overtime loss.
In 1994, he passed for 2,030 yards and in 1995 set not only a single season record of 2,551 yards, but he also set a single game record of 501 yards passing against Mount Allison. Both records stand today.
As the current all-time career leader in passing yards in the AUS with 8,766 – 1,474 more than the next player in line – Jusdanis ushered in a long list of quarterbacks that followed in his footsteps not only at Acadia but in the CIS who capitalized on the spread offense.
Former offensive coordinator Danny Laramee, who worked closely with Jusdanis during his five years at Acadia, praised Jusdanis for his ability to lead by example. “Larry arrived on campus in 1991, embraced our no-huddle spread offense, and the stats and wins started rolling up. His tireless preparation and cerebral approach to the game helped him arrive at a level where he was one of the best to ever to play the game. He was a great teammate, a great person and continues to be a great friend.”
With his record-setting seasons, Jusdanis was named a CIAU All-Canadian quarterback in his final two seasons and was a CIAU Hec Crighton nominee as Canada’s Most Valuable Football Player in 1994 and 1995 after being honoured as the AUAA MVP in the same years.
In his final season with Acadia Jusdanis set 10 AUAA records, including passes attempted; passes completed; yards passing; first downs passing; yards passing in a career; passes attempted in a career; and passes completed in a career.
Please welcome to the Acadia Sports Hall of Fame, in the individual athlete category, award-winning Acadia Axemen quarterback Larry Jusdanis.