The University of Alberta community is mourning the loss of one of its most dedicated and enthusiastic supporters, Bruce Saville, who passed away on Oct. 13, 2025, at the age of 80.
An entrepreneur and community leader who made a difference in the lives of Edmontonians in a variety of fields from high tech to sport, Saville was also a great contributor to the U of A as a visionary and philanthropist.
“Bruce combined entrepreneurial vision with a deep commitment to community,” says Bill Flanagan, U of A president and vice-chancellor. “Through his leadership and generosity, he helped transform sport and recreation at the University of Alberta and across our city. The Saville Community Sports Centre stands as a lasting testament to his belief in the power of sport to bring people together, strengthen community and inspire excellence. His passing is a profound loss for the university and for Alberta.”
The Saville Community Sports Centre bears Bruce Saville’s name because of the pivotal role he played in ensuring a facility of the highest quality would be built on the U of A’s South Campus, bringing with it world-class training opportunities for athletes of all ages and abilities.
The first building in the centre opened in January 2004 with eight indoor tennis courts, 10 sheets of ice for curlers and a state-of-the-art fitness centre. Welcoming both community and university athletes, it expanded in 2011 with volleyball, basketball, badminton and gymnastics facilities. In 2023, the Saville Tennis Centre opened, providing outdoor courts with a dome for winter use.
Offering programming and services to sport enthusiasts at all levels, from recreational athletes to Olympic champions, the centre has been described as a “multi-sport cathedral” that welcomes more than two million visitors each year and is home to 12 U of A varsity teams. None of it would have happened without Saville’s support.
“Thousands of people of all ages and abilities use the Saville Community Sports Centre each day. From elite competitors to those under the age of five learning about sport, the SCSC has something for everyone. The facilities are widely used and always appreciated,” says Christine Legault, director of Campus and Community Recreation at the U of A. “We are profoundly grateful to Bruce Saville for the many opportunities that continue to unfold in the SCSC.”
Sending forth ripples of hope
A self-taught computer programmer who went on to found one of Edmonton’s most successful high-tech companies, Saville valued the role of the university within the community and sought to help both the institution and students in meeting their goals.
He served as a member of the U of A’s Board of Governors from 2004 to 2010, and was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree in 2015 for his contributions to the university and the broader community.
Ever accessible, straightforward and humble, Saville encouraged the graduating students that year to “surround yourself with good people — mentors, and those that you may mentor, co-workers, employees and even bosses. The better the people around you, the more success you will have.”
Saville was a lifelong team player himself, a hockey fan and recreational goalie for 58 years. He credited a hockey buddy with introducing him to COBOL, the programming language he learned on his own so he could build a business solution for his first employer, Goodyear, in Ontario.
He later founded Saville Systems, a software company that employed 1,700 people and eventually sold for millions. Bruce Saville then set out to invest in his adopted community of Edmonton with his ideas, his name, his time and his money.
Saville was so proud of his U of A honorary degree credentials that he put “LLD (Hon.)” in his email signature.
He also included a quote that he tried to live by, made by Robert F. Kennedy in 1966 upon his visit to the University of Cape Town: “Each time a man stands up for an ideal or acts to improve the lot of others or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.”
From 1998 to 2008, Saville was one of a handful of major investors in the Edmonton Oilers who gave Edmonton fans hope by keeping the team in town instead of moving to the United States.
He sent out many other ripples of hope throughout his career, as chair of the Inner City Agencies Commission and a volunteer with many other community organizations, including the Edmonton Homeless Commission, Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation, the Stollery Children's Hospital, Economic Development Edmonton, the TELUS World of Science, Edmonton Eskimos Football Club, Edmonton 2001 World Championships in Athletics, United Way of the Alberta Capital Region and the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology.
He was named Edmonton Philanthropist of the Year in 2001, was inducted into the Alberta Business Hall of Fame in 2005 and won the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012, among many other honours.
Saville shared his love of sport with Cathy King, retired champion curler and the first skip to win a Canadian junior, women’s and seniors’ championship in one career. King’s team was proud to call the Saville Community Sports Centre home.
Bruce Saville is survived by his children, Cathy’s children, and all their grandchildren, and will be deeply missed by a community full of friends, admirers and beneficiaries of his generosity.