Marco Iannuzzi

Marco Iannuzzi

No. 87     BC Lions
Marco Ianuzzi in 2012.
Date of birth	(1987-05-21) May 21, 1987
Place of birth	Calgary, Alberta
Career information
Status	Active
CFL status	National
Position(s)	WR/KR/PR
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight	195 lb (88 kg)
University	Harvard
High school	St. Francis High School
CFL draft	2011 / Round: 1 / Pick: 6
Drafted by	BC Lions
Career history
As player
2011-present	BC Lions
Career highlights and awards
Grey Cup champion (2011)
Career stats
Playing stats at CFL.ca

Marco Iannuzzi (born May 21, 1987 in Calgary, Alberta) is a Grey Cup champion wide receiver for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League and an Investment Advisor with RBC Dominion Securities^[1] the largest full service investment brokerage in Canada.^[2] He attended college at Harvard and MIT where he concentrated in economics with pre-med before completing his degree in archticture and environmental science. Marco was drafted in the first round by the Lions in the 2011 CFL Draft and was signed by the team on May 30, 2011.^[3]

Minor Football

1997-2001: Calgary Cowboys football club winning 3 Provincial Championships.

High School Football

2002-2004: Iannuzzi lead the St. Francis Browns (Calgary, Alberta) to its first back to back Provincial title in school history. He was undefeated through all three years of high school 29-0. The 2004 team was ranked the #1 high school football team in Canada.

Junior Football

2005: Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) National Champion with the Edmonton Huskies and All-Canadian. 6-time Nike player of week. League's outstanding return specialist of the year. Conference All-Star. Huskies Rookie of the year. League record with a 120-yard kickoff return for a TD.

Harvard Football

2007: Earned rare playing time for a freshman wide receiver, and also returning kickoffs. Major H recipient.^[4]

2008: Lead the NCAA in receiving yards with 11 receptions for 174 yards, including a 68-yard fourth-quarter touchdown pass in a 25-24 win over Holy Cross in the season opener.^[5] Three catches into game two against Brown he shattered his collarbone which required surgery to repair. Following his 6 game absence recovering from surgery he caught a 39-yard pass at The Game versus Yale.^[6][7]

2009: Returned 15 kickoffs for 344 yards with a long of 57 against Penn.^[8] Totalled 695 all-purpose yards. Had 72 all-purpose yards in a win over Brown. Had 175 all-purpose yards against Lafayette.^[9] Had 163 all-purpose yards against Penn with 51 receiving and 83 kickoff return yards on two attempts.^[10]

2010: Iannuzzi averaged 34.5 yards per kickoff return in 2010, making him Harvard’s all-time leader in that category. For his career, Iannuzzi averaged 26.5 yards per return, which also places him atop Harvard’s all-time list.^[11] He is the first player to have two kickoff returns for a touchdown in a single season. Had 194 all-purpose yards at Brown with a 21-yard touchdown catch and a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.^[12] Returned two kickoffs for a total of 92 yards at Lafayette but broke his clavicle which required surgery.^[13] Playing for the first time in 49 days against Yale, Iannuzzi took his first kickoff return 84 yards for a touchdown to start the second half.^[14] The run sparked a Harvard team that had trailed throughout the game and paved the way for a 28-21 win. Following the game he was awarded the game ball, with which he immediately sent to Ashley Stearns who had recently been diagnosed with cancer.^[15] Ashley's father Geoff Stearns had attended 33 consecutive Harvard vs Yale bowl games prior to 2010 when he remained bedside with Ashley during her recovery.^[16] Also caught a 46-yard pass against the Bulldogs.^[17] Named national kickoff returner of the week by College Football Performance Awards and the Ivy League Special Teams Player of the Week.^[18]

Harvard & MIT Academia

Marco spent his first two years as an economics concentrator while pursuing Pre-medical requirements. He spent the following two years of his degree exploring the realms of engineering, architecture and environmental science. Combining these faculties he became one of only 10 to successfully petition the creation of a new multi-focused degree. The innovative nature of his program design called for cross-registration at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).^[19]

Professional Football

BC Place 99th Grey Cup.

2011

2011 Grey Cup Champion. Marco was the Lions’ first selection in the 2011 CFL Draft. He made his CFL debut in Week 1 and appeared in 15 regular season games where he caught eight passes for 65 yards and added 135 yards on 16 punt returns for an 8.4 yard average.^[20] Marco made four starts in the second half of the year and was awarded the special teams game ball when he intercepted Noel Prefontaine's attempted fake punt play on Sep 10/11 vs Toronto.^[21] In the Western Final and Grey Cup victories he caught 3 passes for 31 yards.^[22]

2012

Iannuzzi had his first two touchdown performance against the Saskatchewan Roughriders on October 5 when stepping in for injured CFL All-time leading receiver, Geroy Simon.^[23] Marco had his best statistical professional start to date versus the Edmonton Eskimos on July 20 where he caught 7 passes for 99 yards and had 2 rushes for 10 yards.^[24] He finished the regular season with 30 receptions for 353 yards and 5 TDs.^[25]

2013

In his third season with the Lions, Marco became a regular starter recording 15 starts in 17 appearances as well as the Western Semi-Final. He caught 24 passes for 244 yards and a pair of TDs, one of which came vs Hamilton on Aug 30 when grabbed a season-high four passes for 66 yards. That game also included his longest gain as a CFL player, a 56-yard completion from Travis Lulay.^[26]

Philanthropy

Climb for the Cup at the Calgary Tower.

Climb For The Cup

"Marco Iannuzzi's Climb For The Grey Cup" was put on to support the Branch Out Neurological Foundation^[27] The public event invited participants to join Marco, and the Grey Cup, in an 802 step scramble to the summit of the Calgary Tower.^[28] The event was inspired by Marco's mother, Cathy, who has multiple sclerosis,^[29] which led him to seek out the Branch Out Neurological Foundation.^[30]

Els for Autism

Marco joined Ernie Els in his commitment to helping people diagnosed on the autism spectrum live healthy, productive lives.^[31] He emceed Els for Autism Canada’s inaugural golf challenge which took place at Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club.^[32] Els for Autism golf challenge is the largest charity-driven amateur golf tournament in history.^[33]

You Can Play Project

Marco moderated the You Can Play athletes forum in Burnaby BC which focused on eliminating homophobia in sports. The panel included 2x Olympic Gold Medallist Angela Hucles.^[34] He continues to be an ambassador of You Can Play's effors to bring awareness and reduce the prevalence of homophobia in sports.^[35]

Energy Champions

Marco teamed up with FortisBC for an environmental educational tour called Energy Champions. The program was designed specifically for children in kindergarten through grade seven, emphasizing the importance of environmental responsibility and being an 'Energy Champion'.^[36] The BC Lions FortisBC Energy Champions program visited 75 elementary schools annually throughout the lower mainland, Vancouver Island, the Interior and northern BC.^[37]

Men of Hope - Survivors of Childhood Victimization

Marco was an honored guest in Men of Hope's Charity Poker Tournament which raised $25,000 Dollars for the BC Society for Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse. He also served as the events live auctioneer.^[38]

Children’s Hospital

Marco's support for the BC Children’s Hospital culminates each year with a holiday visit that he shares with a half dozen of his BC Lions teammates. 2011 visit,^[39] 2012 visit.^[40]

Special Olympics BC

Marco supports several of Special Olympic BC's athletes at various events and competitions throughout the year. He was also an honored guest at the 2013 SOBC opening ceremony celebration in Langley BC.^[41]

Make-A-Wish

Marco participates in Make-A-Wish Foundation events in BC. The mission of Make-A-Wish® Canada is to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.^[42]

Children's Organ Transplant Society

Marco is an ambassador for the Children's Organ Transplant Society’s (COTS) annual golf tournament, attending as an honored guest.^[43]

Canuck Place Children's Hospice

Marco and Travis Lulay teamed up to raise awareness and funding for North America's first Children's hospice which is located in Vancouver British Columbia.^[44][45]

Canadian Paralympic Athlete Kyle McMahon

Marco teamed up with RONA to support Kyle journey to represent Canada at the 2016 Paralympic games in Rio de Jeneiro, Brazil. Kyle’s fundraising efforts support the costs of his equipment, travel and accommodations at the games.^[46]

Vancouver Pride Society

Marco marched in the 2013 Pride Parade to support and celebrate members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Two-Spirited and Queer community, their friends and allies.^[47]

BC Center for Ability

Marco is an ambassador for the annual golf tournament, attending as an honored guest. 2013's inaugurall event was held at Pitt Meadows Golf Club and raised over $18,000 for community-based services for children, youth and adults with disabilities.^[48]

Dylan Reichelt Memorial Scholarship

Marco is an ambassador for The Dylan Reichelt Memorial golf tournament which works to raise educational scholarships in memory of amateur golfer Dylan Reichelt who died at the age of 18.^[49]

EA Sports Outreach

EA Outreach is dedicated to encouraging EA employees to be involved in the community and supporting the causes our employees care for through matching employee donations dollar for dollar, up to a defined limit, to any nonprofit organization based in the US or Canada.^[50]

National Marrow Donor Program

Marco joined the National Marrow Donor “be the match” campaign in 2007 and has since taken part in adding over 750 people the Be The Match Registry.^[51]

References

External links

• Official website of Marco Iannuzzi
• BC Lions bio Archive copy at the Wayback Machine