Centers People

Mr. Canning has devoted his career to the successful management of recreational sports and event facilities, with attention to maximizing both the level of service provided to the facilities’ customers and the operating efficiency of the buildings. For 45 years, he has provided these services at successively higher levels of responsibility on behalf of various institutions of higher education. His career took him to UCLA, Tulane and his alma mater Michigan where he retired in 2014 as the Director of Recreational Sports. Mr. Canning has also committed his career to building CENTERS, LLC as the nation’s first private management company devoted to assisting localities and institutions in optimizing the management of their recreational sports and event facilities and services. Beyond his work at CENTERS, Mr. Canning has been called upon to provide consulting to a number of institutions, localities, and organizations including: Partner of Canning & Gonsoulin, LLC, Sports Facility & Program Consultants: Mississippi State University, Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, Miami University, Oakland University Consultant to Brailsford & Dunlavey: Medical College of Georgia Louisiana State University, Shreveport University of Miami University of Maryland at College Park The Annual “Outstanding Employee Leadership Award” at Tulane is named in Bill’s Honor: "The William F. Canning Award” NCAA Track & Field Championships: Director of Competition Equipment, 1993 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials: Director - Non-Technical Support, 1992 Board of Directors, Louisiana Special Olympics 1994-2000, Chairman 1998-2000