Will Archambault (Social Science Psychology Option, 2006) is a sports analyst for RDS, Radio-Canada Olympic commentator for both the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2024 Paris Olympics and he works full-time in finance for Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC).

A former star basketball player himself, Archambault has been using his knowledge and love of the sport to analyze NBA games on RDS since 2012.

During his time playing for the Champlain Cavaliers, Archambault was named to the Quebec All-Star first team as well as to the All-Canadian All-Star squad. Both years he wore the Cavaliers colours he helped his team advance to the finals of the provincial championship.

“I remember it being an awesome school. Teachers were amazing, we had camaraderie with the Champlain basketball team for two years. I built long-lasting relationships with a lot of guys I’m still in contact with today,” he said.

After Cegep, Archambault went on to play NCAA D1 basketball at Davidson College, a small liberal arts college in North Carolina.

“They named Davidson the Harvard of the South for the quality of their education,” he said.

His former Cavaliers coach, John Dangeles, had many contacts in the U.S. and had a track record of helping students secure scholarships to play for American programs.

“It was a great opportunity for me to play quality minutes and they had participated in March Madness the previous year. That was one of my goals as a basketball player to go through March Madness.

Archambault graduated with a bachelor’s of arts degree from Davidson in 2010 and then accepted an opportunity to play basketball overseas in Ireland.

He spent a year playing and completing a Master’s in International Management at the University of Galway before retiring in 2012.

“I ended up retiring from basketball because the sport I loved had taken a toll on my body,” he said.  “Back in 2009, I got double knee surgery and had to take a six months off to rehab. Playing overseas for a little while was a lot tougher on my body so I decided to move on to other projects.”

Upon returning to Montreal, Archambault took a job working for Desjardins as a commercial banker. Despite having no experience or formal training in financing, Archambault said he was able to learn the skills he needed on the job.

“Employers want employees who have the ability to communicate with clients, build interpersonal relationships, they ended up taking a chance on me and I spent a few years there,” he said.

He went on to join BDC (Business Development Bank of Canada), the financial institution devoted to Canadian entrepreneurs, in 2016 as a senior commercial banker and is now the Senior Advisor, Product Development.

When Archambault isn’t coaching his 9-year-old son, he balances his day job with sports analyst work, saying it proved a rewarding way of staying involved in the sport and led to exciting opportunities including covering two Olympic Games.

“To be one of two analysts covering basketball for all of Canada, it’s an honour,” he said.

Archambault’s advice for current students and recent grads: “Focus on the importance of building relationships with the people you’re at school with. Take the time to care and take interest in what they do. You never know how being there for someone out will benefit them and you in the future.”