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37-534: Across 15 varsity sport disciplines, UBC fields 26 teams overall; notably, 15 of which compete in U Sports , six in the American collegiate NAIA , and five of which are independent of these governing organizations: U Sports NAIA Independent The UBC Thunderbirds football team has won the CWUAA Hardy Trophy conference championship 16 times, which is third all-time among competing teams. On

74-743: A degree granting institution, Major W. J. (Danny) McLeod, athletic director at the RMC directed the establishment of the Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union (CIAU) in 1961. With financial assistance from the federal government , universities committed themselves to excellence in their sports programs, increased their schedules, and assigned coaches to year round programs to assist the federal government in identifying talent, national training centers, provision of facilities, sport research, and testing, all with an eye on developing international competitors. Major McLeod ran

111-554: A fight song "Hail UBC", written by Harold King in 1931. A pep song with the same name "Hail UBC", written by Steve Chatman, was adopted in 2011. The lyrics go: Hail to the Thunderbirds! Hail UBC! Thunder and lightning — Onward to victory! Hail to the Blue-and-Gold! Hail UBC! U, B, C forever — Onward to victory! In 2005, they applied to become members of the principal U.S. college sports governing body,

148-470: A national level, the team has won the Vanier Cup championship four times, in 1982, 1986, 1997 and, most recently, in 2015. The team has also lost three times in the title game, in 1978, 1987, and 2023. The Thunderbirds program has also yielded three Hec Crighton Trophy winners: Jordan Gagner in 1987; Mark Nohra in 1997; and, most recently, Billy Greene in 2011 . In the summer of 1996, 30 years after

185-438: A regular for the varsity XV, despite not having played rugby since his high school days. In 2002–03, Burak was part of a powerful UBC XV that went undefeated in league play on the way to the provincial first division title. The team also featured future Canadian internationals Chris Pack , Ryan McWhinney and Eric Wilson . After graduation in 2003, he travelled to Australia to watch the 2003 Rugby World Cup . Determined to make

222-718: A school joining the NCAA under this program can retain its CIS membership. It was expected that both UBC and Simon Fraser would be among the first schools to apply for NCAA membership under this program. Simon Fraser did apply and was accepted, but in April 2009 UBC deferred a decision on applying. Since 1984, the Outstanding Female Athlete of the Year Award is named in honour of Marilyn Pomfret. Before her death in April 2019, she had spent 23 years at UBC, supporting

259-621: A standout basketball player at Lord Byng Secondary School in Vancouver , Burak played for two seasons at the University of British Columbia . After being cut from the men's varsity basketball squad in the 2000-2001 preseason, Burak switched to the UBC men's varsity rugby program, under head coach Spence McTavish . McTavish had coached Burak for the Lord Byng rugby team. Burak quickly became

296-571: A united name as opposed to separate acronyms. The new name and look were also intended to increase the marketability of Canadian University sports. The U Sports member institutions offer athletic scholarships known as Athletic Financial Awards (AFA); subject to minimum academic requirements. The AFA's are capped and may not exceed the value of the tuition and compulsory fees for the student-athlete. Universities also may provide additional non-athletic awards including academic scholarships and needs-based grants for athletes in addition to this cap, provided

333-478: A winning record in 11 of 12 seasons, and set UBC record with 214 wins by a coach in ice hockey. In December 1973, they became one of the first Western Bloc sports teams to tour China, and played a series of games focused on friendship and teaching hockey skills to local players. The trip was supported by the Government of Canada as part of a desire to normalize relations with China, and was not well-publicized at

370-524: Is currently coached by Didier Banse. UBC's rugby program has a long tradition of producing national team rugby players (7s and 15s), most recently Jim Douglas (RWC 2003), Mike Burak (RWC 2007), Chris Pack , Ryan MacWhinney, Justin Mensah-Coker , Tyler Hotson , Eric Wilson , Harry Jones (RWC 2015), Brock Staller and Ben LeSage . U Sports does not currently contest a national championship for Men's Rugby, however UBC are five-time champions of

407-509: Is the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). Some institutions are members of both bodies for different sports. The original Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union (CIAU) was founded in 1906 and existed until 1955, composed only of universities from Ontario and Quebec . The semi-national organization, CIAU Central, provided common rules and regulations. A growth spurt between 1944–55 saw

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444-463: The NCAA . They are not the first Canadian school to try to join the NCAA; in 2000, local rival Simon Fraser , then exclusively an NAIA member, sought to join the NCAA but was turned down. At the time, the NCAA's constitution prohibited non-U.S. schools from joining; however, some observers believed the real reason Simon Fraser was turned down was that the school sought to join as a Division II school, and

481-440: The University of California for the "World Cup" trophy (a competition started in 1921). The varsity XV was coached for many years by Spence McTavish (former UBC varsity rugby captain, former Canadian rugby international and captain, and former Bobby Gaul award winner), and assistant coach Rod Holloway (former UBC varsity rugby scrumhalf, and former assistant coach of Canada's National Senior Men's team (RWC 1995). The men's team

518-401: The 1960s and 1970s, the Thunderbirds played in the old Pacific Coast League , notably finishing as league runners up in 1967-68 and 1968-69. The Thunderbirds men's volleyball team has won four U Sports men's volleyball championships and five conference championships. Kerry MacDonald took over the helm of the men's volleyball program starting with the 2016–17 season. In the following season,

555-479: The CIAU Central grow into a large group of nineteen (19) member universities each of which had diverse enrollment, philosophy, and practices both academically and athletically. The result saw the collapse of CIAU Central as there was no forum to evaluate or research policy in order to adjudicate conflicts within the organization At the same time women's programs were expanding and required organization. In 1923,

592-540: The CIAU from his office at RMC as the first CIAU Secretary-Treasurer. In the 1960s the CIAU functioned as a voluntary, autonomous, educational sport organization which represented by the various universities from coast to coast. In 1978, the Canadian Women's Interuniversity Athletic Union (CWIAU), which had formed in 1970, merged with the CIAU; the expanded CIAU reinforced its university focus by adjusting its name to

629-519: The Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Union. In June 2001, the membership of the CIAU voted to change the name and logo of the organization to Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS). On October 20, 2016, CIS announced that it would be changing its name to U Sports, accompanied by a new logo and approach to Canadian University sports. The name was chosen in part to better represent Canada as a bilingual nation with

666-593: The Canadian team, Burak returned to Vancouver after the world cup and played for the UBC Old Boys Ravens ; the premier XV lost in the provincial final to Capilano RFC . The following summer he made his debut for Canada at the 2004 Churchill Cup . In 2005, he moved to Sydney, where he spent a season playing for Northern Suburbs RFC in the Shute Shield . Having established himself as a regular for

703-636: The NCAA did not want to set a precedent with a lower-level school. UBC, on the other hand, was reportedly interested in joining Division I . UBC's athletic budget of approximately $ 4 million Canadian is dwarfed by those of schools in the Pac-12 Conference , the only BCS conference on the U.S. West Coast. However, at least two mid-major conferences with a West Coast presence, the West Coast Conference and Western Athletic Conference , had been suggested as possible future homes for

740-559: The Thunderbirds defeated the two-time defending champion Trinity Western Spartans in straight sets in the U Sports gold medal match on March 18, 2018 to win their first national title since 1983. MacDonald resigned after this season to take a position with Volley Canada and Mike Hawkins took over as head coach for the 2018–19 season. The Thunderbirds women's volleyball team has been the most successful program in its sport, with 14 National Championship victories , most recently in 2024 . The Thunderbirds have also won 16 conference titles with

777-481: The Thunderbirds. The NCAA approved a change to its constitution on January 14, 2008 to allow Canadian schools to become members. Under a 10-year pilot program due to begin June 1, 2008, Canadian schools can join the NCAA as Division II members, and any school that meets the June 1 deadline for application can become a member as of the academic year immediately following the deadline. CIS has not officially indicated whether

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814-692: The Women's Intercollegiate Athletic Union (WIAU) was founded to provide athletic competition for female students in Ontario and the Ontario-Quebec Women's Intercollegiate Athletics (O-QWICA) coordinated programs for female students in Ontario and Quebec. With the collapse of the CIAU Central in the mid-1950s, calls for a new, national governing body for university sport accelerated. Once the Royal Military College of Canada became

851-915: The Year is awarded the Marilyn Pomfret Trophy. In recognition of the Male Athlete of the Year, the Bus Phillips Memorial Trophy is awarded. Since 2010 U Sports U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS ) is the national sport governing body for universities in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country and four regional conferences: Ontario University Athletics (OUA), Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ), Canada West (CW), and Atlantic University Sport (AUS). The equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada

888-613: The additional awards do not include athletic criteria. In 2008-09 one in two U Sports athletes was receiving an athletic scholarship. Increasingly, U Sports schools are offering booster-support programs, where alumni, parents and/or corporations can donate money to a targeted fund especially designed to off-set a student-athlete's tuition and living costs. The University of Windsor has an Adopt-A-Lancer program, for example. U Sports has no regulations regarding how much each school can provide to teams through private support. The Université Laval's Rouge et Or football team, winner of seven of

925-603: The driving force behind the T-Birds with support and funding from such major leaguers as Jeff Zimmerman and Ryan Dempster . In 2015, Chris Pritchett was named the new head coach of the baseball team and Terry moved up to the position of Director of Baseball. The Thunderbirds compete in the United States as the only Canadian member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). In 2001,

962-413: The following: basketball , cross country , curling , field hockey (women), football (men), ice hockey , rugby union (women), soccer , swimming , track and field , volleyball , and wrestling . Championships Championships U Sports hosts national championships for the following sports: There are 58 member universities in U Sports. These 58 member universities are currently organized into

999-419: The four following regional associations. In some of these sports, these associations are sometimes referred to as conferences. These conferences also organize regional championships. Source: Mike Burak Michael Burak (born October 9, 1980, in Vancouver , British Columbia ) is a Canadian former international rugby union footballer. He won 29 caps for Canada between 2004 and 2009. Originally

1036-572: The increase in funding and intramurals for women. Having worked as a coach, Pomfret also served as the Director of Women's Athletics from 1963 to 1969, followed by a second stint from 1972 to 1986. In addition, she served in the role of president of the Women's Athletic Directorate, creating and organizing several women's sporting events. Prior to her administrative career, Pomfret was a student-athlete, arriving to UBC in 1951, participating in basketball and volleyball. The Thunderbirds Female Athlete of

1073-529: The independent Canadian University Men's Rugby Championship in 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, and 2023. Women's rugby is 5 time CanWest XVs Champions and 2024 7s & 15s National Champions. The UBC Thunderbirds are the most successful men's soccer program in Canada, having won 13 U Sports championships , eight more than any other school in the country. They have also won 22 Canada West conference titles since competition started in 1972. Notable players include Brian Budd , Pat Onstad , and Srdjan Djekanovic . In

1110-469: The last 12 Vanier Cups , is so successful with fund raising that the team trains in Florida during the spring. Canadian Hockey League teams offer financial support for their graduates – who attend school within two years of playing major junior – who choose to play for a U Sports school after graduating from major junior hockey based on a model where the league will give scholarships commensurate with

1147-1127: The longest reign as a repeat champion in the sport with six consecutive wins (2008-2013). The program has also featured five Mary Lyons Award winners, with Liz Cordonier (2010), Shanice Marcelle (2011, 2013), Kyla Richey (2012), Lisa Barclay (2014), and Kiera Van Ryk (2019) each winning the award. Women's Swimming (24) Men's Swimming (20) Women's Field Hockey (19) Men's Soccer (14) Women's Volleyball (14) Women's Soccer (9) Women's Basketball (6) Football (4) Men's Volleyball (4) Men's Basketball (2) Men's Cross Country (2) Women's Cross Country (1) Women's golf (7) Women's cross country (5) Women's track and field (4) Men's track and field (2) Men's golf (2) Men's cross country (1) Women's golf (17) - Canadian University/College Golf Championships Men's rowing (9) - Canadian University Rowing Association Men's golf (8) - Canadian University/College Golf Championships Men's rugby (5) - Canadian University Men's Rugby Championship Women's rowing (4) - Canadian University Rowing Association UBC used to have

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1184-546: The most recent win occurring in 2014. The team has been led by head coach Doug Reimer since 2000 (and from 1994 to 1997) and he has accounted for ten of the program's championship wins. Notably, in the 2013 gold medal match , the Thunderbirds defeated the Alberta Pandas in straight sets to tie U Sports ' all-time record—shared with the Winnipeg Wesmen (1983-1988) and Alberta Pandas (1995-2000) for holding

1221-414: The original UBC baseball program was disbanded due to budget cuts, Athletic Director Bob Phillip along with former professional Jim Murphy and community baseball coach Mark Hiscott provided funding for the present day Thunderbirds baseball. Hiscott recognized student Terry McKaig, a former collegiate player and national team member, as the one to take over the program as head coach. Since 1997, McKaig has been

1258-474: The program reached a new level as the New York Mets made Derran Watts the first ever Thunderbird to be drafted, when they selected him in the 12th round . Since then nine more Thunderbirds have been drafted including 2007 World Series starter Jeff Francis . T-bird baseball successes include their trip to the 2006 NAIA World Series Father David Bauer coached the Thunderbirds for two seasons, and led

1295-495: The seasons they played in the CHL. Beginning with the 2024–25 season, students will be able to receive athletic scholarships regardless of the grades they receive in their final year of high school or CEGEP. U Sports institutions will also be required to give a minimum of 45 per cent of their total athletic scholarship units to athletes on men's teams and a minimum of 45 per cent to athletes on women's teams. Sports sanctioned include

1332-720: The team to a Western Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship in 1963, and reached the final game of the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union men's ice hockey championship tournament for the CIAU University Cup , but lost by a 3–2 score to the McMaster Marauders . Bob Hindmarch began coaching the men's ice hockey team during the 1964–65 season, and led them to the 1971 Western Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship. He accumulated

1369-487: The time. The Thunderbirds won all seven games played by a combined scored of 56 to 5. Men's rugby is one of the oldest varsity sports at UBC (including the precursor to UBC, McGill University College of BC, varsity rugby started in 1906). The varsity XV now competes against the University of Victoria in a two-game, combined score series to claim the coveted "Boot". They also play a two-game, combined score series against

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