Notre Dame senior wide receiver Chase Claypool has always found the time to stay connected with his former high school head coach Jay Fujimura and the rest of the Abbotsford Panthers football program. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Football University Football

Chase Claypool: From Abby Panthers to Notre Dame, Irish star receiver shows why he’s a big catch ahead of NFL Draft 2020!

It was back on Feb. 27 that the NFL’s statistical research department sent out a tweet which seemed to officially confirm the unique qualities of Notre Dame senior receiver Chase Claypool.

Defensive lineman Kaishaun Carter (left) and receiver/return man Jason Soriano are two of B.C.'s blue-chip graduating Class of 2020 set to begin their university football careers next season with the UBC Thunderbirds. (Photos by Howard Tsumura, Varsity Letters, and Richard Lam, UBC athletics. All Rights Reserved. Photo graphic by Gabriel Lynn)
Feature High School Football University Football

A Sunday Read: UBC football coach Blake Nill says Jason Soriano, Kaishaun Carter “…the ones who can make you Coach of the Year”

VANCOUVER — UBC Thunderbirds football in the Blake Nill-era hit its low ebb in 2019, yet four seasons after its rousing, unexpected 2015 Vanier Cup national championship title debut, a second wind has begun to blow through the ranks of the blue and gold.

A force of nature over his senior season, Centennial Centaurs' forward Dominic Parolin announced Saturday that he will play college basketball next season in the Patriot Conference at Lehigh University. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball University Men's Basketball

Dominic Parolin: Despite the challenges of recruiting, Centennial’s superstar big man finds his fit at NCAA Div. 1 Lehigh University

COQUITLAM — The world changed virtually overnight following the completion of the 2020 B.C. senior boys basketball championships on March 7.And with COVID-19 world pandemic very suddenly the new reality, Centennial senior forward Dominic Parolin quickly realized that the recruiting process he had waited years to be a part of was going to be a […]

UBC Thunderbirds head coach Blake Nill, along with the rest of the 'Bird football staff, will go on-line Wednesday to introduce the blue-and-gold program to over 100 current Grades 11 high school standouts as part of its virtual Junior Day. (Photo by Richard Lam property of UBC athletics 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Football University Football

UBC football 2020: ‘Birds hold ‘virtual’ Junior Day on Wednesday as pandemic forces teams to think outside the box

VANCOUVER — Like all programs headed towards the fall sports season of play, the UBC Thunderbirds football team is keeping the health of everyone involved first and foremost during the coronavirus pandemic.

At the age of 42, former BYU Cougars' receiver Mike Rigell was last month named the new interim head coach of Simon Fraser Clan football. (Photo by Jacob Hall property of Simon Fraser athletics 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Football

A SUNDAY READ: Hailing from a decorated football family tree, new Simon Fraser head coach Mike Rigell hopes to plant deep Burnaby Mountain roots

BURNABY — There is an old saying about how storms can test our ability to stand tall, and in the process help our roots grow deeper.For new Simon Fraser head football coach Mike Rigell, who hails from a football coaching tree which traces its lineage back to some of game’s true greats, such deep-seeded roots […]

Spinal surgery and a return to the court with the Trinity Western Spartans has given second-year outside hitter Jesse Elser a new appreciation for life. (Photo by Scott Stewart property of Trinity Western athletics 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Men's Volleyball

“…I couldn’t put my socks on by myself” says Trinity Western volleyball star Jesse Elser who now jumps for joy and team after spinal surgery

LANGLEY — At his lowest ebb, Jesse Elser remembers waking up one morning and resigning himself to the fact that he had become a shadow of his former self.“I can remember not being able to get out of bed,” Trinity Western’s second-year outside hitter says of a particularly tough day following the 2017-18 U Sports […]

Two generation of UBC point guards, fifth-year senior Jadon Cohee and head coach Kevin Hanson, have had a meeting of the minds en route to the team's three game sweep through the conference playoffs. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball University Men's Basketball

U Sports Final 8 preview: Kevin Hanson, a former UBC point guard, steps out of his coaching box to bring out best in ‘Birds floor general Jadon Cohee!

VANCOUVER — There is a little part of Kevin Hanson the player, who still remembers what it was like, some 33 years ago, to be part of a team which was able to catch lightning in a bottle.Today, he’s 20 seasons into his journey as the head coach of the UBC Thunderbirds, but back in […]

Just in time, UBC's fifth-year senior Jadon Cohee led the 'Birds to their best game-closing fourth quarter of the season in an upset win over the host Calgary Dinos in the Canada West semifinals on Saturday. With the win, Cohee and the 'Birds have qualified for the U Sports Final 8. (Photo by David Moll property of Calgary Dinos' athletics 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Men's Basketball

A Sunday Read: How UBC played its two best fourth-quarters of season on back-to-back nights to punch its tickets to U Sports’ Final 8!

There was a moment during the final time-out of the UBC Thunderbirds’ 88-77 Canada West men’s basketball quarterfinal win over the Saskatchewan Huskies on Friday night which seems especially relevant this morning.

Following her stint playing for Canada at the NORCECA qualifier in October, Hilary Howe has been playing at a new level for the 22-2 TWU Spartans women's volleyball team. (Photo by Scott Stewart property of Trinity Western athletics 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Women's Volleyball

After 2019’s five-set national tourney heartbreaker, TWU Spartans head coach Ryan Hofer asks “…how can we all be two points better?”

LANGLEY — The more Ryan Hofer stared at a set numbers which represented perhaps the most crushing defeat in the history of Trinity Western women’s volleyball, the more clearly he was able to decipher their truest meaning.“Two points,” Spartans’ head coach Hofer exclaimed Wednesday morning when the topic got around to his team’s epic five-set […]

UBC head coach Kevin Hanson wants his star senior Jason Cohee "...to just be himself" when the 'Birds open against Saskatchewan on Friday as part of the Canada West's revamped post-season format. (Photo by Bob Frid property of UBC athletics 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Men's Basketball

UBC men’s basketball: Thunderbirds’ head coach Kevin Hanson weighs the pros and cons of new Canada West playoff format

VANCOUVER — The eight remaining Canada West men’s basketball teams have no margin for error under the conference’s new and radically-revamped playoff system.