Not a whole lot went right for the UBC Thunderbirds on Saturday during a lopsided loss to the host Calgary Dinos, yet rookie running back Dane Kapler announced himself as a force, rushing for 161 yards on just 11 carries. (Photo by David Moll property of Calgary Dinos athletics 2021. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Football

Playoffs hang in the balance! After horrific start in Calgary dooms ‘Birds in 53-14 loss, UBC needs a home finale win vs. Alberta, and likely a little help!

It didn’t take too long to reason on Saturday that the same youthful UBC Thunderbirds football team which had so convincingly flipped the fortunes of its 2021 Canada West campaign over a rags-to-riches two-week span, was perhaps suffering from a kind of collective swoon, the kind most commonly associated with too rapid a rise in […]

Trinity Western guard Mason Bourcier keeps a step ahead of Calgary's Jackson Bayles during Canada West preseason action Oct. 7, 2021 at the Langley Events Centre. The game marked the first university game played at the facility since Feb. 8, 2020. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2021. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Men's Basketball

Winless in 2019-20, new-look Trinity Western men’s basketball debuts in style as Q, Mace and the Spartans upset Calgary Dinos 93-84 at the LEC!

LANGLEY — There was a sense of the surreal in the air Thursday night at the Langley Events Centre.Just 96 fans, watching the first university basketball game held in the facility since Feb. 8. 2020, in what would officially be its smallest sell-out crowd ever.No one else was watching because there was no livestream outside […]

Q the return. TWU's dynamic scoring guard Ja'Qualyn Gilbreath leads the Spartans' small ball attack as the Langley school plays the first U Sports men's basketball game since March of 2020 when it hosts the Calgary Dinos on Thursday at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Scott Stewart property of TWU athletics 2021. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Men's Basketball

Trinity Western opens its 2021-21 men’s U SPORTS season Thursday vs. Calgary! Debut for Spartans’ dynamic backcourt of Ja’Qualyn Gilbreath and Mason Bourcier!

LANGLEY — The longest dry spell in the history of U SPORTS basketball is set to end on Thursday.“I think we’re (one of) the first U SPORTS team in the country to play,” says Trinity Western Spartans’ men’s basketball coach Trevor Pridie, looking ahead to Thursday’s limited capacity pre-season exhibition opener against the powerhouse Calgary […]

South Delta's Grant McDonald is moving from the Calgary Dinos to a CFL career in Edmonton. (Photo by David Moll property of Calgary Dinos athletics 2021. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Football University Football

CFL Draft 2021: For South Delta’s LB duo of McDonald & Moore its Subway Bowl, Vanier Cup and now, separate CFL futures!

At the time, the 2014 edition of the Subway Bowl B.C. high school Triple A champion South Delta Sun Devils showed all the signs of being a very unflappable football team.Of course, with 20/20 hindsight playing in the rearview mirror, a fast-forward to the events of Tuesday night may actually have unfolded without too much […]

UBC Thunderbirds head coach Blake Nill feels so much of the team's 2021 identity will stem from the team's play along its trenches. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature Podcast

VL podast 01.27.21: UBC head football coach Blake Nill on celebrating the tradition of Blue & Gold and the promise of a 2021 fall kick-off!

The UBC football nation, just like all of the other tight-knit, tradition-laden programs across Canada, mourned the loss of 2020 university football season. Thunderbirds’ head coach Blake Nill, however, is excited and hopeful for the prospects of a 2021 campaign… that much is obvious as the three-time Vanier Cup national championship-winning coach joins host Howard […]

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.

As Calgary Dinos' keeper Lauren Houghton (left) looks on, UBC's Natasha Klasios (right) congratulates teammate Danielle Steer on scoring what held to be the winning goal in Sunday's U Sports national women' soccer final staged at UVic's Centennial Stadium. (Photo by Richard Lam property of UBC athletics 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Women's Soccer

UBC women’s soccer: In homage to program architect Dick Mosher, ‘Birds win a national title on weird but wondrous 80th-minute header

VICTORIA — The video replays proved inconclusive, but did the goal which lifted the UBC Thunderbirds to the top of Canadian university soccer world Sunday night in Victoria actually graze in off of Danielle Steer’s ponytail?“No,” the UBC Thunderbirds’ third-year forward and championship MVP explained in the aftermath of the biggest goal of her life. […]

UBC's second-year defensive back Jaxon Ciraolo-Brown is living up to his potential as a future star. The Hamilton native came up with three interceptions Saturday against the Calgary Dinos. (Photo by David Moll property of Calgary Dinos athletics 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Football

Thunderbird Stadium was a ‘Land of Opportunity’ for youthful UBC football in 2019, Saturday loss in Calgary turns page on next chapter

In his 20-plus seasons as a U Sports head football coach, Blake Nill has made a habit of his coaching his teams into national-title contention.When exactly the opposite happens to the degree with which it did this season, it’s no wonder that the UBC Thunderbirds’ veteran football boss was having a tough time coming to […]

UBC running back Sharique Khan gets a test of his equilibrium courtesy of the Calgary defence on Saturday at Thunderbird Stadium. (Photo by Chuck Russell property of UBC athletics 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Football

Football gods frown on UBC: Dinos drub winless ‘Birds as 2019 Homecoming game goes awry in second half

VANCOUVER — In the Canada West football world, there is only one magic pill… one way to turn a down-trodden season around in one afternoon.Beat the Calgary Dinos.For most of the first half Saturday, the UBC Thunderbirds (0-3) looked like they had Houdini on their side.A blocked punt and ensuing touchdown by the UBC special […]

UBC's second-year receiver Jacob Patten has been one of the bright spots over an 0-2 start to the Thunderbirds' 2019 Canada West season. (Photo by Richard Lam property of UBC athletics 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Football

Patten pending: ‘The Catch’ might be his trademark, but there’s so much more to UBC wide receiver Jacob Patten

VANCOUVER — Precious little has gone right for the struggling and winless UBC Thunderbirds over the first two games of the Canada West season.Yet in a figurative sense, as UBC (0-2) gets set to welcome its undefeated, conference-leading nemesis, the Calgary Dinos (2-0), for Saturday’s crucial Homecoming Game (3 p.m., Canada West TV) at Thunderbird […]