BURNABY — It’s Wednesday and time to wrap up our two-part series of Shrum Bowl memories by chatting with Simon Fraser University running back Bo Palmer. A man of many talents, Palmer not only left his mark on the NCAA-era of football at SFU, he enjoyed a little-known career as a child actor. Originally a […]
University Football
The VL Podcast welcomes Billy Greene: The former UBC quarterback reflects on Shrum Bowl 2010, Holy Cross and Hec Crighton award!
Welcome back to Varsity Letters – The Podcast. Earlier this week, we let you — our loyal listening audience — know all about our themed, two-part discussion with a pair of past B.C. football greats, who each happened to have played in the last contested Shrum Bowl… way back in 2010! My, how a decade […]
A football team’s lifting experience: Why the culture of Simon Fraser’s Lift-a-Thon is worth its weight in gold!
BURNABY — The Simon Fraser football team has already shown how adept it is at carrying the weight of disappointment that comes with a COVID-19-cancelled college football season.Now, over the course of a five-day run beginning Monday, the NCAA’s lone non-U.S. team will be demonstrating the best ways in which they have collectively lifted each […]
VL Podcast series debuts Monday: UBC’s Billy Greene, SFU’s Bo Palmer on Shrum Bowl’s 10-year absence and their own lives in and out of football!
LANGLEY — Plans for the resumption of the best football rivalry game in the province of B.C. were not actively underway when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March.Put it all together, and the fall of 2020 marks the 10th straight season that the Shrum Bowl, that formerly annual crosstown clash between Simon Fraser and UBC, […]
Simon Fraser’s Bernd Dittrich: A decade-plus after the iconic quarterback’s passing, a former teammate pays homage to his remarkable spirit and courage
ABBOTSFORD — Mathis Baumbach remembers how he never felt like a stranger in the summer of 2008, even though he had flown halfway around the world from Germany to join his new teammates on the Simon Fraser University football team.And all of that was due to the presence of one of the most iconic athletes […]
While smoke-filled air delays UBC football’s first official workout, ‘Birds coach Nill talks a different strategy with players and their families
VANCOUVER — Sitting in his office overlooking Thunderbird Stadium on Tuesday morning, Blake Nill afforded himself a solitary moment to take a deep breath.These days, you can’t take anything for granted.In the midst of the global pandemic, and with its Canada West season already long cancelled, UBC’s veteran head football coach had worked towards Tuesday […]
No games for Simon Fraser football, but “…it’s like bricks off our shoulders” says SFU coach Mike Rigell of team’s return to Terry Fox Field
BURNABY — A new head coach, a new stadium, a pending new nickname, and of course, in these times of global pandemic, a new reality of uncertainty in the world of collegiate athletics.
A Sunday Tribute: For UBC’s Kory Nagata (1996-2020), football was a glorious portal to the possibilities of life
RICHMOND — Finding a perfect state of balance while doing the thing you love the most is powerful enough to change the way you see the world.
Simon Fraser student-athletes vote 97 per cent in favour of change, Clan moniker could be replaced by September
BURNABY — It’s hard to remember a span of time over the entire 55-year history of Simon Fraser athletics as emotionally charged as these past three days.
UBC football 2020: In wake of first cancelled season in 76 years, ‘Birds HC Blake Nill’s hopeful ‘redshirt season’ wish list includes the return of Shrum Bowl!
VANCOUVER — The first cancelled UBC football season in 76 years, and just the third over its 96-year history.