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 […]
Tag: Canada west football
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.
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.
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.
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 football: After late collapse to Alberta, what’s most key for 0-5 ‘Birds over final three games? Forging a team identity for 2020
VANCOUVER — Over the window of their academic careers on the Point Grey campus, forestry students at UBC can put in the long hours required towards earning a Masters degree in the sustainable management of one of our province’s great natural resources.Over at Thunderbird Stadium, however, a whole other group of UBC students are attempting […]
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 […]
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 […]
Saskatchewan 40 UBC 7: Thunderbirds’ first 0-2 start in the Blake Nill-era leaves plenty of questions with Dinos up next
Sometimes clichés are unavoidable, and in the case of the UBC Thunderbirds football team, there is no better way to paint their predicament than to say they are caught between a rock and a hard place.Friday’s 40-7 drubbing in Saskatoon at the hands of the defending Hardy Cup champion Saskatchewan Huskies not only leaves the […]
Nightmare at Thunderbird Stadium: Regina’s Magic Man QB Donnelly holds UBC under his spell in Rams’ 46-16 win
VANCOUVER — Two young teams came into Saturday’s Canada West opener at Thunderbird Stadium looking to discover new identities, but only one was able to leave with the answer and it likely enjoyed a raucous flight back to the prairies.The Regina Rams looked like anything but the team picked to finish last in the preseason […]