During a timeout Saturday on his way to his 600th overall win at UBC is 'Birds head coach Kevin Hanson. Afterwards, he remarked "...I continue to tell coaches that you have to celebrate every win because you never know when your next one is going to happen." (Photo by Richard Lam property of UBC athletics 2024. All Rights Reserv
Feature University Men's Basketball

A Sunday Read: As UBC’s Kevin Hanson becomes fifth member of U Sports’ 600-win hoops club, the ‘Birds 25-year head coach reflects on what brings true meaning to milestone moments!

VANCOUVER — On a night when Kevin Hanson joined one of the most exclusive coaching fraternities in all of U Sports men’s basketball, there was still no confusing the fact that nothing worth celebrating had ever been earned in a vacuum.Yet don’t misunderstand just how much it meant to the UBC head coach that his […]

Spectrum's Justin Hinrichsen (13) rises to the occasion on defence in last March's B.C. Quad-A title game. The Thunder open the new season at No. 1. (Photo by Garrett James property of Langley Events Centre 2024. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

BC Boys Top 10 preseason rankings: 2024-25 to tip off with Spectrum, MEI, Collingwood, Unity topping the charts!

LANGLEY — Top 10 time is back.The B.C. School Sports provincial pre-season high school Top 10 rankings for senior boys basketball have just been released, and as expected, its two largest tiers reflect the respective geographical strengths of two of the province’s time-honoured regions.At Quad-A, three of the top four spots are held by Vancouver […]

Derek Christiansen was one of the UBC Thunderbirds' top scorers during its 1990-91 season, including its No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown in Victoria. (Photo property of UBC Athletics 1991. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Men's Basketball

What? It’s been 33 years! Indeed, it’s been since Jan. of 1991 that UBC has faced Victoria in a No. 1 vs. No. 2! Ahead of weekend clash, let’s all take a trip in Howie’s Hoops Time Machine!

VANCOUVER — If you asked the basketball gods to describe the perfect weekend of men’s university basketball in the province of British Columbia, they would tell you it’s beyond words.But they’d also let you know that if  you want to see it live and in-person, all you’ve got to do is head to UBC’s historic […]

UBC's Nikola Guzina drives to the basket against the Trinity Western Spartans in Canada West action Nov. 3 at War Memorial Gymnasium. (Photo by Richard Lam property of UBC athletics 2024. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Men's Basketball

UBC men’s basketball 2024-25: With its “equal-opportunity system” thriving, No. 2 Thunderbirds clash with visiting, No. 1 Vikes as eyes of Canadian university hoop world focus on War Memorial Gym!

VANCOUVER — It’s mid-November, his UBC Thunderbirds have already played 16 games… and won them all.“But I still don’t know who our best five guys are when it comes to playing the best together,” head coach Kevin Hanson explained following practice Wednesday.With his No. 2 nationally-ranked ‘Birds set to play host to the No. 1-ranked […]

Click on our links inside to get high-resolution draws for all four pools at the 2024 boys and girls TBI, once again set for the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Wilson Wong 2021. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball High School Girls Basketball

TBI 2024: All four tournament brackets, complete with full game times, for December’s boys and girls Tsumura Basketball Invitationals at the Langley Events Centre!

(NOTICE TO ALL TEAMS — As of Sunday, Dec. 1 we have made slight alterations to all four boys and girls TBI draws, with Friday semifinals for both the Super 16 and Select 16 draws being staged consecutively in the same gymnasium. Please note this change to the schedule). Basketball fans, you can start to plan […]

UBC's pure freshman guard Keira Daly (left) has been a huge addition to the Thunderbirds' already talented backcourt rotation. (Photo by Richard Lam property of UBC athletics 2024. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Women's Basketball

With its first national ranking in six years, No. 3 UBC women host arch-rival Victoria in rematch of last season’s Vikes’ playoff win! Newcomers set to bolster Thunderbirds’ deep roster!

VANCOUVER — Last season, during her debut at the helm of UBC Thunderbirds’ women’s basketball program, Isabel Ormond took what can only be described as an impressive first trip around the block with her young charges.It was one of those journeys where everything they encountered — both good and bad — was grist for the […]

Bloodied but unbowed, Saskatchewan's Ercy Avul (18), an Abbotsford-WJ Mouat grad, comes together with teammate Jesse Kuntz Saturday as the Huskies rallied late in the fourth quarter to stun UBC 38-33 Nov. 2, 2024 in the Canada West Hardy Cup semifinals at Thunderbird Stadium. (Photo by Bob Frid property of UBC Athletics 2024. (All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Football University Football

Tracing the football journey of W.J. Mouat Hawks grad Ercy Avul: From Abbotsford to Saskatoon, his late heroics help Sask Huskies grab Hardy Cup finals berth!

VANCOUVER — How long had Ercy Avul worked and waited for what was about as glorious a 108-second span a football player can experience?Last Saturday, Saskatchewan receiver and Abbotsford-W.J. Mouat grad Avul, who prior to the current campaign had missed three of his last four seasons, announced himself with two brilliant plays over the final […]

Quebec native Sophie Bergeron has brought a defensive presence to Simon Fraser. Here, Bergeron does what she does best during Sunday action between the host Red Leafs and visiting, No. 4-ranked Tampa Spartans on Nov 3, 2024 at CCA Div. 1 Canadian Tip-Off Classic at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo exclusive property of Varsity Letters via VarsityLetters.ca Images 2024. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Women's Basketball

Press to play! Simon Fraser Red Leafs women’s hoops debuts a full-court defensive scheme to impressive results at NCAA Div. 2 Canadian Tip-Off Classic!

VANCOUVER —  They may be just three games into a new season, yet Simon Fraser head coach Bruce Langford does not hesitate when asked to describe the 2024-25 edition of Red Leafs women’s basketball team.“I think we play a more exciting style than we have played for many years,” Langford began this past Sunday after […]

The Saskatchewan Huskies rallied late in the fourth quarter to stun UBC 38-33 Nov. 2, 2024 in the Canada West Hardy Cup semifinals at Thunderbird Stadium. (Photo by Bob Frid property of UBC Athletics 2024. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Football

Late rally by Saskatchewan stuns UBC 38-33 in opening playoff round! Thunderbirds head coach Nill: “I don’t know what to say. I have never been a part of anything that drastic before”

VANCOUVER — When it comes to a post-mortem discussion of the 2024 UBC Thunderbirds football season, one which ended with a stunning 38-33 Hardy Cup semifinal home field loss to the Saskatchewan Huskies, you must first determine the focal length at which the conversation must begin.So do you want to take the macro view of […]

Nicolas Hauka is back with Week 9 reports this weekend. (Photo courtesy Nicolas Hauka 2024. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Football

Week 9: The B.C. School Sports Red Zone provincial high school football report 11.01.24 edition with Nicolas Hauka!

Week 9 of the B.C. high school football season is now upon us and there is no there place better to keep abreast of the happenings than Nic Hauka’s BCSS Red Zone report.As usual, we remind you to check back throughout the weekend for game updates!Click here for Week 9 game reports