Fellow offensive lineman Navjot Pooni (left) and 'Birds assistant Ben Griffin support veteran centre Gavin Coakes who showed the emotion of the moment as the Thunderbirds topped the visiting Dinos 23-22 on Homecoming night Sept. 19 in Vancouver. (Photo by Bob Frid property of UBC athletics 2025. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Football

UBC Football: When veteran centre Gavin Coakes sheds tears of joy, it’s all about the origin story of the Thunderbirds’ heart-and-soul offensive line! Next test comes Friday at Alberta!

By Howard TsumuraVarsityLetters.caVANCOUVER — There were so many positives revealing themselves on the field last Friday at Thunderbird Stadium as part of UBC’s season-saving 23-22 win over the Calgary Dinos.So many, in fact, that we restricted our initial look at the victory from the standpoint of the ‘Birds ability to produce four massive defensive plays […]

It's magic! Even UBC defensive halfback Darrien Brown can't quite put into words what his 11th hour interception might mean in the big picture as the Thunderbirds topped the visiting Calgary Dinos 23-22 on Homecoming night Sept. 19 in Vancouver. (Photo by Bob Frid property of UBC athletics 2025. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Football

A Sunday Read: In the anatomy of UBC’s breathtaking 23-22 win over Calgary, here’s how four defensive plays from the same needle and thread helped stitch a win and save a season on the brink!

By Howard TsumuraVarsityLetters.caVANCOUVER — So much of the time, the easiest way to gauge the greatness of a football game is to lather in its own gaudy bath of offensive numbers.Yet it seems that the truest gems are often times those games which arise out of nowhere, those wholly organic ones somehow stitched together by […]

UBC receiver Shemar McBean gets a little camera time after hauling in a 62-yard touchdown pass from Derek Engel as Regina visited the Thunderbirds in Canada West football action Friday, Sept. 12, 2025 at Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver. (Photo by Richard Lam property of UBC Athletics 2025. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Football

UBC Football: Ahead of Friday Homecoming here’s three things to ponder after ‘Birds loss to Regina: How do ‘Birds stop the run? How dangerous is the Derek Engel deep ball? You gotta love Tyson Lewis!

By Howard TsumuraVarsityLetters.caVANCOUVER — It a little crazy to think that when the UBC Thunderbirds come charging onto the field Friday to face the visiting Calgary Dinos (6 p.m., Canada West TV) that they will have reached the midway point of the Canada West football regular season … in just 23 days.In what has seemed […]

Detroit Lions offensive lineman Giovanni Manu (59) before an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025 in Detroit. (Photo by Jeff Nguyen property of Detroit Lions via AP 2025. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Football

Veteran mentorship helps ex-‘Birds O-lineman Giovanni Manu tackle the challenges of climbing the depth chart with Detroit! New NFL season opens Sunday as Manu and the Lions face Green Bay!

By Howard Tsumura(VarsityLetters.com)VANCOUVER — Giovanni Manu came to the Detroit Lions draped in a blank canvas. Now, two NFL training camps later, the 6-foot-7, 350-pound former UBC Thunderbirds standout from Pitt Meadows has put himself in the big picture.“Short story is, if they told me I had to play left tackle against the Green Bay Packers […]

UBC's Edgerrin Williams-Hernandez is the picture of contentment at Thunderbirds Stadium as he celebrates of one his two TDs as the 'Birds defeated the Manitoba Bisons 21-9 in its 2025 Canada West season opener Aug. 28 in Vancouver. (Photo by Richard Lam property of UBC athletics 2025. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Men's Basketball

Postcards from The Edge: UBC’s Edgerrin Williams-Hernandez shows he can still deliver the mail! ‘Birds speedy receiver looks to put his own stamp on a special senior season!

By Howard Tsumura (VarsityLetters.ca)VANCOUVER — It’s no stretch to say that over the past 12 months, a lot of Edgerrin Williams-Hernandez’s evenings would end wondering if he was ever going to catch another touchdown pass in Thunderbirds’ blue and gold.In fact until he put all of those doubts to rest with two scoring catches in […]

UBC quarterback Drew Viotto brought his physical style against the Manitoba defence as the Thunderbirds defeated the Bisons 21-9 in its 2025 Canada West season opener Aug. 28 at Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver. (Photo by Richard Lam property of UBC athletics 2025. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Football

Tsumura on UBC Football: My two big takeaways from impressive win over No. 8-ranked Manitoba! Why ‘Birds have an enviable QB situation, and why anyone would covet the blue-&-gold’s front 7!

By Howard Tsumura (VarsityLetters.ca)VANCOUVER — It’s not that Blake Nill misunderstood the question.More than that, it’s all part-and-parcel of the DNA of post-game coach speak to remain in the moment. You know, the micro… not the macro.Yet, in the aftermath of a Canada West season-opening 21-9 victory over the No. 8 Manitoba Bisons here Thursday […]

Chicago Bears' Theo Benedet takes on the Buffalo Bills' Landon Jackson, Sunday, August 17, 2025, in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo property of Chicago Bears 2025. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Football

In a case of ‘carpe diem’ defined, UBC’s Theo Benedet puts adversity behind him and seizes the day with Chicago Bears! Handsworth grad still in the battle for starting left tackle spot!

By Howard Tsumura (VarsityLetters.ca)VANCOUVER — Theo Benedet showed up at Chicago Bears training camp and made such an impression that it was senseless to whisper.And on Tuesday afternoon, after the North Vancouver native and UBC Thunderbirds’ alumnus was announced as part of the NFL team’s final 53-man roster, what wound up speaking loudest of all […]

UBC's Ben Sangmuah proudly holds the Mitchell Bowl following a win in the national semifinals over St. FX Nov. 18 at UBC. (Photo by Bob Frid property of UBC Athletics 2025. All Rights Reserved) (Photo by Bob Frid property of UBC Athletics 2025. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Football

From Ghana to Point Grey: UBC’s Ben Sangmuah may have started late, but fourth-year linebacker a quick study! Birds’ recent NFL successes bring Steelers, Colts, Bears for a Thunderbird Stadium peek!

By Howard Tsumura (VarsityLetters.ca)VANCOUVER — If you could invent a device to measure the collective quickness with which a developing football player grasps the concepts of the game and then proceeds to carry them to the next level, it would be the rare few who would calibrate in the same neighbourhood as Ben Sangmuah.Just four […]

Zeru Abera (left) of Burnaby's St. Thomas More Knights drives on Dover Bay's Frank Linder in the championship final of the TBI Super 16 invitational Dec. 7 at the Langley Events Centre. Next season the two will be rookie teammates with the UBC Thunderbirds. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2024. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball University Men's Basketball

UBC Thunderbirds’ recruit Zeru Abera has been clutch when it counts! Now, the STM Knights senior is embracing the challenge of bringing his intangibles to the Canada West!

VANCOUVER — Ask Kevin Hanson what he finds most special about his most recent high school recruit and he instantly captures the essence of St. Thomas More Knights’ senior Zeru Abera.“It’s a tough thing to teach anyone how to be clutch in a basketball game, especially at the end of the game, and then to […]

UBC's Nikola Guzina drives to the basket against the Trinity Western Spartans in Canada West action Nov. 3 at War Memorial Gymnasium. After losing the 2023-24 season to a brain injury, the 6-foot-10 standout is playing a huge role in UBC's drive to the Final 8 national championships this March. (Photo by Richard Lam property of UBC athletics 2024. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Men's Basketball

Bright lights, brighter future: After losing last season to concussion, ‘Birds 6-foot-10 standout Nikola Guzina can see clearly now as UBC gears up to host 2025 U SPORTS Final 8 nationals!

VANCOUVER — Nikola Guzina’s basketball dream had always been to play under the bright lights at UBC’s hallowed War Memorial GymnasiumAnd coming off an amazing two-season stretch at nearby King George Secondary School, where over his Grade 11 and 12 seasons combined (2018-20) he averaged an NBA 2K-like 30.7 points, 14.1 rebounds and 6.5 assists […]