New Westminster Hyacks head football coach Farhan Lalji (left) and UBC head men's basketball coach Kevin Hanson each visit with host Howard Tsumura as Varsity Letters -- The Podcast returns to the pod stream. (Photos by Howard Tsumura and Richard Lam property of VarsityLetters.ca and UBC athletics)
Feature High School Football Podcast University Men's Basketball

We’re back! Varsity Letters – The Podcast makes its return! UBC hoops coach Hanson, New West football coach Lalji stop in to chat

LANGLEY — There’s a sense deja vu filtering through the airwaves this week around the province of B.C. with return of Varsity Letters-The Podcast. Long a weekly staple during my years at The Vancouver Province, we’re back for the first time since 2016, right here at our new home at VarsityLetters.ca This week, we’re honoured […]

UBC rookie quarterback Tommy Yanchuk scrambles from the pressure on Saturday at Thunderbird Stadium. (Photo by Richard Lam property of UBC athletics 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Football

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 […]

Tommy Yanchuk, the former Edmonton Huskies pivot, has been named UBC's starting quarterback ahead of the Thunderbirds' season-opening conference clash Saturday night at home against the Regina Rams. (Photo by Gord Mellor property of Gord Mellor Photography 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Football

UBC names its new starting quarterback: Big-armed Tommy Yanchuk gets the nod as ‘Birds open season Saturday at home to Regina

VANCOUVER — The UBC Thunderbirds have settled their training camp battle at quarterback.Tommy Yanchuk, a 20-year-old who last season played with the Canadian Junior Football League’s Edmonton Huskies, will command the offence Saturday (7 p.m., Canada West TV) when the ‘Birds open the post-Michael O’Connor era by hosting the Regina Rams at Thunderbird Stadium in […]

UBC Thunderbirds players mob teammate Victory Shumbusho (9) after his second-half goal proved to be the winner in a 2-0 triumph over the host UFV Cascades on Friday in Abbotsford. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Men's Soccer

UBC soccer coach Mike Mosher opens season No. 24 at the helm liking what he sees in 2-0 win over Fraser Valley Cascades

ABBOTSFORD — Point out to the seasoned general that he’s just opened up his 24th season of Canada West coaching with the UBC Thunderbirds, and Mike Mosher smiles before admitting that after a near-quarter century at the helm, you learn to trust your eyes.And what Mosher saw Friday from his team during a conference-opening 2-0 win […]

UBC's Ben Hladik (left) coming off an All-Canadian season with the Thunderbirds will be joined by standout Regina transfer Nick Cross within the team's highly-touted linebacking core. (Photos by Richard Lam property of UBC athletics 2019 and Piper Sports Photography 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Football

Linebacker U? Heart of UBC’s defence could become its new identity as Hladik, Cross form dynamic tackling duo in the middle

VANCOUVER — A new chapter in UBC Thunderbirds football history?You can author some variation of that narrative with the dawning of each new Canada West season, yet as the Aug. 31 opener at home to the Regina Rams looms ever closer, there is a legitimate feeling that 2019’s true story remains as unwritten and mysterious […]

Gabe Olivares is back with the UBC Thunderbirds after taking a season away. The former G.W. Graham Grizzlies star is part of a five-man battle to win the team's starting quarterback job this fall. (Photo by Richard Lam property of UBC athletics 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Football

Who is UBC’s next starting quarterback? Five pivots form preliminary pecking order as the Michael O’Connor era comes to an end

LANGLEY — UBC football fans knew the Michael O’Connor era was officially over early last month when the Toronto Argonauts made him the second-highest selected Canadian quarterback in draft history.

Born to jump, Claremont's Rebecca Dutchak has a ceiling as high as any incoming university freshman in the nation. (Photo by Wilson Wong 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Track & Field University Track and Field

The Natural: Still raw and untested, Claremont’s UBC-bound Rebecca Dutchak looks ready to jump off the charts

Rebecca Dutchak always suspected she had been given the gift of jump, but it wasn’t until she took a leap of faith that she discovered her grace over gravity.

For the first time in program history, the UBC Thunderbirds track and field team won two national titles on the same day. (Photo by Jeff Sargeant property of UBC athletics 2019. All Rights Reserved)
UBC Thunderbirds' sophomore Jamie Hennessey (55) posted the fastest NAIA time this season in the 3,000m steeplechase, despite her Type 1 diabetes. (Photo by UBC athletics copyright 2019. All rights reserved).
Feature University Track and Field

UBC’s Jamie Hennessey: Despite her Type 1 diabetes, Thunderbirds’ courageous sophomore sits among the NAIA’s steeplechase elite

VANCOUVER — If you had asked Jamie Hennessey five years ago if she was capable of having a day like the one she had last month, she would have nodded a decisive “No.”

On Thursday, Michael O'Connor found out his CFL home will be in Toronto. On Friday, he goes to NFL rookie mini-camp with the Seattle Seahawks. (Photo by Richard Lam property of UBC athletics)
Feature University Football

Michael O’Connor: UBC’s humble superstar pivot finds a CFL home with Argos, takes to field with NFL’s Seattle Seahawks on Friday

VANCOUVER — Michael O’Connor wasn’t afraid of taking a road less traveled to achieve his dream of becoming a professional quarterback, and now more than ever, you can see the purpose in his steps.