UBC Thunderbirds | |
---|---|
University | University of British Columbia |
Association | U Sports |
Conference | Canada West |
Athletic director | Gilles Lépine |
Location | Vancouver, British Columbia |
Varsity teams | 29 |
Football stadium | Thunderbird Stadium |
Basketball arena | War Memorial Gym |
Ice hockey arena | Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre |
Baseball stadium | UBC Thunderbirds Baseball Stadium |
Mascot | Thunderbird |
Nickname | Thunderbird |
Fight song | Hail UBC |
Colors | Blue and Gold |
Website | www |
The UBC Thunderbirds are the athletic teams that represent the University of British Columbia in the University Endowment Lands just outside the city limits of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In Canadian intercollegiate competition, the Thunderbirds are the most successful athletic program both regionally in the Canada West Universities Athletic Association, and nationally in U Sports.
Across 14 varsity sport disciplines, UBC fields 25 teams overall; notably, 13 of which compete in U Sports, and eight in the American collegiate NAIA circuit:
The UBC Thunderbirds football team has won the CWUAA Hardy Trophy conference championship 16 times, which is third all-time among competing teams. On a national level, the team has won the Vanier Cup championship four times, in 1982, 1986, 1997 and, most recently, in 2015. The team has also lost twice in the title game, in 1978 and 1987. The Thunderbirds program has also yielded three Hec Crighton Trophywinners: Jordan Gagner in 1987; Mark Nohra in 1997; and, most recently, Billy Greene in 2011.
In the summer of 1996, 30 years after the original UBC baseball program was disbanded due to budget cuts, Athletic Director Bob Phillip along with former professional Jim Murphy and community baseball coach Mark Hiscott provided funding for the present day Thunderbirds baseball. Hiscott recognized student Terry McKaig, a former collegiate player and national team member, as the one to take over the program as head coach. Since 1997, McKaig has been the driving force behind the T-Birds with support and funding from such major leaguers as Jeff Zimmerman and Ryan Dempster.