The UBC Thunderbirds are the athletic teams that represent the University of British Columbia. 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, winning 116 national titles. UBC has won an additional 20 national titles competing in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics against collegiate competition from the United States and 40 national titles in sports that compete in independent competitions.
Father David William Bauer was a Canadian ice hockey player and coach, educator and Catholic priest. He was offered a playing contract by the Boston Bruins at age 15, but declined on the advice of his father to complete a proper education. The experience of not pursuing his dream of playing professional hockey was traumatic for Bauer, who then committed himself to look for more meaning in life and play a role in world peace. After he served as captain of the Toronto St. Michael's Majors for two seasons and won the 1944 Memorial Cup, he became ordained as a Catholic priest in the Congregation of St. Basil and taught at St. Michael's College School. He coached multiple levels of hockey at St. Michael's, sat on the junior ice hockey council for the Ontario Hockey Association, lobbied for a shortened playing schedule for students athletes, and coached the St. Michael's Majors to victory in the 1961 Memorial Cup. Bauer was reassigned to St. Mark's College at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in 1961, then coached the UBC Thunderbirds for two seasons and led them to the finals at the 1963 CIAU University Cup.
Wilfred Thomas "Shorty" Green was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played four seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Hamilton Tigers and New York Americans between 1923 and 1927. As captain of the Tigers in 1925, he led the team on a strike with the demand that the players be paid an additional C$200 to participate in the playoffs. The league refused, suspended the team and sold the organization to New York interests. As a member of the Americans, Green scored the first goal in Madison Square Garden history, and after two seasons as a player in New York, coached the team for one before coaching minor league teams for several years. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1963.
Scott Jaque-Frederick Pellerin is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played in the National Hockey League between 1992 and 2004.
Athol Murray was a Canadian Catholic priest and educator. He built a collection of shacks in Wilcox, 55 km south of Regina into a non-denominational residential college. It began as a convent school founded by the sisters of Charity in 1920.
Athol Murray College of Notre Dame is a private, co-educational boarding high school located in Wilcox, Saskatchewan, Canada. It was founded by the Sisters of Charity of St. Louis in 1920 as St. Augustine school when they established Notre Dame of the Prairies Convent. The school was later renamed to honor Father Athol Murray. In the spirit of reconciliation, we acknowledge that Athol Murray College of Notre Dame is situated on the traditional lands referred to as Treaty 4 Territory. These are the territories of the Cree, Ojibwe, Saulteaux, Dakota, Nakota, Lakota and on the homeland of the Metis/Michif Nation.
David Branch is a Canadian ice hockey administrator. His lengthy involvement in junior ice hockey includes serving as commissioner of the Ontario Hockey League since September 15, 1979, and serving as president of the Canadian Hockey League from 1996 to 2019. He received the Order of Hockey in Canada in 2016.
Derek MacKenzie is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who most notably played for the Atlanta Thrashers, Columbus Blue Jackets and the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is currently an assistant coach for the NHL's Nashville Predators.
Lawrence Marshall Johnston is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, coach and executive. He played as a right winger for the Minnesota North Stars and California Golden Seals of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has also coached in the NHL for the California Golden Seals, Colorado Rockies, and served as general manager of the Ottawa Senators. He was inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in 1998.
Gordon Wainwright Juckes was a Canadian ice hockey administrator. He served as the president and later the executive director of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA), and as a council member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. Juckes became involved in hockey as newspaper publisher and team president, then served as president of the Saskatchewan Amateur Hockey Association. During World War II he was a Major in the Royal Canadian Artillery, and was honoured with the Order of the British Empire.
Terrence M. "Terry" O'Malley is a Canadian retired ice hockey player, currently serving as an assistant coach to the Regina Cougars women's ice hockey team of the University of Regina, a position he has held since 2006. He is an Olympian who represented Canada at three Winter Olympics, winning a bronze medal in 1968. A long-time coach for a variety of Notre Dame Hounds' bantam and midget hockey teams at the Athol Murray College of Notre Dame in Wilcox, Saskatchewan, he was inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in 1998.
Anthony Francis Huck is a Canadian former ice hockey player. Huck played professionally in both the National Hockey League (NHL) and World Hockey Association (WHA) between 1970 and 1978. However his greatest contributions may have been with the Canadian national team during years before NHL professionals were allowed to compete internationally. His amateur career peaked at the 1968 Winter Olympics where he helped the team win the bronze medal. In 1999, Huck was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame.
Joby Messier is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 25 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Rangers between 1993 and 1995.
Roger Maurice Bourbonnais is a retired ice hockey player. He played for the Canada men's national ice hockey team at the IIHF World Championships and the Winter Olympics. He was inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in 1999, and into the Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame in 2011.
Clare James Drake was a Canadian ice hockey coach. He was the most successful coach in Canadian Interuniversity Sport men's hockey history. In 28 years as the head coach of the University of Alberta men's ice hockey team, he coached the Alberta Golden Bears to six University Cup championships and 17 Canada West conference championships. The "dean of coaching," Clare developed the game for more than 40 years, coaching at the high school, university, Olympic and WHA level. The only university coach to win a national championship in both hockey and football in the same year (1967-1968), he was instrumental in the development of the National Coaching Certification and Coach Mentorship Programs. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2017.
Robert John McLeod was a Canadian ice hockey player and coach. He played professionally for the New York Rangers for parts of six seasons from 1949 to 1954, and played eight seasons of senior hockey between 1953 and 1965, where he competed at multiple Ice Hockey World Championships, winning the gold medal in 1961. He served as head coach of the Canada men's national ice hockey team from 1966 to 1969, leading them to two bronze medals at the World Championships and a bronze medal at the 1968 Winter Olympics. He later coached the Saskatoon Blades in the Western Canada Hockey League from 1971 to 1979, and coached the Canada men's national junior team to a silver medal at the 1975 World Junior Championships. He was inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame in 1984, and inducted as a player into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 1999.
Jerry Friesen is a former award-winning linebacker in the Canadian Football League and is the special teams coordinator for the Saskatchewan Huskies.
Kojin Nakakita is a Japanese sledge hockey coach. He has been the head coach of Japan's national sledge hockey team since 2002. The team won a silver medal at the 2010 Winter Paralympics.
Robert George Hindmarch was a Canadian educator, sports administrator and ice hockey coach. He was a multi-sport athlete at the University of British Columbia (UBC) as a student, and returned as a professor and its director of physical education. He and Father David Bauer established a permanent Canada men's national ice hockey team based at UBC in preparation for ice hockey at the 1964 Winter Olympics. Hindmarch later coached the UBC Thunderbirds men's ice hockey team for 214 wins in 12 seasons; they became one of the first Western Bloc sports teams to play a tour of games in China. He developed additional international sporting relationships for the Thunderbirds in South Korea and Japan, and served as vice-president of the Canadian Olympic Association for 16 years. Hindmarch was made a member of the Order of Canada and the Order of British Columbia; and is inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame and the BC Sports Hall of Fame.
Alvin Horace "Al" Ritchie, also known by his nickname "the Silver Fox", was a Canadian football player, coach, and administrator who was the head coach of the Regina Roughriders from 1928 to 1932, in 1935, and in 1942. He had many accomplishments and honors, including being named to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, Canada's Sports Hall of Fame and the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame. The Al Ritchie Memorial Stadium, Al Ritchie Arena, and Al Ritchie Neighborhood are named in his honor.
Canada 