The Saskatchewan Huskies are the athletics teams representing the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The university began their athletics program in 1907 and has competed with others since 1911. They currently compete in elite inter-university competition administered by U Sports and its members, both as regions and as individual institutions.
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.
The Calgary Dinos are the athletic teams that represent the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. They were known as the "Dinosaurs" but usually referred to as the "Dinos" until 1999, when the name was officially shortened. Some of its venues are the Jack Simpson Gymnasium, McMahon Stadium, Hawkings Field, University of Calgary Aquatic Centre and a 200m Running Track.
The Trinity Western Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Trinity Western University in Langley, British Columbia. The university's teams are members of U Sports, and compete in the Canada West Universities Athletics Association, and where applicable, in the Pacific division.
TMU Bold, formerly known as the Ryerson Rams, are the varsity athletic teams that represent Toronto Metropolitan University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Toronto Metropolitan University operates 11 men's and women's varsity teams that compete provincially as part of Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and nationally as part of U Sports.
Hugh Donald McCutcheon, a native of Christchurch, New Zealand, is a former volleyball coach. He previously coached the US men's and women's national volleyball team, and was the head coach for the University of Minnesota's women's volleyball team from 2012 to 2022. Starting in January 2023, McCutcheon is the assistant athletics director/sport development coach at Minnesota, after announcing his resignation from the volleyball team at the conclusion of the 2022 season.
The Canada women's national volleyball team participates in international women's volleyball competitions and friendly games.
Mir Saeid Marouf Lakerani is an Iranian volleyball setter. He was the captain of the Iranian national team. He was named best setter at the 2014 World League and 2008, 2012 and 2016 Olympic qualifying tournaments, as well as most valuable player at the 2013 Asian Championship. He participated in the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympics. He was voted Iranian Sportsmen of the year for (2015–16) of the Iranian calendar by an Iranian
The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other non-heterosexual or non-cisgender (LGBTQ+) community is prevalent within sports across the world.
There has been only one player who has publicly come out as gay or bisexual while being an active player in the National Football League (NFL): Carl Nassib, who revealed himself as gay on June 21, 2021, while with the Las Vegas Raiders. He became the first openly gay player to play in an NFL game on September 13, 2021. He later became the first openly gay player in an NFL playoff game on January 15, 2022. Six former NFL players have come out publicly after they retired. In the 2014 NFL draft, the St. Louis Rams drafted Michael Sam in the seventh round, the 249th of 256 players selected, which made him the first openly gay player to be drafted into the NFL. However, on August 30, St. Louis released Sam as part of a final round of cuts to reduce their roster to the league-mandated 53 players before the start of the regular season.
The homosexual sports community in the United States has one of the highest levels of acceptance and support in the world and is rapidly growing as of 2020. General public opinion and jurisprudence regarding homosexuality in the United States has become significantly more accepting since the late 1980s; for example, by the early 2020s, an overwhelming majority of Americans approved of the legality of same-sex marriages.
Athletes and artists who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, pansexual, non-binary, queer, and/or intersex, and/or who have openly been in a same-sex relationship (LGBTQI+) have competed in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, either openly, or having come out some time afterward.
Although gay athletes and coaches are increasingly accepted in college sports, they continue to be controversial among some people.
Tyler James "TJ" Sanders is a former professional Canadian male volleyball player. He was a member of the Canada men's national volleyball team, representing Canada in the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics. He also was a gold medallist at the 2015 NORCECA Championship, and a bronze medalist at the 2015 Pan American Games and a bronze medalist at the 2017 World League where he ranked statistically as the top setter.
Adam Simac is a Canadian former professional volleyball player. He played for the Canada men's national volleyball team for eight years, representing Canada at both the 2010 and 2014 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championships.
Dennis Jose Del Valle Villalobos is a Puerto Rican male volleyball player. He was part of the Puerto Rico men's national volleyball team at the 2014 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship in Poland. He played for Mets de Guaynabo.
