The UBC Thunderbirds football team represents the University of British Columbia athletics teams in U Sports and is based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Thunderbirds program has won the CWUAA Hardy Trophy conference championship 17 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 Trophy winners: Jordan Gagner in 1987, Mark Nohra in 1997, and, most recently, Billy Greene in 2011.
History The Thunderbirds began their history playing in the British Columbia Rugby Football Union, competing in every season from 1926 to 1940 with the exception of 1935. During their time in the BCRFU they won 3 league championships. Thunderbirds was adopted as the official name of the team in 1934. Following the dissolution of the BCRFU, UBC competed only against other collegiate teams. Due to WW2, the team went on a hiatus from 1943-45. In 1946, they joined the Pacific Northwest Athletic Conference, and played against American teams. They had a dismal 3-35-2 record in the PNAC before switching to the Evergreen Conference in 1953.
In 1959 they switched back to Canadian competition by joining the Western Canada Football League. After a few years in the WCFL, the Thunderbirds withdrew, officially only playing in exhibition games against other western teams. This lasted from 1964 to 66, before they rejoined. Exhibition games against American opponents continued.
The first Shrum Bowl was played in 1967, against SFU. The Clan won 32-13. In 1978 the Thunderbirds made it to their first national championship game, against Queen's. The Golden Gaels beat them 16-3. Four years later, the Thunderbirds had made it back to the title game, this time their opposition was the Western Mustangs. UBC reigned supreme in 1982, beating Western 39-14 to win their first national championship.
Recent history
Following four straight seasons of playoff drought from 2007 to 2010, UBC finished with a 6–2 record in 2011 earning second place in the Canada West with an appearance in the Hardy Cup. Quarterback Billy Greene would also become the third Thunderbird to win the Hec Crighton Award that year. However, all team accolades would be for naught as an ineligible student-athlete, who played in all eight games, would force UBC to forfeit all six regular season wins as well as its post-season results from that year. The school was fined and the program was placed on probation for the following season. This seemed to halt any progress that was made as the team finished 2–6 for the 2012 season and out of the playoffs for the fifth time in six years.
In 2013, the team bounced back with a 4–4 regular season record led by a solid defense and running back Brandon Deschamps, who was one of only three running backs in Canada to rush for more than 1,000 yards. They would lose in the Canada West semifinal to the eventual Mitchell Bowl champion Calgary Dinos 42–28. The program would regress again in 2014 as they finished with another 2–6 record and out of the playoffs.
During the following off-season in 2015, UBC Athletics would draw the Dinos head coach, Blake Nill away from the Calgary Dinos in what was the most high-profile coaching change that year. Nill's impact was immediate as he was able to recruit quarterback Michael O'Connor, who was the ranked the sixth best quarterback by ESPN among the 2014 recruiting class.Former Penn State quarterback Michael O'Connor commits to UBC The Thunderbirds achieved a turnaround in Nill's debut season at the UBC helm to finish the 2015 regular season with a 6–2 record, placing second in the CWUAA standings. During the ensuing post-season drive of three straight single-elimination playoff games on the road, UBC upset the heavily favoured Calgary Dinos in the Hardy Cup game at Calgary; then defeated the St. Francis Xavier X-Men to earn its historical first Uteck Bowl victory at Antigonish, to advance to the national title game. In the 51st Vanier Cup championship, the Thunderbirds narrowly defeated the defending CIS champion Montreal Carabins, by scoring the game's last possession field goal to end the fourth quarter. The victory was UBC's fourth Vanier Cup overall, tying the Calgary Dinos for the all-time record among CWUAA member universities.Vanier Cup: UBC Thunderbirds beat Montreal Carabins 26-23
Rivalries Competing against the cross-town Simon Fraser University, the Thunderbirds and Simon Fraser Clan previously shared a long-standing local rivalry, which had been dormant since 2010. That year, SFU left the CIS for the NCAA's Division II Great Northwest Athletic Conference. These two teams did not play within the same governing bodies until 2002 (SFU played, prior to then, in the NAIA while UBC has always competed in U Sports), they would compete in an annual match-up known as the Shrum Bowl, named after Gordon Shrum. After SFU's realignment to NCAA Division II was confirmed, it seemed as though the annual match-up would be decommissioned. However, the two teams went on to renew the Shrum Bowl game as a one-off exhibition on October 8, 2010, at Thunderbird Stadium playing Canadian rules. After years of conflicts in their respective competition schedules, the two teams played again in 2022. While another game was scheduled for 2023, it was ultimately cancelled as SFU cancelled their football program in April 2023.
Recent regular season results
Season W L T Standing Playoffs19978 521 688 195 130 1st in CW Defeated Calgary Dinos in Hardy Cup 39–21Defeated Mount Allison Mounties in Atlantic Bowl 34–29Defeated Ottawa Gee-Gees in 33rd Vanier Cup 39–2319988 620 0.750 262 151 2nd in CW Lost to Saskatchewan Huskies in Hardy Cup 31–2819998 710 0.875 227 131 1st in CW Defeated Calgary Dinos in CWUAA semi-final 27–14Lost to Saskatchewan Huskies in Hardy Cup 31–2420008 350 0.375 206 231 4th in CW Lost to Manitoba Bisons in CWUAA semi-final 14–420018 260 0.250 132 233 5th in CW Out of Playoffs20028 350 0.250 144 141 5th in CW Out of Playoffs20038 080 0.000 132 260 7th in CW Out of Playoffs20048 53– 0.625 235 212 3rd in CW Lost to Saskatchewan Huskies in CWUAA semi-final 39-020058 44– 0.500 210 200 4th in CW Lost to Saskatchewan Huskies in CWUAA semi-final 32-620068 44– 0.500 287 209 3rd in CW Lost to Saskatchewan Huskies in CWUAA semi-final 35–1620078 35– 0.375 167 198 5th in CW Out of Playoffs20088 26– 0.250 117 160 6th in CW Out of Playoffs20098 35– 0.375 110 263 5th in CW Out of Playoffs20108 26– 0.250 164 255 6th in CW Out of Playoffs20118 08– 0.000 58 72 2nd in CW Defeated Saskatchewan Huskies in CWUAA semi-final 27–22Lost to Calgary Dinos in Hardy Cup 62–13Playoff results forfeited20128 26– 0.250 193 297 5th in CW Out of Playoffs20138 44– 0.500 256 215 4th in CW Lost to Calgary Dinos in CWUAA semi-final 42–2820148 26– 0.250 175 293 6th in CW Out of Playoffs20158 62– 0.750 289 239 2nd in CW Defeated Manitoba Bisons in CWUAA semi-final 52-10Defeated Calgary Dinos in Hardy Cup 34–26Defeated St. Francis Xavier X-Men in Uteck Bowl 36–9Defeated Montreal Carabins in 51st Vanier Cup 26–2320168 35– 0.375 250 245 4th in CW Defeated Regina Rams in CWUAA semi-final 40–34Lost to Calgary Dinos in Hardy Cup 46–4320178 62– 0.750 231 172 2nd in CW Defeated Regina Rams in CWUAA semi-final 28–21Lost to Calgary Dinos in Hardy Cup 44–4320188 53– 0.625 174 190 2nd in CW Lost to Saskatchewan Huskies in CWUAA semi-final 31–28 (OT)20198 26– 0.250 163 311 6th in CW Out of Playoffs2020Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic20216 33– 0.500 135 2214th in CW Lost to Saskatchewan Huskies in CWUAA semi-final 39–1720228 44– 0.500 182 186 3rd in CW Defeated Regina Rams in CWUAA semi-final 28–14Lost to Saskatchewan Huskies in Hardy Cup 23–920238 62– 0.750 271 156 1st in CW Defeated Manitoba Bisons in CWUAA semi-final 29–21Defeated Alberta Golden Bears in Hardy Cup 28–27Defeated St. Francis Xavier X-Men in Mitchell Bowl 47–17Lost to Montreal Carabins in 58th Vanier Cup 16–920248 53– 0.625 216 2222nd in CW Lost to Saskatchewan Huskies in CWUAA semi-final 38–3320258 35– 0.375 168 2454th in CW Lost to Saskatchewan Huskies in CWUAA semi-final 26–7
A. In 2011, due to an administrative sanction, UBC retroactively forfeited its six regular season wins. UBC's ensuing post-season games were also removed from record by the Canada West Universities Athletic Association, citing UBC Athletics' submission of an erroneous eligibility declaration regarding one of its active roster players.
National postseason results
Vanier Cup Era (1965–present) Year Game Opponent Result1976Churchill BowlWesternL 8–301978Churchill BowlVanier CupLaurierQueen'sW 25–16L 3–161982Atlantic BowlVanier CupSt. FXWesternW 54–1W 39–141986Churchill BowlVanier CupBishop'sWesternW 32–30W 25–231987Churchill BowlVanier CupLaurierMcGillW 33–31L 11–471997Atlantic BowlVanier CupMount AllisonOttawaW 34–29W 39–232015Uteck BowlVanier CupSt. FXMontrealW 36–9W 26–232023Mitchell BowlVanier CupSt. FXMontrealW 47–17L 9–16 UBC is 7–1 in national semi-final games and 4–3 in the Vanier Cup.
Head coaches Name Tenure Gordon Burke 1923–1936 Maury Van Vliet 1937–1941 John Farina 1942 No team 1943–1944 Greg Kabat 1945–1947 Don Wilson 1948 Orville Burke 1949–1950 Hjalmer “Jelly” Anderson 1951–1952 Don Coryell 1953–1954 Frank Gnup 1955–1972 Norm Thomas 1973 Frank Smith 1974–1994 Casey Smith 1995–1997 Dave Johnson 1998 Jay Prepchuk 1999–2001 Laurent DesLauriers 2002–2005 Ted Goveia 2006–2009 Shawn Olson 2010–2014 Blake Nill 2015–present
Awards and honours
National award winners Hec Crighton Trophy: Jordan Gagner (1987), Mark Nohra (1997), Billy Greene (2011) J. P. Metras Trophy: Tyson St. James (1999), Theo Benedet (2022, 2023) Presidents' Trophy: Mike Emery (1981, 1982), Mark Norman (1986) Peter Gorman Trophy: Glen Steele (1981) Russ Jackson Award: Nathan Beveridge (2004) Frank Tindall Trophy: Frank Smith (1978, 1987)
UBC Awards Michael O'Connor 2016 UBC Thunderbirds Male Athlete of the Year Co-winner 2016 du Vivier UBC Team of the Year Award
UBC Hall of Fame 2016 inductee: Jordan Gagner, Quarterback 2021 inductee: Akbal Singh
Thunderbirds in the CFL
As of the start of the 2026 CFL season, 13 Thunderbirds alumni were active in the Canadian Football League, having transitioned to professional football: Ryan Baker, Hamilton Tiger-Cats Luke Burton-Krahn, Edmonton Elks Gavin Coakes, Toronto Argonauts Skyler Griffith, Edmonton Elks Chase Henning, BC Lions Ben Hladik, BC Lions Bradley Hladik, Edmonton Elks Ronan Horrall, Hamilton Tiger-Cats Arvin Hosseini, Hamilton Tiger-Cats Stavros Katsantonis, Hamilton Tiger-Cats Isaiah Knight, Edmonton Elks Lake Korte-Moore, Saskatchewan Roughriders Benjamin Sangmuah, Edmonton Elks Dakoda Shepley, Toronto Argonauts
As of the end of the 2025 NFL season, two former UBC players are on NFL teams' rosters: Theo Benedet, Chicago Bears Giovanni Manu, Detroit Lions
References
External links