UBC T-Birds beat Huskies before record crowd
It’s not often that a university president is spotted crowd-surfing, but then again, it’s not often a UBC football crowd is as big as Saturday’s turned out to be.
The 9,542 fans who turned up at Thunderbird Stadium for UBC’s 31-10 win over the visiting Saskatchewan Huskies is a record-setter.
In the long history of varsity football on the Point Grey campus, there’s never been a bigger crowd for Canada West conference action.
It’s also the third-largest crowd in conference history, behind an Alberta-Manitoba tilt in 2013 in Winnipeg (10,199) and a Saskatchewan-Regina game last year at the new Mosaic Stadium in Regina (16,500).
UBC president Santa Ono called Saturday’s Homecoming Game “electrifying,” both on the field and off. “I think (UBC football) is the best kept secret in B.C., probably even in Vancouver.”
At one point, he found himself surfing the crowd. “I’ve done it exactly twice,” he said.
And having such a big crowd filled him with pride.
“Actually all sporting events have been going up quite significantly the past couple years,” he said. Football crowds have increased by 30 per cent over each of the past two seasons, he added. “That’s a pretty remarkable step up. It’s pretty exciting.”
Winning plays a big factor, but the work put in by the campus’s student leadership has been just as crucial.
“More than 20 different groups were involved,” UBC Athletics spokesman Len Catling said.
“The AMS (the student union) were very helpful.”
The T-Birds were up by a field goal at the break before shutting down the seventh-ranked Huskies in the second half. Saskatchewan scored only three points after halftime, while the T-Birds scored three majors.
UBC quarterback Michael O’Connor passed for 431 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
Third-year receiver Trivel Pinto compiled 242 all purpose yards, including a 60-yard catch-and-run, and his first TD of the season.
Head coach Blake Nill praised his team’s defence post-game.
“That’s a young crew out there, we had four 18-year-olds on the field most of the time but they’re athletes, and they’re rising to the occasion.”
A strong athletic program is a good thing for the university, Ono said.
“It contributes to the sense of community and pride in the institution,” he said. “What’s gratifying is the top athletes that we have are being supported by their fellow students.
“We should support with the same vigour we do our academics. We should be proud of them.”
Ono added: “UBC is the most decorated athletic program in the nation. If you look at the number of Olympic medals, we have the best rugby team in North America. Our football team? We are the standard.”