VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds are rekindling their tradition of hosting an early season exhibition game against NCAA competition this coming fall. UBC welcomes the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers to War Memorial Gym for an exhibition tilt September 2 at 7:00 p.m.
Last season the T-Birds traveled south for a pair of contests against Oklahoma and Oral Roberts in November after historically hosting NCAA schools around the Labour Day weekend.
In 2008, UBC was 2-1 versus NCAA competition at home picking up wins over Cal State Fullerton and San Francisco State while dropping a decision to Tulsa.
The Gophers have made back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances under head coach Tubby Smith, who won a national title with Kentucky in 1998 and an Olympic gold medal in 2000. This past year, after a 21-14 regular season in the Big Ten, Minnesota lost in the first round versus Xavier.
Minnesota's lineup features notable Canadian talent on the roster with Devoe Joseph, of Pickering, Ont., and Maurice Walker, of Scarborough, Ont. Both alumni of Canada's junior national team, Joseph will enter his junior year with the Gophers, while Walker was one of Minnesota's prized off-season recruits.
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