1) It's Here…

The CIS Men's Basketball Final 8 Championships is being held at UBC for the first time since 1972.  The last time it was even in Western Canada was 1982 in Victoria. 1972 was the last time the UBC men's basketball team won a national championship, on their home court of War Memorial Gym. To put that in perspective, in 1972 current UBC Head Coach Kevin Hanson was just eight years old.

2) It's Historic… 

For the tournament not to be in Halifax. We are not taking anything away from Halifax. It's a beautiful city. The W.P. McGee trophy, awarded to the best men's university basketball team in the land has been handed out in Halifax 26 of the last 32 years. It's our chance to show Canada how the West Coast rolls.
 

3) So you can cheer UBC to victory…

Since we are offering the visiting teams a four-day stay in beautiful Vancouver, we think it's only right they leave the W.P. McGee trophy out here for a while. How sweet would it be for UBC to win a championship on home court? Check out this video of our women's soccer team hoisting a trophy right here at UBC….


 

4) Kelly Olynyk says you should…

Kelly Olynyk is 7 feet tall, plays in the NBA and grew up playing b-ball in beautiful British Columbia. Olynyk is the official ambassador for the CIS Men's Final 8 Basketball Championships. He grew up watching CIS basketball and thinks you should come to the Doug Mitchell Thunderbirds Sports Centre and watch some great action. Don't argue with a 7-foot tall NBA player. 


 

5) It's good cheap fun… 

You can watch a single game at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre for ten bucks. You can get a pass for the whole tournament for sixty bucks. Ten bucks is less than you spend on coffee in a day. You can get four days of slam-dunking, rim-rattling entertainment for sixty bucks?!! C'mon man!


 

6) It's the Canadian thing to do…

Did you know a Canadian invented basketball?  In 1891 a gym teacher, Dr. James Naismith, orchestrated the first game of basketball by fastening two peach baskets to the wall on either ends of a gym. Well over 100 years later basketball is played all over the world by millions of men, women, girls and boys and watched by millions more. Be proud of our heritage; watch the best Canadian university basketball players right here at UBC. 
 

7) To see basketball played at an elite level in BC again … 

It was a chilly, spring day in 2001 when the Vancouver Grizzlies announced they were leaving the Pacific Northwest to relocate in Memphis, Tennessee. This dark day in BC's basketball history left NBA fans in the region feeling disheartened and disillusioned. Now is your chance to show the NBA they made a terrible mistake. Let's fill the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre and show what a great basketball city Vancouver is, and how much BC loves its hoops.  


 

8) Because Canadian student athletes are exceptional people…

Between studying, classes, practice, work-outs, games, eating and sleeping the average student athlete at a Canadian university will have approximately 7.3 seconds left in their day for other activities. They do exceptional things on the playing surface, in the classroom, and in the real world. They love to perform in the big moments and have dreamt of playing for championships all their lives. Make their dreams come true. Come out and cheer LOUDLY!!!!

Buy tickets now

Get your tournament packages and single tickets now, as the national championship is set to take place from March 17-20 at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre. UBC will be playing in a quarter-final game at 8 p.m. Get your tickets now.