Winnipeg Wesmen
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The Winnipeg Wesmen are the athletic teams that represent the University of Winnipeg in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. As an undergraduate school, the Wesmen participate in the sports of
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
,
volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...
, and
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
in both the men's and women's divisions of
U Sports U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body of university sport in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country. Its equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is the ...
. All home games are played at the Duckworth Centre, located on the university's downtown Winnipeg campus. The Wesmen also compete in men's
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
, and are a single-sport member of the
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...
(NAIA).


History of Wesmen Athletics

The University of Winnipeg's athletic program has its roots in the intercollegiate sports teams that were formed in 1889 among Winnipeg schools. In 1962, the first professional Athletics Director, Blue Bomber player
Ray Jauch Ray Jauch ( ; born February 11, 1938) is an American former gridiron football player and coach. He was head coach in the Canadian Football League (CFL), the United States Football League (USFL), and the Arena Football League. He won 127 regula ...
, was appointed by United College. In 1963, the new Riddell Hall gymnasium was opened. In 1966, the United College Student Council held a public competition to name its sports team. The name chosen was Wesmen, which combined "Wesley" and "Manitoba". The women's teams are the Wesmenettes or the Lady Wesmen. In 1967, after the University of Winnipeg was incorporated, the Wesmen began competing across Canada with other University teams across Canada as a member of two sports governing bodies: the Western Intercollegiate Athletic Association and the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union. The main sports included were basketball, volleyball, and hockey (although hockey was not continued after 1984). The Wesmen also hosted tournaments, including the Wesmen Classic, which was previously known as the Golden Boy Classic (1967-1976). In 1984, the Athletics Centre was opened at the University of Winnipeg. In 1992, the building was renamed as the Duckworth Centre in honour of Henry Duckworth, a past University President. In 2008, the Bill Wedlake Fitness Centre was added to the building. Most recently, th
Axworthy Health and RecPlex
an adjoining fieldhouse for soccer and sports education, was built. The Athletic Directors have been: Ray Jauch, from 1962 to 1964; Edward Vidruk, from 1964 to 1966; David Anderson, from 1966-1984; Glen Conly, 1973 (he covered David Anderson during a leave of absence); Aubrey Ferris, from 1984 to 2000; Bill Wedlake, from 2000 to 2008; Doran Reid, from 2009-2015; and Dave Crook, from 2015 to the present.


U Sports Championships

Volleyball has always been a popular sport in Manitoba and the University of Winnipeg Wesmen and
University of Manitoba Bisons The Manitoba Bisons are the athletic teams that represent the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The football team plays their games at Investors Group Field. The soccer team play their home games at the University of Manitoba ...
have frequently battled for the U Sports title. The Wesmen women hold the record with 7 national titles and were the first to win 6 consecutive titles between 1983 and 1988, this was a feat that was only later repeated once by the University of Alberta Pandas. In recent years the men's volleyball side won the CIS championships for the 2006-07 season, defeating the
University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a Public university, public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexande ...
3 sets to 2, the following year in a rematch of the same final the Wesmen lost 3 sets to 1 finishing runner-up to Alberta this time. In women's basketball the ladies made it to the national final against Simon Fraser in 2004-05 losing the final 60-50. The year before in the bronze medal match between the same two schools the Wesmen ladies won 65-62. In the mid 90s, Lady Westmen basketball was a national powerhouse. The team would go on to a 118-1 record in the span from 1992-1995, including 3 CIS national basketball championships and beating several NCAA Women's Division I programs in North American tournaments.


Awards and honors


Canada West Hall of Fame

*Wesmen Women's Basketball Team (1992–95): Canada West Hall of Fame - 2020 Inductee


References


External links

* {{U Sports volleyball University of Winnipeg U Sports teams Sports teams in Winnipeg Baseball teams in Winnipeg