Blake Nill (born February 16, 1962) is a former

Canadian football Canadian football, or simply football, is a Sports in Canada, sport in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete on a field long and wide, attempting to advance a Ball (gridiron football), pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposi ...

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

and the current

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

for the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

's football team, the

UBC Thunderbirds The UBC Thunderbirds are the athletic teams that represent the University of British Columbia. In Canadian intercollegiate competition, the Thunderbirds are the most successful athletic program both regionally in the Canada West Universities Athl ...

. He is a three-time

Vanier Cup The Vanier Cup () is the trophy awarded annually to the champion Canadian football team in U Sports, the governing body for university sports in Canada. The U Sports football champion is determined in a one-game playoff (the Vanier Cup game), pl ...

champion as a

and was awarded the Frank Tindall Trophy in 1999.

University career

Nill played CIAU football for the Calgary Dinosaurs as a

from 1980 to 1982.

Professional career

Nill was drafted in the third round, 19th overall, in the 1983 CFL Draft by the

Montreal Concordes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

. He was originally drafted as a

, but converted to the

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

in his rookie year. He played in 44 regular season games with the Concordes/Alouettes franchise. He also spent time with the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

and

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

, but did not play in any regular season games for those teams.

Coaching career

St. Francis Xavier X-Men

While completing his

Master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

of Education at

St. Francis Xavier University St. Francis Xavier University is a public undergraduate liberal arts university located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a member of the Maple League, a group of primarily undergraduate universities in Eastern Canada. History St. Fran ...

, Nill first began coaching for the

St. Francis Xavier X-Men The St. Francis Xavier X-Men and X-Women are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. Their primary home turf is Oland Stadium located at the University's campus. Hist ...

as the team's

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...

in 1992. He coached for the X-Men for six seasons, highlighted by an appearance in the

32nd Vanier Cup The 32nd Vanier Cup was played on November 30, 1996, at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, and determined the CIAU football champion for the 1996 season. The Saskatchewan Huskies claimed their second championship, defeating the St. Francis Xavier X ...

game in 1996.

Saint Mary's Huskies

Nill was named the head coach for the

Saint Mary's Huskies football The Saint Mary's Huskies football team represents Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia in the sport of Canadian football in U Sports. The Huskies have been the most successful in the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) conference of U Sp ...

team beginning with the 1998 season. In his second season, he led the Huskies to a first place finish in the

Atlantic University Sport Atlantic University Sport (AUS; ) is a regional membership association for universities in Atlantic Canada which assists in co-ordinating competition between their university level athletic programs and providing contact information, schedules, re ...

(AUS) conference and an appearance in the

35th Vanier Cup The 35th Vanier Cup was played on November 27, 1999, at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, and decided the CIAU football champion for the 1999 season. The Laval Rouge et Or won the first championship in school history by defeating the Saint Mary's ...

. He also won the Frank Tindall Trophy as the CIAU Coach of the Year in 1999. In

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, he led the team to an undefeated season, punctuated by the Huskies' victory in the 37th Vanier Cup game. He won his second championship as a head coach in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

as the Huskies became the third football program to win back-to-back championships following the 38th Vanier Cup victory. His team made a fourth appearance in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, but lost to the

Laval Rouge et Or The Laval Rouge et Or (; , ''Red and Gold'') are the athletic teams that represent Université Laval, located in Quebec City, Quebec. Home games are all held in the PEPS indoor and outdoor sports facilities. Varsity teams Laval Rouge et Or team ...

. He left Saint Mary's following the 2005 season, where he posted a 49–15 regular season record with the Huskies program.

Calgary Dinos

On February 23, 2006, Nill was named head coach of his alma mater,

Calgary Dinos The Calgary Dinos are the athletic teams that represent the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. They were known as the "Dinosaurs" but usually referred to as the "Dinos" until 1999, when the name was officially shortened. Some of its venues ...

. At the time, he took over a program that had not won a playoff game in ten years. In his third season, in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, he led the Dinos to not only their first playoff win in 1996, but also their first Hardy Cup championship since 1995. This began a period of

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report ...

dominance as the Dinos won six consecutive conference championships from 2008 to 2013. However, the team could not replicate the success on the national stage as the Dinos appeared in three Vanier Cups with Nill as head coach, but lost all three times, in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, and

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

UBC Thunderbirds

On December 9, 2014, Nill was named head coach of the

. In his first year as head coach, in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, he defeated his former team, the Dinos, in the Hardy Cup, and then won his third Vanier Cup in the

51st Vanier Cup The 2015 Vanier Cup, the 51st edition of the Canadian university football championship, took place on Saturday, November 28, 2015 at Telus Stadium in Quebec City, Quebec. It was the fourth time that the city of Quebec has hosted the Vanier Cup. ...

victory over the

Montreal Carabins The Montréal Carabins () are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent the Université de Montréal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Teams play at the CEPSUM Stadium and at Winter Stadium (Montreal), l'aréna du CEPSUM, located at the Uni ...

. In

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, the Thunderbirds finished in first place in Canada West for the first time since 1999 and won their first Hardy Cup since Nill's first season with the team. The Thunderbirds appeared in the 58th Vanier Cup, but lost to the Carabins.

References

External links

UBC Thunderbirds profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nill, Blake 1962 births Living people Calgary Dinos football players Montreal Concordes players Canadian football defensive linemen People from Hanna, Alberta Players of Canadian football from Alberta St. Francis Xavier X-Men football coaches Saint Mary's Huskies football coaches Calgary Dinos football coaches UBC Thunderbirds football coaches