Brian Dobie (born February 16, 1953) is a Canadian former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach who was the

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 Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

's football team, the

Manitoba Bisons The Manitoba Bisons are the athletic teams that represent the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The football team plays at Princess Auto Stadium, the soccer team plays at the outdoor soccer field on campus, track and field te ...

for 29 years. He led the Bisons to two

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 ...

appearances including a championship victory in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

. He has won five

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 ...

Coach of the Year awards and was also named CIAU

Coach of the Year Many sports leagues, sportswriting associations, and other organizations confer "Coach of the Year" awards. In some sports — including baseball and association football — the award is called the "Manager of the Year" award. Some of the ...

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 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 ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

where he played for the Bisons.

Early life

Dobie was born in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

and was adopted shortly after. After his parents separated, he moved with his mother to her home province of

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

where they lived in several small towns. They then moved to

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

when Dobie was in grade 9 where they eventually settled and he attended high school.

Coaching career

Dobie became head coach for the

Manitoba Bisons football The Manitoba Bisons football team represents the University of Manitoba in the sport of Canadian football in U Sports. The program was the first of four U Sports football teams to have won back-to-back Vanier Cup championships, having won in 1969 ...

team in 1996 after serving as head coach for Churchill High School in Winnipeg for 21 years. After taking over a team that had finished 0–8 in 1995, Dobie led the Bisons to a first place finish and

Hardy Cup The Hardy Trophy is a Canadian sport trophy, presented annually to the winner of the Canada West Universities Athletic Association Football Conference of U Sports, the country's governing body for university athletics. It is named for Evan Hardy, ...

appearance in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

. In

, the Bisons again finished in first place in Canada West, but won the Hardy Cup for the first time since 1973. The team also appeared in the

game for the first time since

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

, but lost the 37th Vanier Cup to the

Saint Mary's Huskies The Saint Mary's Huskies are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Their primary home turf is Huskies Stadium, located in the centre of the university's campus. In Septemb ...

. In

, Dobie led the Bisons to an undefeated regular season and another first place finish. He won his second Hardy Cup after defeating the

Regina Rams The Regina Rams represent the University of Regina, located in Regina, Saskatchewan, in the sport of Canadian football in U Sports. The Rams joined U Sports in 1999 and have competed in the Canada West Conference since then. The program has wo ...

and after a

Mitchell Bowl The Mitchell Bowl is one of the two semifinal bowls of U Sports football, Canada's national competition for university teams that play Canadian football. It is held in the more westerly location of the two semifinal venues. The winner of this g ...

victory over the

Western Mustangs The Western Mustangs are the athletic teams that represent University of Western Ontario, Western University in London, Ontario, Canada. The school's athletic program supports 46 Varsity team, varsity teams. Their mascot is a Mustang named J.W. a ...

, the Bisons appeared in the

43rd Vanier Cup The 43rd Vanier Cup was played on November 23, 2007, at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, and decided the CIS Football champion for the 2007 season. The Manitoba Bisons completed a perfect season by defeating the Saint Mary's Huskies by a score o ...

. In a rematch with the Saint Mary's Huskies, Dobie led the Bisons to a 28–14 victory and he won his first national championship. After missing the playoffs in the four seasons following their championship win, the Bisons returned to the playoffs in

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 ...

and lost the Hardy Cup game in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

. With a 4–4 record 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 ...

, Dobie and the Bisons upset the

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 ...

27–15 in the Hardy Cup game and he won his third conference championship. The Bisons qualified for the Hardy Cup game in

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, but the team lost to the

Saskatchewan Huskies The Saskatchewan Huskies are the athletics teams representing the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The university began their athletics program in 1907 and has competed with others since 1911. They currently compete in eli ...

. On August 12, 2024, Dobie announced that the 2024 season would be his last as head coach of the Bisons. He led the Bisons to a first place finish in the regular season with a 7–1 record, but the team was upset in the

game by the

Legacy

Dobie has the most wins in Bisons football history with a record of 114–106–1 as of 2024. Including a post-season record of 14–16, his 128 wins are the 12th-most wins in

U Sports U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body for universities in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country and four regional conferences: Ontario University Athletics (OUA), Résea ...

history and the fourth most in Canada West. He coached

Israel Idonije Israel Idonije (born November 17, 1980) is a Nigerian-Canadian former professional football defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) and actor. Idonije played CIS football at the University of Manitoba. A draft pick of the now defun ...

and

David Onyemata David Onyemata (born November 13, 1992) is a Nigerian professional American football nose tackle for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Manitoba Bisons. Early life Onyemata is a native ...

, who both played in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

, and has coached 64 student-athletes who were drafted by

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 ...

teams. Under Dobie, Reina Ilzuka became the first female player in Bisons history and Maya Turner became the first female player to score points in a regular season game in U Sports football history. Dobie has also been a part-time commentator for

and

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

football coverage on TSN.

Head coaching record

All seasons recorded by Canada West.

Personal life

Dobie resides in Winnipeg with his wife, Jackie, and they have a daughter, Caleigh.

References

External links

Manitoba Bisons bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dobie, Brian 1953 births Living people Manitoba Bisons football players Players of Canadian football from Manitoba Canadian football people from Winnipeg Manitoba Bisons football coaches