A familiar face has been named as the new head coach of the UBC Thunderbirds women's rugby program as Dean Murten takes over the role after serving as an assistant coach in the previous four seasons. Murten will step into the head coaching job previously held for the last five years by Maria Gallo who moves aside with the satisfaction of seeing her vision realized in pushing for the women's rugby head coaching job to be increased from a seasonal role to a full-time position for the first time. An exciting change for the program that would not have been made possible without the generous support from a long-time donor. Gallo, a 2018 inductee to Rugby Canada's Hall of Fame plans to remain involved with the program as an assistant coach due to time limitations surrounding her full-time job as a professor of Kinesiology at UBC.


 
Murten moves into the full-time role having just completed a successful four-and-a-half-year stint as the senior manager for Growth and Development for BC Rugby. Originally from England, Murten has every intention of bringing the program to new heights with help from his decorated background and rich history of playing and coaching the game on both sides of the pond.
 
"I am extremely proud and honoured to take over the UBC program," said Murten. "I thank everyone involved for trusting me with this amazing opportunity. Maria Gallo has put a lot of work into making this a great program and with those building blocks in place I want to make it a world-class program, the best university program in Canada. It's going to take time and a lot hard work from everyone involved and I'm confident my student-athletes and staff will put in the hard work that's required."


 
Murten was born in Holmirth, West Yorkshire, England and after completing 24 years in the British Army where he coached and played rugby, Murten decided to continue his journey in Canada. Murten moved to Lloydminster, Alberta in 2007 and quickly devoted his time to coaching both male and female rugby teams in the area. A move one province east to take a role as the technical director for Saskatchewan rugby pre-dated him landing in British Columbia in 2013 where he signed on as the director of rugby for the UBC Old Boys Ravens rugby club.
 
While fulfilling the above roles over the years, Murten has continued coaching at high levels that has included among other stops, significant time as head coach of Canada's under 17, 18 and 19 rugby programs.


 
Murten looks forward to preparations for the upcoming season beginning next month, with an open tryout camp on Monday, August 24 at 5:00 p.m. at the Gerald McGavin UBC Rugby Centre. The 2018-19 season kicks off with the Thunderbirds hosting the University of Victoria Vikes Sunday, September 9, at 1:00 p.m. at the Gerald McGavin UBC Rugby Centre.