VANCOUVER – Two integral members of the UBC baseball program are being inducted into the Okotoks Dawgs Hall of Fame this weekend.
 
Former Thunderbirds head coach and current director of baseball Terry McKaig along with major program donor Michael Rose are both being honoured at the Dawgs' 12th annual awards dinner and fundraiser Saturday, Feburary 2.
 
"The Okotoks Dawgs program has always been synonymous with excellence," said McKaig who has overseen more than 20 major league draft picks advance from the Thunderbirds program, several of them Dawgs alumni. "What (Dawgs managing director) John Ircandia has built was a template I just tried to replicate at UBC. It's a little different being a university varsity team but the same principles apply with world class facilities and coaches. From there, both our brands have exploded."
 

Following a tremendous 18-year stint as head coach at UBC, McKaig assumed the newly created director of baseball role in 2015 where the Vernon, B.C. native oversaw the construction of the Thunderbirds' multi-million dollar complex. Thanks to Rose's significant donation, the facility includes the newly named Rose Indoor Training Centre as well as the Tourmaline West Stadium which officially opened in the spring of 2018.

"Going into the Hall of Fame in 2019 holds extra meaning to me as I go in alongside Mike Rose," added McKaig. "Mike was the sole donor for the Rose Indoor Training Centre and also the lead donor in the construction of Tourmaline West Stadium. The UBC baseball program owes a great deal of gratitude to Mike for his incredible support of our program. Our baseball complex now puts UBC baseball on the college baseball map in North America."



In addition to his generous donations at UBC, Rose has made significant contributions to the Dawgs program which led to the creation of Tourmaline Stadium in Okotoks.

The Rose family has become synonymous with both the Dawgs and Thunderbirds with three of Michael's sons playing for Okotoks, including Brendan who went on to compete for UBC while earning a degree in applied science, graduating in 2017.