Vancouver – The UBC Sports Hall of Fame will add a trio of distinguished individual inductees, a record-setting Thunderbirds team, and program-defining coach to its wings with the honoured class of 2022. This year's class was unveiled at Thursday evening's Big Block Awards Show and includes Art Willoughby, Betty Baxter, Mark Nohra, the 2002-03 women's soccer team and Deb Huband. The group is the latest addition to the remarkable collection of UBC alumni who collectively represent Canada's most decorated varsity athletics program.

This year marks the 30^th year of inductions into the Hall, which celebrated its inaugural inductees in 1993. For over two decades, the esteemed classes have been revealed in conjunction with the Big Block Club induction ceremonies.

As with previous classes, there was no shortage of nominees to choose from. The selection committee was once again tasked with choosing from a substantial pool of accomplished alumni thanks to the sustained success of UBC Athletics.

This year's inductees have all made an indelible mark on the UBC community and will now join the ranks of the prestigious UBC Sports Hall of Fame. With the event returning to an in-person format this spring, the 2022 class was announced in front of a live audience for the first time in over three years. The formal induction will take place this September during UBC Homecoming.

We are incredibly proud of all of our alumni and those who have helped build our programs. Please join us in celebrating the UBC Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022.
 
 
TEAMS

2002-03 Women's Soccer



The UBC Thunderbirds Women's Soccer team has a rich history of storied success, much of it due to the incredible teams led by late legendary hall of fame coach, Dick Mosher. The 2002 and 2003 teams saw tremendous success capturing back-to-back national championships.

The 2002 team saw the Thunderbirds finish the season at 12-1, winning Canada West gold and later winning the CIS National Championships, capturing the national trophy with a thrilling overtime goal against Alberta in the final match. 

Sarah Regan was named the tournament MVP and was selected to the tournament all-star team along with 3 other thunderbirds: Rosalyn Hicks, Lianne McHardy and Kristine Jack. 

The Thunderbirds came ready to defend their championship in 2003, where they closed out the regular season on a 16-game undefeated streak (15-0-1), again claiming Canada West Gold. At the CIS Championships,  the T-Birds defeated Cape Breton 4-nil and Laval 5-1 in pool play before outscoring Ottawa 5-nil in their final match to set an all-time CIS record for goals scored in a championship with 14 and a new mark for goal differential at plus 13.  The five-goal margin in the final was the second widest in CIS history. 



Rosalyn Hicks amassed 6 goals and four assists in that final tournament, and was joined on the tournament all-star team by fellow graduating all-Canadian Sarah Regan, goalkeeper Kelly McNabney and defender Candace Lovestad.

UBC became the first school in CIS history to win four women's soccer titles and the second to win back-to-back national championships.
 

COACH

Deb Huband



British Columbia has been fortunate to have Deb Huband on the west coast since the 1980s. Originally from Ontario, Deb moved to BC to complete her Masters of Science, Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology at UBC. 

Because of her basketball background and strong character, Huband soon took the reins as head coach of the UBC Thunderbirds women's basketball team. Following her three seasons as assistant coach at UBC she embarked upon a Thunderbirds' record 26 seasons as women's basketball head coach, the most of any female coach – of any sport - in UBC history. 

Deb's teams won three U SPORTS national championships and her 2007/08 Thunderbird team won a total of 35 games which set a UBC record. Through her exceptionally successful coaching career, Huband established a new Canada West record for career coaching victories in women's basketball . 



Stellar in recruiting and mentoring, Deb also helped coach multiple Canadian national teams. She guided Canada to a silver medal at the 1999 Pan Am Games and was the head coach of Canada's World University Games team in 2001. Huband also served as Canada's assistant coach at the 2000 Olympics. As a player, she was a perennial All-Canadian, the captain of Canada's 1984 Olympic Team, and at the World Championships in 1979 and 1986 where they won bronze medals. 

Deb has received many accolades throughout her coaching career up to her retirement in 2021 - including 2003/04 U SPORTS Coach of the Year, 2008 Basketball BC University Coach of the Year and the Basketball BC Coaching Award of Excellence in 2011/12. A member of the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame since 1994, Huband was inducted into the BC Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017, and was welcomed into the BC Football Hall of Fame in 2019 as a member of Vancouver's Touch Football Team that won six consecutive national championships. 

Deb is looked up to and respected by all she is affiliated with: her players, UBC staff and alumni as well as the basketball community across the nation.
 

ATHLETES

Mark Nohra – BA 2004, JD 2009



The Thunderbirds Men's football team's run to the 1997 Vanier Cup championship win can be directly linked with UBC superstar, Mark Nohra. Nohra was a dynamic running back and full back for the Thunderbirds before getting drafted to the CFL and turning pro. 

Nohra arrived on campus in 1993 where he made an immediate impact. He led UBC in rushing in both 93 and 94 while leading the 'Birds in touchdowns in his sophomore season. In 1996, he was voted Team MVP and was named a Canada west all star and All Canadian. Nohra's final season at UBC is one of the greatest campaigns in Thunderbird history. In 1997, he was selected as a Canada West all star, an All-Canadian, and was awarded the Hec Crighton Trophy as the country's most outstanding football player in all of U SPORTS. Nohra made school history in becoming the first Thunderbird to win both the Vanier Cup and Hec Crighton Trophy in the same season. He also set 3 UBC season rushing records and was awarded the Bobby Gaul Award as the school's top male athlete. 



After graduating from UBC, Nohra continued his football career professionally.  After spending training camp with the NFL's Buffalo Bills, Nohra turned his attention to the CFL where he spent 8 seasons with three different franchises. From 1998 to 2006, he ran for over 2,000 yards and scored 10 rushing touchdowns during his career with BC, Edmonton, and Ottawa. He also caught 58 passes for 573 yards and 2 receiving touchdowns.

After his professional career, Mark returned to the Thunderbirds as a running backs coach for 4 years and is now a successful Trial Lawyer in Vancouver.

 
Art Willoughby



Art Willoughby grew up in Vancouver's west end with his friend Jimmy Bardsley. They were known as 'The Gold Dust Twins' and would later become an athletic force at both King George High School and UBC. 

Willoughby joined Bardsley on the varsity basketball team in 1933 and together with two other rookies, Hunk Henderson and George Pringle, they would ultimately turn UBC into a hardcourt powerhouse. 

Dubbed "The new find in BC Basketball" during his rookie campaign, Willoughy capped his freshman campaign by taking over as the team's top scorer in the playoffs. 
The fall of 1934 saw Willoughby make the varsity Football team before contributing greatly to another stellar season for the basketball team. With UBC advancing to the 1935 BC Finals, Willoughby was the league's leading scorer through the playoffs and was acknowledged as one of UBC's top playmakers. Willoughby would also go on to play for the Thunderbird Rugby team dubbed "Wonderbirds" as it was one of the best in UBC's history. 



Following graduation, he continued to play on city teams until 1940, featuring on three Canadian Championship teams and three provincial championship teams. In August of 1941, he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force and was involved in a crash in 1942 while training in Manitoba prior to heading to Europe to fight in World War II. 
The Province headline read: "One of the City's finest athletes, Art Willoughby, dies in crash". The Vancouver Sun reported: "The Greatest Two-Man Hoop Team Canada has ever seen, 'The Gold Dust Twins', was broken up yesterday when Officer Willoughby was killed in a flying accident..." 

Today, at King George Highschool, Art's legacy continues as the Art Willoughby Memorial trophy is presented to both the Male and Female Athletes of the Year.
 

Betty Baxter - B. Ed '75



The 1970s could be considered UBC's first "era of Women's volleyball champions". From the many top UBC players during this decade, Betty Baxter proved to be one of the most celebrated. While at UBC, this native of Alberta captained UBC to back-to-back National University Championships in 1972/73 and 73/74, providing strong offense and key blocks for her teammates and her coach Marilyn Pomfret.   

Baxter also had an impressive international record. When she started at UBC in '72 she was already a member of Canada's national volleyball team, a select group she would play and tour for the remainder of the decade. She also represented her country at the World University Games in 1973.

Baxter was the only player from UBC on the 73/74 Canadian national team that was ranked the eleventh best in the world. Her playing career was also highlighted by competing at the Montreal Olympics in 1976 as the captain of Canada's volleyball squad. 



After playing two memorable years of varsity volleyball, Baxter graduated from UBC's Faculty of Physical Education in 1975. She continued to play for Canada until 1978 and was honoured as a tournament all-star in her final appearance for Canada at the '78 World Championships. Shortly thereafter, Baxter turned to coaching, both domestically and internationally. She was named U SPORTS Coach of the Year after guiding the University of Ottawa to a silver medal in 1979/80 and oversaw the Canadian national team from 1979-1982.

Baxter has also been a difference maker in many other communities. She has served as a school trustee and entered politics as a federal election candidate. Notably, she has been involved in Civic Leadership focusing on ethics and advocating for equality of gender and sexual orientation.





The UBC Hall of Fame, located in the main foyer of Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre, features some of the university's most respected sports figures and moments. It highlights UBC's decorated history through photographs and memorabilia. Nominations for the 2023 class are now open until October 2022. Please contact athl.alumni@ubc.ca for more details.