Pat Tracey enters his 31st season patrolling the sidelines, and his third as the defensive coordinator with the UBC football program. He was a defensive assistant on the 2015 Vanier Cup championship squad.
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The Thunderbirds have reached the Hardy Cup Canada West championship game in every season Tracey has been on the coaching staff. In 2017, UBC had the stingiest defence in all of the Canada West, ranking first in seven categories while surrendering just 172 points in eight contests. The T-Birds were the only squad in the league to allow fewer than 200 points during the regular season.
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Prior to UBC, Tracey was the special teams coordinator with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL and spent over a decade with Queen’s (OUA), where he served as defensive coordinator, special teams coach, and recruiting coordinator. His work was instrumental in leading Queen’s to the 2009 Vanier Cup championship. His defensive units have been ranked No. 1 multiple times including 2011, when the Gaels defence did not concede a single rushing touchdown in the regular season. Tracey’s overall defensive record includes top career rankings with 135 career wins (3rd), 14 career shutouts (2nd), 94 conference All-Stars (1st), 33 All-Canadians (1st), 30 (2nd) CFL draft picks, including the 2010 first overall pick Shomari Williams, and has had 10 conference award winners (3rd) including 2017 Canada West Defensive Player of the Year free safety Stavros Katsantonis.
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He has coached at the annual East-West Bowl game, serving as a defensive coordinator, and a special teams coordinator. He was defensive coordinator for Team Ontario-East at the Football Canada Cup and the special teams coach for Canada winning the gold medal at the 2007 Global Football Championships in Miami, Florida. He also served as special teams and defensive backs coach for Canada winning the silver medal at the 2011 IFAF Sr. World Football Championships in Vienna, Austria.
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Prior to joining Queen’s, Tracey coached with the Guelph Gryphons (OUA) from 1987-97 and 1999, as both the defensive coordinator, and special teams coordinator. He coached in three Yates Cup finals with the Gryphons, winning two. Tracey spent the 1998 season on a leave of absence from Guelph, and joined the Hamilton Tiger-Cats as Special Teams Coach (Eastern Conference Champions and Grey Cup finalist).
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Tracey started at defensive back from 1982 through 1986 with the Guelph Gryphons, winning the Vanier Cup in 1984. Accolades include: School record for most games played in a career (51), longest fumble return (63), ranks second in games started (49), team captain, most improved player, and was named to 1980s team of the decade at corner back, the Gryphons top 100 top players ranking and the Wall of Honour. He was inducted into the Quinte West Sports Hall of Fame in the builder category in 2016.
Pat, his wife Denise, daughters Devon, Darby, and dog Vanier live in Ladner.
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