The University of Northern British Columbia basketball teams will begin their eighth season of varsity action on Friday, with home games against Columbia Bible College. This is the last season that the Timberwolves will play their home games at the College of New Caledonia; the new Charles Jago Northern Sport Centre will be open on campus next fall.

The men’s team is anchored by 4th-year player Jay Gladish of Chilliwack, last year’s top scorer in the entire BC Colleges’ Athletic Association. Last year, Gladish averaged 20 point per game, more than a point per game higher than his closest competitor.

Gladish is the latest in a series of UNBC student-athletes who have been recognized provincially and nationally. Despite its youth, UNBC Athletics has already produced six Academic All-Canadians, four Athletic All-Canadians, and 15 BCCAA All-Stars. The Timberwolves Athletic Association has recently been formed to strengthen the link between Athletics and the community, in anticipation of the opening of the Northern Sport Centre.

“Walking onto the construction site, I was surprised by how big and impressive the new Sport Centre is already,” says the 22-year old Gladish, who is enrolled in the Commerce degree at UNBC. “But we have to stay focused on this year first. For us, it’s more important to have a successful team; the new building is just the icing on the cake.”

“It will be a huge boost for our Athletics program when the new Sport Centre opens next year,” says women’s basketball coach Loralyn Murdoch. “The promise of that new facility is already helping our recruitment and retention efforts. We already have the best home-game attendance of any team in our league; next year will be unbelievable.”

The Charles Jago Northern Sport Centre will house a three-court gym with seating for 2000, two indoor fields, an elevated 280m track, and offices for high-performance coaches. It will be the premier sport training facility in northern BC, serving as the home base for the provincial biathlon and cross-country skiing teams. The Government of BC has contributed $20.5 million of the facility’s $30.75 million cost, with UNBC and the City of Prince George splitting the remainder.

For the schedule of basketball games and information about team members, see www.unbc.ca/athletics.

Contact:
Rob van Adrichem, Director of Media and Public Relations, UNBC - 250.960.5622 

Click on an image of Jay Gladish below to download the high-resolution version.