Students at the University of Alberta excel in sport as well as academics. The U of A has won national championships in a wider array of sports than any other Canadian university, the most recent being women’s wrestling in 2010-11.
U of A varsity teams compete in Canadian Interuniversity Sport. There are 13 women’s teams, known as the Pandas, and 12 men’s teams, called the Golden Bears. The university boasts the most national championships in major Canadian university athletics in the past 28 years and third all time with 60 national titles.
As well, 12 different coaches have won CIS Coach of the Year awards. Sports are a big part of student life beyond the varsity ranks, as thousands of students participate in intramural and recreational sports each year. In early 2011, the U of A saw 2,012 participants take place in the world’s largest dodge ball game that set a world record.
The U of A’s love of sport stretches to the classroom as well: the renowned Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation was the first university faculty of physical education in the Commonwealth when it was established in 1964.
The U of A has celebrated 1,973 Academic All-Canadians (student athletes who maintain an 80 per cent average or better) since CIS started keeping records in 1990–91. When compared to the U of A’s sporting excellence over that period, this mix of athletic and academic excellence is unequalled anywhere in Canada.
National Titles by Sport
| Sport |
Men |
Women |
Total |
| Basketball |
3 |
1 |
4 |
| Cross-Country |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| Field Hockey |
- |
1 |
1 |
| Football |
3 |
- |
3 |
| Hockey |
13 |
7 |
20 |
| Rugby |
- |
5 |
5 |
| Soccer |
4 |
3 |
7 |
| Track & Field |
1 |
1 |
2 |
| Volleyball |
6 |
7 |
13 |
| Wrestling |
3 |
1 |
4 |
| Total |
34
|
26 |
60 |