Abbotsford - Coming off a national university championship appearance last spring, the UBC Thunderbirds kick off their 2003-04 season against the UCFV Cascades Sat., Oct. 11, in what promises to be a most entertaining preseason tilt in the Fraser Valley.

The game tips off at 7 p.m. at Columbia Place on the campus of Columbia Bible College with admission set at only $5 (children 6 and under are free).

The T-birds feature a pair of UCFV grads in Peter Wauthy (Abbotsford Sr. Secondary) and Pat McKay (St. John Brebeuf), who played for the Cascades last season. They'll be seeking revenge after the Alumni team dropped a 5-point decision to the Cascades in the recent UCFV Homecoming Alumni game.

While this game would normally be a relatively meaningless early preseason contest for both teams, the outcome bears greater importance this time around for the UCFV Athletics program. The Cascades are planning to apply for membership into Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) later this year and strong performances against CIS competition, such as the T-birds, certainly lends credibility to UCFV's assertion that the Cascades are capable of participating at the university level.

The UCFV Cascades won Canadian College men's basketball national championships in 2000 and 2002. According to head coach Pat Lee, this year's squad could be even better than either of those national championship teams. A strong result against UBC could provide an early indication of whether coach Lee's prediction is on the mark.

For more information, contact:

Mark B. Kosak, 
Director of Athletics
604-854-4583 604-850-2812
mark.kosak@ucfv.ca

Pat Lee, Head Coach
604-850-2812