In September 2013, the University of Manitoba Bisons football team played their first ever home game in the newly built Investors Group Field (IGF). The field has a capacity of 33,422, but the Bisons saw only 6,435 fans come out to support the herd. Unfortunately, that number is the most that Manitoba has ever had come out to watch a Bison game at IGF.
September 14, 2014 is a day Amir Ali won’t soon forget. Ali, a University of Manitoba Bisons men’s basketball player, was doing a normal transition drill in practice. “I was just attacking the rim, same move I’ve done a million times,” he said.
The University of Manitoba Bisons football team headed into Friday night’s game against Alberta desperate for a win after two disappointing losses against UBC and Calgary. After trailing by nine at halftime, the Bisons would complete a second half comeback, winning 42-32.
The University of Manitoba Bisons women’s soccer team is certainly developing a good way of responding to deficits. Following a tough loss to the Calgary Dinos on Saturday, the Bisons hammered the Lethbridge Pronghorns 3-0 on Sunday.
The air is getting colder and the days are getting shorter, signalling the beginning of hockey season. The Bisons men’s hockey team have already started training camp, and there is plenty to look forward to this year. Manitoba announced eight new recruits for the 2015-16 Canada West season.
This past Saturday, the Manitoba Bisons football team fell three points short in a 51-48 loss to the high-flying University of British Columbia (UBC) Thunderbirds, in a game where the herd was primarily playing catch-up.
University of Manitoba midfielder Amanda Wong is only in her second year, yet her astounding ability to control soccer matches has spectators and the Bisons taking notice.
When the Manitoba Bisons women’s soccer team is hit, they hit back even harder. That has been the theme for Vanessa Martinez-Lagunas’s team so far this season, highlighted by a comeback draw 1-1 in their premiere weekend and coming back twice in a 3-2 loss to Saskatchewan last week. In their western trip this weekend, the Bisons exploited their ability to respond to deficits, rescuing a point for a draw at MacEwan while stealing victory against Mount Royal.
At the start of the 2015 CIS football season, it appeared that the Saskatchewan Huskies boasted the most diverse backfield, with Tyler Chow, Jarvis James, and Shane Buchanan. Three games into the current campaign, however, it’s become evident that the Manitoba Bisons have earned that distinction.
For the third consecutive week the Bisons will be playing a Top 10 CIS-ranked team (#8 Saskatchewan Huskies in Week 1 and #2 Calgary Dinos in Week 2) when they play host to the #10 UBC Thunderbirds this weekend at Investors Group Field.