Trinity Western Spartans
The Trinity Western Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Trinity Western University in Langley, British Columbia. The university's teams are members of U Sports, and compete in the Canada West Universities Athletics Association, and where applicable, in the Pacific division.
Since joining Canada West and U Sports in 1999, the Spartans have captured 13 U Sports team championships and 32 Canada West team championships. The Spartans men's volleyball team has won six national championships, while the women's soccer team have won five and the women's volleyball team has won two. The men's volleyball team has won 13 U Sports medals, followed by the women's soccer team, who has 10; the women's volleyball team, who has six; the men's soccer team, who has four; the women's cross country team, who has three; the women's track and field team, who has two; and the men's basketball and men's cross country teams, who each have one.
The Spartans are known for their spirited fans, who have earned the title of "The Spartan Faithful".
Varsity sports
Men's basketball
The Trinity Western University men's basketball program made its U Sports debut in the 1999–00 season. Competing in the Canada West conference, the Spartans have won three Canada West medals, winning bronze in 2003, 2009, and most recently in 2011. The 2011 season proved to be the most successful in program history, as head coach Scott Allen led the Spartans to their first U Sports men's basketball championship tournament in Halifax, N.S., upsetting the number 1-seeded UBC Thunderbirds in the semi-finals to advance to the national final. The Spartans settled for a program-best silver medal after falling to the Carleton Ravens in the championship game. The Spartans men's basketball program has had one U Sports major award winner, with Jacob Doerksen winning the Mike Moser Memorial Trophy as the U Sports Men's Basketball Player of the Year in 2008–09. Since 2019, the Spartans have been led by Head Coach Trevor Pridie.Women's basketball
The Spartans women's basketball team has competed in the Canada West conference since joining the league for the 1999–00 season. The program earned a playoff berth in its very first year in Canada West, but it took until 2015–16 before the Spartans won their first-ever playoff game, beating the Victoria Vikes in Game 2 of a best-of-three series. The following year, 2016–17, the Spartans won their first-ever playoff series, beating the Brandon Bobcats in a best-of-three first round series. In 2017–18, the Spartans advanced to their first-ever Canada West semi-final series, eventually settling for fourth place in the conference playoffs. Since 2010, the Spartans have been led by Head Coach Cheryl Jean-Paul, who won her first Canada West Coach of the Year award in 2017–18.Men's cross country
The Spartans men's cross country team has competed, in its most recent iteration, in the Canada West conference since 2010. The Spartans also had a varsity cross country team from 1999 to 2003. The Spartans are led by Shane Wiebe, Director and Head Coach of Track and Field and Cross Country, who took over the program in 2018. The Men's Cross Country program saw its greatest team success in the latter years of the 2010s, achieving the program's only U Sports team medal and five Canada West team medals since 2012. The program's first-ever Canada West team championship came in 2016, now accompanying their three Canada West silver medals and a Canada West bronze. Individually, the men's program has achieved one U Sports medal and six Canada West medals. In 2014, TWU student-athlete Mihai Prajea won the program's first U Sports major award, the U Sport Student-Athlete Community Service Award.Women's cross country
The Spartans women's cross country team has competed, in its most recent iteration, in the Canada West conference since 2010. The Spartans also had a varsity cross country team from 1999 to 2003. The Spartans are led by Shane Wiebe, Director and Head Coach of Track and Field and Cross Country, who took over the program in 2018. The women's program has earned three U Sports team medals in their history, winning silver in 2014 and 2015, and a bronze in 2016. The programmed has excelled in Canada West competition, winning gold four times, silver once, and bronze once. Individually, the program achieved its first-ever and only U Sports medal in 2015, when Sarah Inglis captured gold at the national championships. TWU has captured 11 Canada West medals, including a stretch of six years when the Spartans won the conference's individual title fives times. The women's team also has won two Canada West silver medals, and four Canada West bronze medals. In 2015, the women's program won its first two U Sports major awards, with Sarah Inglis and Mark Bomba winning the U Sports Athlete of the Year and U Sports Coach of the Year awards, respectively.Men's hockey
The Trinity Western Spartans men's hockey program was voted in to join Canada West and U Sports in 2019 and played in its Canada West season in 2021–22. Prior to joining U Sports, the men's hockey program competed in the BCIHL since 2006–07. During their BCIHL tenure, the Spartans captured 2 BCIHL Championships in 2018 and 2019. The Spartans have been led by Head Coach Barret Kropf since 2013 before his resignation in 2022.Women's hockey
The Spartans women's hockey program began competing in Canada West competition in 2021–22. The TWU women's hockey team came under the Spartans umbrella in 2018, competing in the South Coast Women's Hockey League as a non-varsity team before entering Canada West and U Sports. TWU announced Coach Jean Laforest took over as the program's head coach in 2019.Men's rugby">rugby union">rugby
Men's rugby at Trinity Western University joined as an official varsity program in 2019. Andrew Evans has served as the Director of Rugby and Head Coach since the program's relaunch. In its first season under Evans, 2019–20, the 15s team beat UBC Okanagan in the first game of the latest iteration of the program. The team also won the Shield Championship at the West Coast 7s Treasure Island in San Francisco and finished fourth at the Western Canadian 7s Championship. Prior to its return as a varsity team, there was previously a men's rugby program at TWU from 1988 to 2004, with the team competing at a varsity level from 1996 to 2004.Women's rugby
Women's rugby sevens at Trinity Western University joined as an official varsity program in 2019. Posé Seumanutafa is the Women’s 7s coach, with Andrew Evans serving as the Director of Rugby. The Spartans finished 5th in the 2024 Canada West 7s Circuit and finished the 2023–24 season with a silver medal at the Tropical 7s Elite u23 Division, going 5–1 with a narrow 17–7 loss to Harvard University in the final.Men's soccer
The men's soccer program at Trinity Western University joined Canada West competition in 2001. Prior to joining Canada West and U Sports, the program competed in the BCCAA, which is now the PACWEST. The program began Canada West competition with Al Alderson as the head coach, serving until 2008, and winning the Canada West Coach of the Year award in 2003. Under Alderson, the program won three U Sports medals, including silver medals in 2006 and 2008 and bronze in 2009. The program also earned three straight Canada West gold medals, in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Under first-year coach Pat Rohla, the team also captured a U Sports bronze medal in 2009.In total, the program has earned four U Sports medals, and nine Canada West medals, most recently in 2018, when they captured a Canada West silver medal, which earned the team its first trip to the national championship tournament since 2009. The Spartans are currently led by Head Coach Mike Shearon, who assumed head coaching duties in 2016 after the retirement of Pat Rohla. Under Shearon, the program has earned three Canada West medals, and a fourth-place result at the 2018 U Sports Championship, which included an upset quarter-final win over No. 1-seeded York in a penalty shootout. The program has had three major U Sports award winners in its history with Paul Hamilton and Nick Perugini winning the U Sports Player of the Year award in 2009 and 2007, respectively, and Christian Rossi winning the U Sports Rookie of the Year award in 2021.