The history of Kodiaks Athletics is dominated by championship titles, individual and team recognitions, and academic excellence. 

113 ACAC Championships, 98 Academic All-Canadians honours and 22 National Championships later, we're proud to continue that tradition of academic and athletic success. 

The Kodiak

The Kodiak bear was chosen as our mascot to recognize our relationship with the University of Alberta. It was the approval of the University of Alberta that moved Lethbridge College from a vision into a reality. In the same family as U of A’s Golden Bear, the Kodiak truly represents the spirit of our athletics program.

Kodiak bears are the largest brown bears in the world – a large male can stand over 10 feet tall on his hind legs, measure five feet tall on all fours and weight up to 1,500 pounds. Epitomizing strength, courage, stamina and undying perseverance, Kodiaks are the perfect symbol to represent the hunger for success of our student athletes.

60 Years of Athletics at Lethbridge College

Team and intramural sports have existed at Lethbridge College since 1957. Curling and bowling were the original sports followed by men’s basketball in 1958. The first women’s basketball team was formed in 1959 and in 1960-61 the men’s basketball team became the first to use the name Kodiaks.

The Student Council wanted teams to “be named after a bear that was bigger” than the U of A’s mascot, the Golden Bear. However, the women would not adopt the name until October 1985. Before then, they went by numerous appellations including, the Cubs, Bobkittens, Kittens, Koalas, and from 1977-1985, the Kodiettes.

In 1962-63, Dr. Gary Bowie (1989 Builder) took over direction of the basketball program and, in 1964, helped organize the Western Inter-College Conference (WICC), the forerunner to the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC). Though basketball was the inaugural WICC sport, the college fielded exhibition teams in volleyball, badminton, curling, cross country, and bowling. It was also under Bowie that the 1966-67 men’s basketball team captured its first WICC championship–a feat they would repeat the following year (1967-68). The women’s team would win its first WICC championship in 1968-69.

Although basketball became the preeminent sport, the college did feature a men’s hockey team that competed inter-collegiately in 1967-68 and 1968-69. Also during this time, the badminton team (1967-69) the golf team (1966-67), and the men’s and women’s volleyball teams (1968-69) all won their first WICC/ACAC championships, while other titles came from men’s curling (1968-69) and bowling (1968-69, men’s and mixed).

The 1970s

The 1970s began with controversy as the college withdrew from ACAC competition with three notable exceptions: men’s and women’s cross country; wrestling; and most surprising, men’s and women’s canoeing. In December 1970, the ACAC and the three other western provinces formed the 4-West Conference to facilitate play between the championship teams from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. The following year, the college became the first institution in Western Canada to feature an equestrian team and a drill team that combined music with floor gymnastics. However, due to budget constraints, the equestrian team was disbanded in 1975 and the drill team in 1977.

After returning to the ACAC in 1972, the men’s basketball team would win the ACAC championship five consecutive times between 1972-73 and 1976-77, including three 4-West championships (1972-73, 1973-74, and 1977-78). Likewise, in 1976-77, the women’s basketball team captured their second ACAC championship.

Though women’s bowling (1973-74 ACAC) and women’s curling (1975-76, 1976-77 ACAC 1976-77 4-West) saw success, it was badminton that secured the college’s first national championship when Sharon Davies won gold at the Canadian Championships in 1978-79.

In 1976, the college hired Tim Tollestrup as Athletics Director, and under his coaching and influence, the athletics programs achieved even greater success, including the opening of the Val Matteotti gymnasium in 1990.

The 1980s

The 1980s began with the women’s basketball team capturing their third ACAC championship in 1980-81. Indeed, under the coaching of John Jasiukiewicz (ACAC Hall of Fame) and led by star player, Laurie Ann Hockridge (ACAC Hall of Fame), the women would go on to win three more ACAC titles (1987-90) and back to back Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) national titles in 1988-89 and 1989-90.

Badminton would win three ACAC golds (1982-83 women’s singles and mixed doubles, 1984-85 women’s doubles) while curling (1984-85) and golf (1984-85, individual) would also bring home ACAC gold. After a long absence, cross country began its resurgence under the direction of Bertil Johansson, with several individual and team ACAC titles (1985-86, 1987-89).

The 1990s

The 1990s saw the women’s basketball team continue their dominance by capturing ACAC titles in 1992-93 and again in 1993-94, while the men’s team claimed ACAC titles in 1991-92 and 1993-94. In 1991-92, the college won its last ACAC gold in badminton (mixed doubles) while cross country claimed the 1997-98 ACAC men’s individual champion. Moreover, the golf program earned no less than four individual ACAC titles (1995-96, 1997-2002) and four women’s team championships (1998-2002).

In 1994, the establishment of the women’s soccer program, founded and coached by Knud Petersen and Alvin Tietz, met with instant success. The 1994 Kodiaks burst onto the scene by capturing not only the ACAC championship, but also the CCAA Championship. These feats still stand as the sole ACAC and CCAA titles for  women’s soccer while men's soccer is still looking for its first CCAA title.

A huge thank you to Dave McMurray and Dawn Sugimoto for their outstanding compilation of Lethbridge College Kodiaks history.