Edmonton Oilers Heritage Website - University of Alberta Golden Bears

Throughout North America, there are universities famous for specific portions of their athletics programs. The words "University of North Carolina" are synonymous with basketball, and in Canada the University of Western Ontario is recognized as one of the top football school in the country.

When it comes to hockey, the University of Alberta (U of A)has no equal. Since the formation of the CIAU in 1961, the Golden Bears hockey club has won ten University Cups as Canadian national champions. Six of those titles came under legendary coach Clare Drake, who was at the helm of the team from 1956-1989.

The reason that the Unviversity of Alberta has been so dominant is because they are able to recuit top notch talent and produce future National Hockey League (NHL) players. In total, the U of A has produced fourteen NHL caliber players by the 2002-03 season. These players include CIAU player of the year Randy Gregg (who was a key part of the Oilers’ dynasty of the 1980s), Kevin Primeau (who was part of the Golden Bears dynasty of the 1970s and would later go on to be an assistant coach with the Oilers), Cory Cross (a national champion in 1992 and later an Oiler), Ian Herbers (Cross’ teammate in 1992 and a former Oiler) and Bryon Baltimore (who had a successful World Hockey Association career, before playing for the Edmonton OIilers).

Both the University and its hockey team was founded in 1908-09, with the official school colours being green and gold. At the time there was no officially-sanctioned intercollegiate league outside the city of Edmonton, and the University team was limited to playing other Edmonton schools and senior amateur teams. In 1912, the club won its first championship, the Brackman-Kerr Cup. Over the next two years, the Varsity team made trips to both Saskatchewan and Manitoba to play a series of exhibition games with universities in those provinces.

The early exhibition games between universities displayed the need for organized competition. In 1919, the Universities of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta all agreed to form a new league, the Western Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union (WCIAU), and that year the first official hockey schedule for interprovincial intercollegiate play was drafted.