Regina Rams: The journey so far
REGINA, Saskatchewan — The Regina Rams Football Club, fondly called “The Rams,” is a long-standing sports organization created from the fusion of the Dales and the Bombers in 1954. According to the Club’s history, its predecessors laid a solid foundation for the Club by winning two national titles – in 1928 and 1938 – playing Canadian junior football. The newly-formed Regina Rams team played in their first league, the Man-Sask Junior Football League, from 1954 to 1975.
Along the line, the Regina Rams got a coach, the legendary Gordon Currie, in 1965. He led them to the Western Canadian Junior Final, and, with his help, the team won their first national title in 1966. During Gordon’s tenure, which ended in 1976, the Rams participated in eight Manitoba-Saskatchewan Junior League championships, six national junior titles, and seven Western Canada Junior championships. In addition, he earned the title of Canadian Amateur Coach of the Year in 1975.
The Rams enjoyed 45 years and 33 seasons of junior football (from 1966 to 1998), during which they defeated European and CIAU opponents to win 15 out of 17 Canadian Junior Football Championships.
After a community partnership agreement was reached between the University of Regina and the Regina Rams Football Club Inc in 1999, the Rams joined the Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union’s Canada West Conference. During their first football season as a university football team in 2000, they won the Canada West Conference championship, also called the Hardy Cup, and qualified for the Atlantic Bowl national semi-finals.
The Regina Rams Football Club is an organized sports team with a rock-solid organizational structure. The President, Brian Eltom, who replaced Chris Brilltz in April 2017, was a player with the Rams from 1984 to 1988 and played in two national junior championships. He led the Regina Rams Alumni Association as president from 1992 to 2012 before joining the Club’s Board of Directors in 2013.
In 1984, Frank McCrystal became the head coach, leading the junior football team in their 15 last seasons. He continued coaching the Regina Rams throughout their first 16 season games in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS). Frank earned two awards in 2007 – the Canada West Coach of the Year and CIS Coach of the Year. He retired in 2014 after 31 years as head coach.
Following McCrystal’s retirement, Mike Gibson briefly took over as head coach of the Rams in December 2015 and handed over the reins to Stephen Bryce in March 2016.
Bryce, a former Rams player, played five seasons and helped them win a national championship in his first season with the Club in 1987. He had a successful tenure as coach and was the 2016 Canada West Coach of the Year. However, he stepped down in 2019, and his assistant, Mark McConkey, became the interim head coach.
The football club’s Interim Head Coach from February 2020, Mark McConkey, also played with the Rams from 2007 and was a prolific receiver. He has a 1991 career receiving yards mark – the fifth in Regina Rams history – and was named a Canada West All-Star in 2011. Shortly afterward, he got Academic All-Canadian status in the course of his last season with the Club.
The University of Regina Rams plays in the U Sports and the Canada West Conference at the 33,000 Mosaic Stadium erected in 2016. The football club hosted the University of Saskatchewan Huskies to an inaugural sporting event held in the new stadium in October 2016.
The Rams hold an all-time record of 74-93-1 (.443) and a postseason record of 7-14 (.333). In addition, they won the following Titles: 1 Atlantic Bowl in 2000, 15 Canadian Bowls, and 1 Hardy Cup in 2000.
Noah Picton is the only Hec Crighton winner in the Club’s history with 224 passes out of 323 attempts, 3,186 yards with 25 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions.
By the beginning of the 2021 CFL season, eight former Regina Rams players – Kyle Borsa, Stefan Charles, Theren Churchill, Jorgen Hus, Brendon LaBatte, Mitchell Picton, Jon Ryan, and Richard Sindani – were part of CFL teams’ rosters. Three former Rams players – Tevaughn Campbell, Akiem Hicks, and Brett Jones – were present on NFL teams’ roster by the end of the 2020 NFL season.
Two Regina Rams – defensive back Robbie Lowes and running back Kyle Borsa – were selected as 2021 CFL prospects by Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
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