NAME: Bisons (1977-85)
UNIVERSITY: Manitoba
CATEGORY: Team
SPORT: Men's Volleyball
CW Hall of Fame Class of 2023-24
HIGHLIGHTS:
1977-85 GPAC champs (eight in a row)
National champs, 1978, 1980, 1984, 1985
1978 – Undefeated in conference play prior to nationals
1979 – 37-7 in conference play
1980 – 56-10 in conference play
1978-80 – Eight different GPAC All-Stars (Garth Pischke, Tom Graham, Ed Vuckets, Randy Anderson, Bob Glacken, Robert Eger, Phil Hudson and Dave Loeb.
BIOGRAPHY:
The 1977-85 Manitoba Bisons men’s volleyball teams left their mark as one of the most dominant dynasties in Canadian university sports history. The team made it to the national final every season over the eight-year span, capturing four national championships as well as eight straight Great Plains Athletic Conference titles.
It all started with the 1978 squad, who posted an incredible 47-2 overall record on their way to the Bisons' first-ever Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union title. Under Head Coach Greg Russell, the Bisons were led by 1976 Olympians Garth Pischke and Tom Graham. Pischke, Graham and national team member Ed Vuckets were named First-Team CIAU All-Canadians, setting the stage for a run of prolonged success.
The team would claim their next national title in 1980, led by a roster that featured eight different GPAC All-Stars. The next three years saw three consecutive heartbreaking national final losses, but the Bisons got back on top with back-to-back national title wins in 1984 and 1985. The Bisons were again the most dominant team in Canada during that stretch, going undefeated against Canadian competition with Pischke at the helm as head coach.
The team produced numerous all-stars and All-Canadians during their incredible eight year run of success, leaving behind a legacy that is still felt to this day.