The Dalhousie Tigers are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent
Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...
in
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...
, Canada. The Tigers field 14 varsity teams with seven men's teams and seven women's teams that primarily compete in the
Atlantic University Sport conference of
U Sports
U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body of university sport in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country. Its equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is the Ca ...
. The university also offers numerous intramural and club sports that are available to students, staff, alumni, and Dalpex members.
Varsity teams
Men's basketball
The Tigers men's basketball program has won nine AUS conference championships, including seven within nine years (from the 2014-15 season to 2021-22). In the
National Tournament, the Tigers won a bronze medal in
2017
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and a silver medal in
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
.
The team plays their home games at the Dalplex fieldhouse.
Women's basketball
The Tigers
women's basketball
Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It began being played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large part via women's college compet ...
team has finished as conference champions 11 times, with the most recent coming in the 2000-01 season. Historically, the team has won a silver medal in the
U Sports women's basketball championship
U or u, is the twenty-first and sixth-to-last letter and fifth vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''u'' (pro ...
in 1980 and a bronze medal in 1982.
The team plays their home games at the Dalplex fieldhouse.
Men's hockey
The Tigers
men's hockey team has won one conference championship, with the title being awarded following the 1978-79 season.
Women's hockey
The Tigers
women's ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...
program began in 2002 and qualified for the
U Sports
U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body of university sport in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country. Its equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is the Ca ...
Women's Ice Hockey Tournament in 2006.
Men's soccer
The Tigers men's soccer team are tied with the
Saint Mary's Huskies
The Saint Mary's Huskies are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Their primary home turf is Huskies Stadium located in the centre of the University's campus.
In September 2 ...
for the second-most AUS conference championships (13), with their most recent in the 2008 season. The program boasts a national championship win in the 1995 edition of the
U Sports Men's Soccer Championship. The team was also a bronze medal winner in the 1992 and 1997 tournaments.
Women's soccer
The Tigers women's soccer team has won the most AUS conference championships in
U Sports women's soccer
U Sports women's soccer is the highest level of play at the university level under the auspices of U Sports, Canada's governing body for university sports. As of the 2021 season, 53 teams from Canadian universities are divided into four conferences ...
with 12 titles earned, the most recent coming in 2012. The program has won the most national championships among all Dalhousie varsity sports with three
Gladys Bean Memorial Trophy wins. The gold medals were won in 1994, 1999, and 2000 while the team won silver medals in 1993 and 1995 and a bronze medal in 1998.
Men's volleyball
The Tiger's
men's volleyball program features 36 AUS conference championship winners within 44 years (first in the 1971-72 season and last in the 2014-15 season). However, after the disbanding of the
Moncton Aigles Bleus
The Moncton Aigles Bleus and Moncton Aigles Bleues (French language, French for: ''Moncton Blue Eagles'') are the athletic teams that represent Université de Moncton in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. They play in U Sports, which encompasses uni ...
team in 2006, the AUS featured only three teams, so interlock play with the
RSEQ was featured heavily. The conference was further reduced to two following the folding of the
Memorial Sea-Hawks after the 2016-17 season, leaving the program in jeopardy since the AUS requires a three-team minimum for varsity leagues. However, the AUS allowed Dalhousie and the
UNB Varsity Reds to play a transitional season before joining the
RSEQ as full members for the 2018-19 season.
On the national stage, in the
U Sports men's volleyball championship
The U Sports men's volleyball championship is an annual tournament that features the top eight men's volleyball teams from among competing Canadian universities in U Sports. 11 games are played over a period of three days culminating in a national ...
, the men's volleyball team has finished with a silver medal in 1997 and with bronze medals in 1994 and 1995.
Women's volleyball
The Tiger's
women's volleyball team has won the most conference championships in the AUS with 26 titles won, including nine in a row from 2013 to 2022. The program features a
U Sports women's volleyball championship
The U Sports women's volleyball championship is an annual tournament that features the top eight women's volleyball teams from among competing Canadian universities in U Sports. 11 games are played over a period of three days culminating in a nati ...
team, having won a gold medal in 1982. The team also won a silver medal in 1984.
Club teams
The Dalhousie Tigers offer students the opportunity to play club sports for their university in lieu of these sports not being supported at the varsity level.
The sports include, but are not limited to, baseball, cheerleading, curling, field hockey, Canadian football, lacrosse, rugby, tennis, and ultimate frisbee. Some sports were formerly offered as varsity sports, but either retained or resurrected as informal club sports.
Football
The Tigers
football team first began play as an intermediate team in 1947 in the Halifax City Canadian Football League. The program was in operation until 1976 when the school decided to cease its operations and funding. The team did not win a
Jewett Trophy conference championship while playing in what is now the AUS.
In 2010, with the support of Dalhousie alumni, volunteer coaches, and the Student Football Club Executive, the Tigers football team was revived as a club sport and began play in the upstart
Atlantic Football League
The Atlantic Football League (AFL) is an amateur club-level Canadian football league that features four teams based in Atlantic Canada. The league is for players aged 18–24 that either attend universities without U Sports football programs or f ...
, along with the University of New Brunswick Saint John, University of New Brunswick Fredericton, and Holland College. The Tigers played in the
Moosehead Cup in their inaugural year, but lost to the
UNBSJ Seawolves by a score of 40–6 on November 20, 2010. The team had mixed success until they went undefeated in 2016 and captured their first Moosehead Cup on November 5, 2016 in a 29–11 victory over the three-time defending champion Holland Hurricanes. The Tigers won a second Moosehead Cup championship in 2018 with another undefeated season being capped by a win over the Hurricanes. The team won their third championship in 2021 following a 40–14 victory over the
UNBF Red Bombers.
The team won their fourth championship in 2022, following a 27-26 victory over the UNBF Red Bombers.
Awards and honours
Athletes of the Year
References
External links
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Dalhousie University
U Sports teams
Sports teams in Nova Scotia
Sport in Halifax, Nova Scotia