The University of Manitoba Bisons handed out their year-end awards on Saturday, April 1 at the annual Brown and Gold Banquet, held at the Fort Garry campus and hosted by Joey Slattery, videographer and reporter for CTV News. 

AK Gassama and Madisson Lawrence were named as Athletes of the Year for the 2022-23 season. Men's basketball head coach Kirby Schepp was selected as Coach of the Year, Simon Hildebrandt from men's basketball was Male Rookie of the Year and Raya Surinx from women's volleyball was named Female Rookie of the Year. 

In addition, the tenth annual Pat Gill Legacy Award was presented to former Bisons Football Alumni Association President Dave Henry, track and field assistant coach Mingpu Wu was named Asssistant Coach of the Year and Keziah Hoeppner from women's volleyball was named Teammate of the Year. 

Additionally, Jessica Tsai of women's soccer and Calvin Reimer from men's track and field and cross country took home Leadership and Community Development Awards, recognizing leadership, community involvement, athletics and academics. 

Finally, quarterback Des Catellier won the first annual Spirit of the Bison Award. This award, in collaboration with Student Affairs, was established to recognize and honour Bison athletes who have demonstrated exceptional resilience in the face of adversity.

It takes its name from the bison, a symbol of strength, endurance, and adaptability, qualities that Bison athletes embody in their athletic pursuits. The recipient of this award was an athlete who overcome significant obstacles, such as injury, illness, or other extraordinary circumstances, and has shown exceptional mental, emotional, and behavioural flexibility to adjust and succeed in their athletic career.

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In the 63-year history of the Bisons Male Athlete of the Year award, Gassama's selection is the 14th for Bisons football. It's also the first time since 2008 that a football player has received Male Athlete of the Year in back to back seasons (Cory Huclack, 2006-07, Bob Reist, 2007-08). 

Gassama had a career year for the Herd, posting personal bests in receiving yards (749), catches (37) and touchdowns (six). His recieving total was just two yards shy of the nation's best, earning his Canada West All-Star and U SPORTS Second Team All-Canadian status. 

Gassama's receiving total is the fifth-best in a season in program history, while his 210 yards in a must-win game over Regina in the final week of the season were the fourth-most in a game in Bisons history. He had over 100 yards receiving in five different games during the campaign, including three in a row to end the regular season.

Fighting for their playoff lives against Alberta and Regina in the last two games of the year, Gassama came through, recording a combined 352 yards and three majors. His surge was a major reason why the Herd advanced to the playoffs for a fourth year in a row.



Lawrence becomes the ninth track and field athlete to win the Bisons Female Athlete of the Year Award, and first since Lisa Whalen in 2004-05. 

The pentathlete and high jump specialist ran the table during the competitive season, winning Female Field Athlete of the Year at the CanWest level, as well as the U SPORTS level. She also took home First Team All-Canadian honours and was a CanWest First Team All-Star. 

Making her U SPORTS return for the first time since 2019-20. Lawrence shone, earning double gold in the pent and high jump at the Canada West and U SPORTS Championships. In the latter, she won the pent with a school record of 4114 points, while also setting a school record in the high jump, at 1.80 metres (during the pent). Overall, she's won four medals at nationals as a Bison, and her 4114 points are the fourth-most in the history of the national championship (the other three athletes became Olympians).

Lawrence's performance is more impressive when factoring in a broken toe she's dealt with for the last few months. Despite the inconvenience, she toughed it out. 

At nationals, Lawrence finished fourth in the 60-metre, won the high jump and didn't trail the rest of the way. Her leap of 1.80 was smooth, with no part of her body touching the bar at any point. She also threw a personal best in the shot put at 11.47 metres, finished with a leap of 5.59 metres in the long jump and came second in the 800, with a time of 2:18.96.

Individually, Lawrence won the high jump as well. She and Hannah Blair of Waterloo both jumped above 1.73 metres, with Blair doing so one attempt earlier, but Lawrence was successul on her first attempt at 1.76, and Blair couldn't match. 



Along with the Athletes of the Year, Kirby Schepp was selected as Coach of the Year for the second time (2015-16) in the 21-year history of the award. 

Schepp's honour comes after being named the 2022-23 Canada West Coach of the Year (first time being selected), leading his Bisons to the best regular season record in the conference and the nation (18-2). It's the first time since 1994-95 that a Bison had won the award, when Rick Suffield was named Great Plains Coach of the Year.

Schepp's Bisons set a program record for regular season conference wins which had previously been held since 1970-71 (17-1). They ranked first in the conference in points allowed under Schepp's tutelage. His 140 wins at the conference level are just 18 shy of tying Suffield for the most, at 158. 



The Female Rookie of the Year Award went to women's volleyball standout Raya Surinx. It's the fourth time in the 13-year history that a women's volleyball player has earned the honour. 

Surinx, a left side, finished fourth in the conference in two categories this season: points-per-set (4.2) and kills per set (3.49). She also posted the third-most service aces (44), proving her lethal swing from all over the court. Starting every game, her well-rounded play helped the Bisons advance to nationals for the first time since 2014. 

During Manitoba's playoff run, Surinx was lethal. She led the nation in kills per set and points per set, including a career-high 26 kills against Winnipeg in the CanWest bronze medal match that helped the Bisons earn the No. 6 seed at nationals. 

At nationals, Surinx continued to roll. Her eight service aces in the quarterfinals against No. 3 seed Mount Royal tied a five-set conference record, and help the Herd to upset the Cougars, a team that had previously beaten Manitoba four times. 

Surinx was rewarded as a national tournament all-star, and was also the CanWest and U SPORTS Female Rookie of the Year. 



The Male Rookie of the Year was Simon Hildebrandt from men's basketball. It's the third time in the 13-year history of the award that a men's basketball player has won. 

Hildebrandt was honoured with the Dr. Peter Mullins Trophy as National Rookie of the Year a few weeks back. He became just the second men's basketball player in U of M history to win national rookie of the year honours and first since 1989-90 when Eric Bridgeland won the award. The Winnipeg product also became the first Bisons men's basketball player in Canada West history to win the award. 

Hildebrandt averaged a team-high 16.5 points per game and went 41.2 per cent from beyond the arc with his trademark catch and shoot release. He also set a program record this season, hitting 14 consecutive free throws in a come from behind win over No. 5 ranked Alberta in game two.

Hildebrandt also scored a career-high 28 points in that game, and went over 20 points on nine different occasions. 



The Student-Athlete Leadership and Community Development Awards were distributed for the 16th time, one for each gender. Calvin Reimer won for men, while Jessica Tsai took home female honours. Watch both award videos below. 





The tenth year of the Pat Gill Legacy Award was given to former Bisons Football Alumni Assocation President Dave Henry, and in its fifth year, the Bison Sports Assistant Coach of the Year Award went to track and field coach Mingpu Wu. It's the second time Wu has won, after getting recognition in 2019-20. 





In its third iteration, the Bisons Teammate of the Year was given to Keziah Hoeppner from women's volleyball. Nominated by teammates Simone Crevier and Ella Gray, Hoeppner was lauded for her mentorship and support all season after suffering a season-ending injury prior to the start of the 2022-23 campaign. She traveled with the team to nationals, and was a leader behind the scenes all year. 



Finally, in its debut, quarterback Des Catellier was presented with the Spirit of the Bison Award. Catellier came back from a season-ending ACL tear suffered in week one last season, throwing for 2018 yards, the second most in the conference. In the process, Catellier set a new program record, with 7,616 passing yards in his career.



Along with the major awards, Bison Sports recognized an MVP from each team for the season.

Men's Golf -- Stefan Lavallee
Men's Cross-Country -- Calvin Reimer
Women's Cross-Country -- Hailee Morisseau
Men's Track and Field -- Dawson Mann
Women's Track and Field -- Madisson Lawrence 
Men's Swimming -- Carson Beggs
Women's Swimming -- Dora Modrcin 
Football -- AK Gassama
Women's Soccer -- Dalima Chhibber 
Men's Hockey -- Brett Davis
Women's Hockey -- Camille Enns
Men's Basketball -- Mason Kraus
Women's Basketball -- Lauren Bartlett 
Men's Volleyball -- Eric Ogaranko 
Women's Volleyball -- Katreena Bentley