In 2001, the Manitoba Bisons football team rolled to a 7-1 regular season record with an unprecedented 11 players being named All-Canadians. At the time, the program's seven regular season wins were the most in school history, while the 11 All-Canadians are still a program record.

The Herd advanced to the Vanier Cup that season, their first appearance in over three decades. The 2001 roster is still talked about as one of the most influential in school history, helping the Herd return to return to national contention.

Over the next two years, Manitoba had ten alumni drafted into the CFL, and one who played over a decade in the NFL, in defensive tackle Israel Idonije, a local product from Brandon who was also taken in the second round of the 2003 CFL Draft. His 16 sacks for the Bisons between 2000-2002 still rank fourth all-time.

Manitoba's ascension as a program, unsurprisingly, came shortly after the hiring of Brian Dobie, the winningest coach in school history, with 121 total victories.

Dobie took over as head coach in 1996, weathered the storm of a few losing seasons, and got to work on a national recruiting strategy that paid off in a major way. The character of his late 1990s recruiting classes are "what changed the course of the program."

"Essentially the plan was pretty simple – it hasn't changed to today. That was to do everything we could to retain and sign as many of the best players as we can that are Manitobans, and supplement those Manitobans with as many of the best players we could sign nationally," he said.

"Our target group initially, and still is today, is the province of BC. Northern Alberta became a big target group and still is. Southern Ontario and Quebec for a while in the early days was a huge recruiting ground for us."

'Coe can't be bought'
Locally, Dobie secured the commitment of two sensational linebackers, in Scott Coe and Joey Mikawoz, both selected in the 2002 CFL Draft. They helped to form one of the most formidable units defensively in school history, combining for 355 tackles. Mikawoz's 234 as a Bison still ranks second in school history.

Coe, an alum of the Kelvin Clippers was Dobie's first "giant stay at home recruit."

He committed to the program in 1998 and was a lynchpin on Manitoba's defence over the next four seasons, earning Rookie of the Year honours in year one while amassing 111 career tackles during his university career. He was drafted by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2002 and played seven years in the CFL, most of which was spent with Calgary between 2004-07.

Coe's commitment at the time was a massive statement of loyalty and dedication to the Herd.

After all, he was highly sought-after all across the country and could've gone to a school with an immediate Vanier Cup chance. Instead, he stayed local, in part because of the spectacular relationship he and his family had created with Dobie.



"In my old office, I had a bulletin board above my desk. There was a very faded newspaper article that I cut out and put there, and it was inspirational to me, because it went back to the early days when people kind of spit on us. Manitoba had been the bottom feeder for a couple of decades and it was tough, and to recruit people was really, really difficult. The best players were gravitating to the very best teams," Dobie recalled.

"My recruiting strategy was driving at their character. If you choose to come here, you're taking a chance, but the reason I'm recruiting you is because you're a great player, but you're also a player with great character, and you can change this program. With Scott Coe, I had this newspaper article that was there forever. It was so faded and I would look at it so many times. The headline read 'Coe can't be bought.' That was the big headline, and right below it the sub-headline was 'choosing to stay in Manitoba.'

He was the Manitoba kid that had all kinds of national options. It was such a process recruiting him. I got to know him so well and his family so well and he took in a breath and committed to Manitoba. He was one of the people that built the bandwagon. Scott was our first giant stay at home, keep him at home Manitoba recruit."



Coaching for Churchill, Dobie was well aware of Mikawoz. He'd been "a monster" while playing for Grant Park and when he got hired at Manitoba, he tried to bring the all-world player in. Mikawoz, however, didn't want to go to school at the time.

Instead, he went out to Edmonton to live with his sister and play a few seasons of junior football. Dobie then re-recruited him. The pair had been been disconnected for a while, and then he got a call from Mikawoz wanting to meet.

"I thought okay, this is great. Again, building relationships over a period of time, because it took me about three years to recruit him. He came into my office and he told me that he'd been accepted into engineering at the University of Manitoba. With him, it was about a three year on again, off again recruiting process," noted Dobie.

"Joey Mikawoz, when you break it down as a pure football player and a pure student, it doesn't really get any better than that. He was an outstanding student who went on and did his masters in engineering at UBC. Joey is one of the best people I've ever been around. He's an extremely sensitive person who really gets life and is just such a true person."

Off the field, Coe and Mikawoz – who became extremely close friends – were two completely different people.

"[Mikawoz] was playing right beside the alter ego. Scott had a line for everything, all day long. It was the most introverted player in the program alongside the most exported player in the program," chuckled Dobie.

"[Coe] was larger than life. Joey was the best defensive player in the nation, he won the President's Trophy, and the guy playing beside him was also a First Team All-Canadian, and a larger than life personality, and the two of them playing together were such a perfect combination."

A classic story showcasing the duo's opposite personalities came during the week of the 2001 Vanier Cup.

Mikawoz was requested to appear on MuchMusic, but it was Coe who walked into the studio instead, filling in for his more reserved teammate.

Unaware of the mix-up, the studio host proceeded to ask Coe a variety of questions. The best line came near the end, when the topic shifted to Mikawoz's President's Trophy award.

Coe proceeded to shout out Mikawoz and his teammates, but made sure to add in a boastful line about himself being "an amazing guy and such a great player."

"He's talking about himself," laughed Dobie.

"Who does that? Most people wouldn't dream to think that way, but that team was filled with character, and characters. The combination, it was an amazing family. There's so many stories like that, it's crazy."

Along with Coe and Mikawoz, the Bisons had countless other play makers on defence.

Amongst the crew were three future All-Canadians in Jamie Boreham, Darnell Edwards – a converted receiver – and Boyd Barrett. All three defensive backs were later drafted into the CFL.

The 6'3" Edwards' 13 interceptions between 1999-01 are the most in a three-year span in school history, while Barrett was one of the fastest players in the nation when he suited up for Manitoba.

"Darnell could lock down cover, and he had that athletic skill-set in terms of his hands and his ability to track the ball. He was a big interception guy," said Dobie.
 
"Boyd was super, super fast. I swear when he played here he was the fastest guy in U SPORTS. Do I know that? No, but I swear he was. He was an All-Canadian who could lock down cover."
 
Boreham, a wily veteran by the time he played at Manitoba, had a football IQ that was "through the roof." He also had the toughness to match.
 
The only player in school history to be named All-Canadian at three different positions, he rarely left the field. Even when he suffered a season-threatening injury, he stayed involved and didn't miss any games, leading the nation in scoring.
 
"He almost literally didn't practice. He would stand back, deep in the defensive secondary with a practice script, and stand beside [defensive coordinator] Stan [Pierre] and just talked everything through. He was the king of film, and he put himself in the right position," recalled Dobie.
 
"Ultimate successes all come with prices and sacrifices, and the list goes on. That 2001 team, we went through so much adversity. I think it's one of the reasons our coaching staff had so much respect for these guys. When I say they were tough, they were mentally tough."
 
'He had it'
Speaking of being mentally tough, that's the perfect way to describe quarterback Shane Munson, the ultimate competitor, and "the right player at the right time" for the program.
Dobie had a recruiting connection in Thunder Bay in the late 90s, and heard Munson was an outstanding athlete that just happened to play quarterback.

"We talked on the phone and then I took a seven-and-a-half trip to Thunder Bay for one reason, to literally check this kid out. I went to Churchill High School, coincidentally and remember, national recruiting was very rare. They were pretty excited. They had two phys ed classes in this big gym, but it was divided. They literally stopped both classes and put everybody sitting around the gym on the stage. They pulled the curtain back and gave us the whole gym."

Munson threw for Dobie, who was quite impressed by the velocity on his throw, and he also "looked the part" and had a "real swagger about him."
"He was 18 years old, and he had it. He had swagger like nobody's business and I just went oh boy, I was intrigued. After he finished throwing, the classes resumed and on one side of the gym they were playing basketball and I watched this kid hit three pointers and dunk the ball. This kid was an athlete. I ended up going out for dinner with him and his dad for steak and lobster, and I thought I'm blowing half of my recruiting budget on one guy that I don't even know if we're going to get. Of course, he ended up signing."

In 1999, Dobie handed the reins over to Munson, who proceeded to carve out one of the greatest careers in school history, still holding team records such as career passing yards (7474), completions (507) and touchdowns (62).



Munson – synonymous with the style of football the Bisons wanted to play – showcased his competitive spirit on countless occasions.

One of the best examples occurred in 2000, in what Dobie referred to as "the turning point" in his time as coach.

The Bisons were playing in McMahon against Calgary, and were losing by ten or 11 points. Manitoba was deep in their own end, and Munson dropped back to pass. The middle opened, so he tucked the ball, went straight to the middle and then veered to the sideline, out-running multiple Dinos for the long major.

It was the first in a succession of plays from the pivot them demonstrated a no quit mentality.

"Somebody dove and caught him at the three or four yard line, but he sort of dragged them into the end zone, and we scored. It was a 90-plus yard touchdown," said Dobie.

"I don't know our record at the time, but I think we were 2-1 at the time. We were still losing in the game, but we held them and got the ball back with very little time left. Munson took us down the field, throwing and hit Cory Larsen (11 touchdowns as Bison) on a slant coming across the goal line, and suddenly we're about to win the game."

The win was one of six on the year for Manitoba, who started to "build" towards a Vanier Cup.

'We had climbed the mountain'
On Nov. 17, 2001, the years of hard work, patience and strategic recruiting paid off, as the Bisons returned to the Vanier Cup for the first time since 1970.

Their path to get there was nothing short of memorable, as UM took part in an all-time classic against OUA champion McMaster in the national semi.

The game was tied 6-6 until the 3:55 mark of the fourth, when Munson – a Canada West All-Star who threw for just under 2100 yards that season – broke the game wide open with a 57-yard rushing touchdown on a quarterback draw. That ignited a 21-point outburst and a 27-6 victory.

Dobie's reaction at the end of the game was one of pure joy. 

"I remember that the field was flooded with people. It was such an awesome experience, Manitoba finally breaking through and going back to the Vanier Cup. The last time around was 1970. I hugged my wife and kind of just moved away from her and looked at her and screamed Jackie, we did it! We're going to the Vanier Cup!"

In retrospect, Dobie admits that in 2001, winning the national semi essentially served as the program's Vanier Cup. It was an affirmation that his efforts on a national scale had paid off, and that there
was a positive, and winning culture established.

"In my mind we had climbed the mountain. We'd taken the University of Manitoba to the Vanier Cup, and you know what, let's see what happens next week. Win or lose, we were going to play in the Vanier Cup and that's all that mattered."

In the national final, the Bisons went up against the undefeated Saint Mary's Huskies, who'd also gone close to three decades without a Vanier at the time. They went 8-0 in the regular season, allowing just five points per game defensively thanks to an aggressive defence that under head coach Blake Nill ran a number of different blitz packages.

The game was close at halftime, with SMU up 18-13. The Huskies took control in the fourth quarter, out-scoring Manitoba 17-0 en route to a 42-16 win. 

Despite the result, the 2001 team will always hold a special place in school history.
 
Between the 2001 and 2002 seasons, Manitoba won 15 regular season games, led by Dobie and a diverse group of student-athletes, who helped shape the trajectory of the program. Just five years later, Dobie's Bisons won the Vanier Cup.