The athletics program at the University of Winnipeg traces its roots to the intercollegiate sports leagues formed among Winnipeg’s schools starting in 1889. Both of the University’s forerunners Manitoba and Wesley College participated in these leagues, which included football, track, basketball, and hockey. Manitoba College included a gymnasium in the expansions to its building in 1894. Wesley College, in turn, had a small gym in the basement of its original 1896 building as well as the advantage of Wesley Park – the land stretching from behind the building to Ellice Avenue – for a field in the summer and a rink in the winter. Further gym facilities were included in the basement of Sparling Hall, opened in 1913. The Intercollegiate leagues engendered friendly competition and school spirit among Winnipeg’s early colleges, and the colleges included sport facilities for their students from the beginning.

In 1962, United College appointed its first professional Athletics Director, Blue Bomber player Raymond Jauch, in anticipation of its new Riddell Hall gymnasium that opened the following year. These changes allowed United College to take its athletics program more seriously. In 1966, as the reality of becoming an independent University began to take shape, the United College Student Council held a public competition and vote to name its sports team. The winning entry was Wesmen, a “pluralized” combination of Wesley and Manitoba. The new University of Winnipeg, with an Athletics Director, a good gym, and a brand for its sports team, was set to participate in the national University sports scene.

Shortly after the University of Winnipeg’s incorporation, the Wesmen began to compete with other University teams across Canada as a member of two sports governing bodies: the Western Intercollegiate Athletic Association (later Great Plains Athletic Conference, and Canada West Universities Athletic Association) and the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union (later Canadian Interuniversity Sport, and U Sports). The main competitive sports of the Wesmen were basketball, volleyball, and hockey, although the latter discontinued after 1984. The University had both men’s and women’s teams in basketball and volleyball – the women’s teams are known as the Wesmenettes or the Lady Wesmen. In addition to the seasonal games of sports governing bodies, the Wesmen hosted invitational tournaments – most notably the Wesmen Classic (previously the Golden Boy Classic, 1967-1976) and others; and was invited to play in similar tournaments hosted by other institutions.

Having long since outgrown the Riddell Hall gym, the University opened its much-needed Athletics Centre in 1984. The facility gave the Wesmen the resources and space they needed to remain nationally competitive. That building has remained the cornerstone of Wesmen sports to the present day; in 1992, it was renamed to the Duckworth Centre in honour of the University’s past President Henry Duckworth, a proponent of athletics. 2008 saw an expansion to the building, the Bill Wedlake Fitness Centre, named after long-time basketball coach and retiring Athletics Director. Finally, in 2014, the building was complemented by the Axworthy Health and RecPlex, an adjoining fieldhouse for soccer and sports education.

The Athletic Directors at United College and the University of Winnipeg, to date, include: Raymond Jauch (1962-1964); Edward Vidruk (1964-1966); David Anderson (1966-1984, covered by Glen Conly during a leave of absence in 1973); Aubrey Ferris (1984-2000); Bill Wedlake (2000-2008); Doran Reid (2009-2015); and Dave Crook (2015-present).

Dr. M. Kaye Kerr received her B.A. in Zoology and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Child Development, all from the University of Minnesota. Her teaching career also began there as an Instructor, 1964-1967. Afterwards she worked as a psychologist in a variety of international institutions until coming to the University of Winnipeg as a Lecturer in Psychology in 1969. In 1970 she was appointed Coordinator of the Developmental Studies program, a position she remained in until 1989. She was later made Director of that program from 1992-1998. In that position, she initiated the University's Child Studies Centre in 1971 and its Child Care Training Program starting in 1983. Dr. Kerr retired from the University of Winnipeg in 2001.

The original idea for the University of Winnipeg Club began to form during the University’s campus expansion in 1970. The club was intended to be a dedicated lounging, dining, and entertainment space for faculty and staff to form a community that the proposers felt was lacking in the new University’s rapidly developing campus. The first plan, officially proposed in 1971, was to renovate a space in the basement of the neighbouring Mall Hotel. While that plan never took shape, the second, approved by the Board of Regents in 1974, was to refit the fourth floor of the University’s historic Wesley Hall for the purpose. The University of Winnipeg Faculty and Staff Club was then officially incorporated in 1975. The Club obtained a liquor license the following year, notably as the first institution in the University’s history to do so on a permanent basis.

After the initial remodeling when the Club first opened, the space has undergone only a single major change. In 1984, Professor David Hewlett drafted a design to renovate a section of the Club modeled after an English-style pub. The renovations, called the Pub and Snug, were completed in 1985 and the design has not been altered to the present day.

The Club is guided by a Board of Directors; originally the Board was nine, but in 1990 it was expanded to 12. In all cases, all but one of those are elected from among the Club’s membership, and the remaining one is appointed by the President of the University. The President of the Club is, in turn, elected from among the Board in one-year terms. Membership in the Club was at first available to full-time employees of the University, the spouse of a member, or alumni; and was later expanded to include part-time employees and retirees. In 2011 membership was further broadened to alumni, students of the 55+ Program, and employees of the University of Manitoba, Red River College, and CBC.

The Faculty and Staff Club’s membership came to be comprised of a significant proportion of members who were not faculty or staff. At the end of 2012, therefore, the Board discussed the idea of a different name. In 2013 the vote was passed, the paperwork penned, and the name was changed to the University of Winnipeg Club.

The date of the creation of the Media Services Department is unclear, however, the earliest evidence of its existence as a distinct administrative entity dates to 1970. In cooperation with other university departments, including the University Relations Department, the Media Services Department developed print and radio advertisements, announcements, and other communications for internal and external audiences, and documented the institutional life and history of the University of Winnipeg and its predecessor institutions (United and Wesley College). The department also hosted and organized a variety of presentations for staff and students. Additionally, it provided a range of services to staff and students, including the provisioning of classroom equipment, assistance in graphic and video production, audio services for special events, and photography unit. The Media Services Department was disbanded in 1995 and its responsibilities redistributed to various other departments including Technical Support Services, Printing Services, and Physical Plant. Following its closure, photographic services were contracted out.

Patricia Hehner is the daughter of Eric and Gertrude (nee Parsons) Hehner. She resides in Ottawa, ON with her husband, Stephen McKenna.

This department was first formed after United College became University of Winnipeg in 1967. Prior to its existence as a discrete administrative unit, its function was performed by a General Faculty Council Committee. It was afterwards titled variously: Information Office (1967-1972), Public Relations (1972-1984), Development Centre (1984-1985), Community Relations (1985-1987), External Relations (1987-1988), University Relations (1988-2004), and University Advancement Services (2004-2006). This body co-operated with the Media Department towards print & radio advertisements, announcements, recruitment material, fundraising, institutional events and celebrations, and official communication with alumni. In 2006, Communications was rolled into the new External Affairs, reporting to its VP, along with Alumni and Events. It was renamed Marketing & Communications in 2007; and finally, in 2012, External Affairs was dissolved, and the Marketing & Communications became an independent department reporting to the President’s Office.

Hazel Alexina McDonald was born in Hartney, Manitoba, on September 13th 1898. After completed high school in her home town, she took courses at Brandon Collegiate and then worked as a teacher for three years. In 1919 she joined Wesley College and graduated with a BA in 1923, and resumed her career in teaching. She married Osborne B. Parkinson on December 17th 1927. They lived in Roland, Manitoba, until 1951, at which point they moved to Winnipeg. She was active in community, educational, and historical organizations, and a published author. She passed away on June 23rd, 1981.

Dave Crook was born in Winnipeg, MB. He graduated from Elmwood High School, and then the University of Winnipeg in 1982. In addition to coaching at Elmwood and West Kildonan high schools, he was the assistant coach of the Wesmen men's basketball team under Bruce Enns from 1982-1984. He was hired in 1984 as the head coach for the men's basketball team at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick. He was laid off when funding for the athletics program there was cut in 1989, and moved to the University of Lethbridge, as head coach and instructor, from 1989-2000. University of Lethbridge publications describe him as their “winningest coach.” Due to his performance in that role, he was awarded the Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year by CIS. In 2001 he returned to the University of Winnipeg as head coach of the Wesmen men’s basketball team and instructor until 2010. He resigned as coach (but continued to teach) that year; in 2015, he was made the University’s Athletic Director, in which role he continues today.

The University of Winnipeg Alumni Association traces its roots to the Wesley Graduates Association, which was organized at a meeting of nearly 150 alumni on February 15th, 1935. Other alumni organizations already existed within Wesley and Manitoba Colleges: such as the Wesley Club, the Wesley Alumnae Association, and the Manitoba College Alma Mater Society. The Alumnae Association joined them at their second meeting on March 14th. The Wesley Graduates Association had an elected President and Executive and served to keep updated information on alumni and distribute College literature to its members i.e. Vox Wesleyana. It also raised funds for scholarships and bursaries. In June 1938, when Manitoba and Wesley joined as United College, the Wesley Graduates Association became the United College Graduates Association and also took over the Alma Mater Society of Manitoba College. United College became the University of Winnipeg in July 1967, and during the academic year of 1967-1968 the United College Graduates Association voted to changed its name to the University of Winnipeg Alumni Association.

The University of Winnipeg Alumni Association increased its membership and involvement with the University after 1967 with several initiatives, such as publishing the Alumni Bulletin starting in 1970 to communicate news and stay in touch with alumni, and campaigning for the Entrance Scholarship Program starting in 1973. In addition to other awards and scholarships offered or funded by the Association, starting in 1990 the Distinguished Alumni Award was established.