Thompson Rivers University Athletics

Coach
Inducted 2024


 
There can be no doubt that longtime hockey coach Terry Bangen has left his mark on post-secondary athletics in Kamloops, playing key roles for Cariboo College, the University College of the Cariboo as well as Thompson Rivers University.
 
Coming to Kamloops in 1976 to take over the reins as the men’s hockey coach and assistant athletic director of Cariboo College, Bangen became one of the most decorated coaches in the institution’s history over the next 11 seasons.
 
Under his guidance the team captured nine British Columbia Colleges Athletic Association (BCCAA) conference championships, including six-straight from 1983-1988. Bangen and his Cariboo College squad also earned a pair of second place finishes at the 4-West championships (a competition between the top collegiate teams from B.C. to Manitoba) while also qualifying for a then-record five-straight trips to the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) national hockey championships from 1984-1988.
 
Earning the CCAA Coaching Award of Excellence in 1987, Bangen also served as Athletic Director of the University College of the Cariboo Sun Demons in 1994-95.
 
Leaving UCC to become the head coach of men’s hockey at McGill University in1995-96, Bangen went on to accumulate many accolades throughout a legendary coaching career. An assistant coach, assistant general manager, director of player personnel and senior advisor in the WHL for over 20 seasons, he captured three Memorial Cup titles with the Kamloops Blazers. He spent time as an assistant coach with the Vancouver Canucks while also capturing gold with Hockey Canada and the 1994 La Copa Mexico and the 1996 IIHF World Junior Championship.
 
Rounding out his time with TRU, Bangen returned to the department from 2011-2014 when he served as assistant coach with the TRU WolfPack.
 
In total, Bangen spent 22 years working for post-secondary athletic institutions in Kamloops.