NAME: Mark Norman
UNIVERSITY: UBC
CATEGORY: Student-Athlete
SPORT: Football
YEARS ACTIVE: 1983 - 1986
HALL OF FAME CLASS: 2019-20
HIGHLIGHTS:
1986 Vanier Cup champion
Two-time CIAU All-Canadian (1985, 1986)
1986 WIFL nominee for Hec Crighton Trophy as CIAU’s Most Outstanding Player
1986 Presidents’ Trophy winner as CIAU’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player
1987 Grey Cup champion with Edmonton Eskimos
BIOGRAPHY:
Born January 28, 1965 in Edinburgh, Scotland, Mark Norman played football at UBC from 1983 to 1986, leading the Thunderbirds to the Vanier Cup championship in his last season before being selected by the Edmonton Eskimos in the 1987 Canadian Football League draft.
A defensive back and punt returner, Norman rewrote the Western Intercollegiate Football League (WIFL) record book, establishing new marks for most interceptions returned for touchdowns in a season (5) and career (6); most interception return yards in a season (451) and career (514); and most interceptions in a season (13). He also holds the school record for most interception return yards in a game with 152.
Norman was a back-to-back WIFL First Team All-Star and Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union (CIAU) First Team All Canadian in both 1985 and 1986. In UBC’s 1986 national championship season, he won the Presidents’ Trophy as CIAU’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player, and was a finalist for the Hec Crighton Trophy, awarded to the most outstanding player in Canadian university football.
After being selected 26th overall in the 1987 CFL Draft by the Edmonton Eskimos, Norman played in 18 games as a rookie for the Esks during their 1987 Grey Cup championship win. Playing primarily at safety, Norman appeared in a total of 56 CFL games and tallied 10 interceptions over five years with the Esks, before retiring in 1991.
In 2014, Norman appeared at No. 44 on Sportsnet’s list of the Top 50 Vanier Cup players and was ranked at No. 8 on UBC’s Top 100 football players list, which was unveiled in 2017.