A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
Current season, competition or edition: 2024 U Sports football season | |
 | |
| Formerly | CIAU football, CIS football |
|---|---|
| Sport | Canadian football |
| Founded | 1961 |
| No. of teams | 27, in four conferences |
| Country | Canada |
| Most recent champion(s) | Montreal Carabins (2023) |
| Most titles | Laval Rouge et Or (11) |
| TV partner(s) |
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| Related competitions | Vanier Cup |
| Official website | usports |
U Sports football is the highest level of amateur play of Canadian football and operates under the auspices of U Sports, Canada's governing body for university sports.[1] Twenty-seven teams from Canadian universities are divided into four athletic conferences, drawing from the four regional associations of U Sports: Canada West Universities Athletic Association, Ontario University Athletics, Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec, and Atlantic University Sport. At the end of every season, the champions of each conference advance to semifinal bowl games; the winners of these meet in the Vanier Cup national championship.
History
The origins of North American football can be traced here, where the first documented game was played at University College at the University of Toronto in 1861. A number of U Sports programs have been in existence since the origins of the sport. It is from these Canadian universities that the game now known as Canadian football began. In 1874, McGill University (Montreal) challenged Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts) to a series of games.
The Grey Cup, the championship trophy of the professional Canadian Football League (CFL) since its founding in the 1950s, was originally contested by teams from the University of Toronto and Queen's University and other amateur teams since 1909. Many U Sports players have gone on to professional careers in the CFL and elsewhere; a number are drafted annually in the Canadian College Draft. In 2021, there were a record 208 U Sports alumni on CFL rosters.[2]
Season structure
Regular season
The regular season is nine to ten weeks long, depending on the conference, and, as of 2019, opens on the weekend before the Labour Day weekend. Teams play eight regular season games and regular season games are in-conference with exhibition (pre-season) games being played between conferences. Throughout the season, there are featured homecoming and rivalry games in most regions. Following the conclusion of the regular season, the Hec Crighton Trophy is awarded annually to the Most Valuable Player of U Sports football.
Playoffs
After the regular season, single elimination playoff games are held between the top teams in each conference to determine conference champions. In the Atlantic, Canada West, and Quebec conferences, the top four teams qualify for the playoffs. In Ontario, the top seven teams qualify with the top team receiving a playoff bye to the next round. Because the OUA teams have conference playoffs that last three weeks instead of two, the first round of the post-season in the OUA occurs during the same week that each of the other three conferences are playing their last regular season games. Each conference has its own championship trophy; the Hardy Trophy in the West, the Yates Cup in Ontario, the Dunsmore Cup in Quebec and the Jewett Trophy in the Atlantic conference. The conference champions proceed to national semifinal bowl games: the Mitchell Bowl and the Uteck Bowl. The participant conferences of each bowl are determined several years in advance on a rotating basis.
Vanier Cup
The winners of each bowl game meet in the Vanier Cup national championship, first established in 1965 and named in honour of Governor General Georges Vanier. The game was held in Toronto every year through 2003 when host conference bids were first accepted, yielding a move to Hamilton for 2004 and 2005, followed by Saskatoon in 2006. Quebec City, Vancouver, Montreal, London, and Kingston have since hosted Vanier Cup games.
Teams
|
Atlantic University Sport
| Institution | Team | City | Province | Founded | Head coach | Enrollment | Endowment | Football stadium | Capacity | Jewett Trophies | Vanier Cups |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop's University | Gaiters | Sherbrooke | QC | 1884 | Chérif Nicolas | 1,817 | $32.5M | Coulter Field | 2,200 | 0 | 0 |
| Mount Allison University | Mounties | Sackville | NB | 1955 | Peter Fraser | 2,694 | $110M | MacAulay Field | 2,500 | 6 | 0 |
| Acadia University | Axemen | Wolfville | NS | 1957 | Jeff Cummins | 4,358 | $96M | Raymond Field | 3,000 | 15 | 2 |
| Saint Mary's University | Huskies | Halifax | NS | 1956 | Steve Sumarah | 7,586 | $52.9M | Huskies Stadium | 2,000 | 24 | 3 |
| Saint Francis Xavier University | X-Men | Antigonish | NS | 1954 | Gary Waterman | 5,158 | $100M | StFX Stadium | 4,000 | 16 | 1 |
Canada West Universities Athletic Association
| Institution | Team | City | Province | Founded | Head coach | Enrollment | Endowment | Football stadium | Capacity | Hardy Trophies | Vanier Cups |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of British Columbia | Thunderbirds | Vancouver | BC | 1923 | Blake Nill | 49,166 | $1.3B | Thunderbird Stadium | 3,500 | 17 | 4 |
| University of Calgary | Dinos | Calgary | AB | 1964 | Ryan Sheahan | 30,900 | $790.6M | McMahon Stadium | 35,650 | 18 | 5 |
| University of Alberta | Golden Bears | Edmonton | AB | 1910 | Chris Morris | 39,312 | $1.0B | Foote Field | 3,500 | 18 | 3 |
| University of Saskatchewan | Huskies | Saskatoon | SK | 1912 | Scott Flory | 21,168 | $214M | Griffiths Stadium | 6,171 | 21 | 3 |
| University of Regina | Rams | Regina | SK | 1999 | Mark McConkey | 12,270 | $25.9M | Mosaic Stadium | 33,350 | 1 | 0 |
| University of Manitoba | Bisons | Winnipeg | MB | 1920 | Brian Dobie | 28,335 | $424M | Princess Auto Stadium | 33,422 | 12 | 3 |