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. 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, US) 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.
Maya Turner became the first woman to play in a U Sports regular-season football game, on September 23, 2023, as a Manitoba Bisons kicker. She kicked the game-winning field goal in overtime for the Bisons against the Regina Rams.
U Sports will add flag football as a women's sport beginning the 2027–28 season on a pilot basis; it has been a varsity sport in Quebec's RSEQ since 2021.
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 +InstitutionTeamCityProvinceFoundedHead coachEnrollmentEndowmentFootball stadiumCapacityJewett TrophiesVanier Cups Mount Allison University Mounties Sackville NB 1955 Peter Fraser 2,694 $110M Alumni 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 +InstitutionTeamCityProvinceFoundedHead coachEnrollmentEndowmentFootball stadiumCapacityHardy TrophiesVanier Cups University of British Columbia Thunderbirds Vancouver BC1923Blake Nill49,166$1.3B Thunderbird Stadium3,500174 University of Calgary Dinos Calgary AB1964Ryan Sheahan30,900$790.6M McMahon Stadium35,650185 University of Alberta Golden Bears Edmonton AB1910Stevenson Bone39,312$1.0B Foote Field3,500183 University of Saskatchewan Huskies Saskatoon SK1912Scott Flory21,168$214M Griffiths Stadium6,171213 University of Regina Rams Regina SK1999Mark McConkey12,270$25.9M Mosaic Stadium33,35020 University of Manitoba Bisons Winnipeg MB1920Stan Pierre28,335$424M Princess Auto Stadium33,422123
Ontario University Athletics +InstitutionTeamCityProvinceFoundedHead coachEnrollmentEndowmentFootball stadiumCapacityYates CupsVanier Cups University of Windsor Lancers Windsor ON 1968 Jean-Paul Circelli 13,610 $110.8M South Campus Stadium 2,000 1 0 University of Western Ontario Mustangs London ON 1929 Michael Faulds 35,952 $685M Western Alumni Stadium 8,000358 University of Waterloo Warriors Waterloo ON 1957 Chris Bertoia 31,362 $311.2M Warrior Field 1,700 2 0 Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks Waterloo ON 1961 Todd Galloway 20,151 $71.6M University Stadium 6,000 9 2 University of Guelph Gryphons Guelph ON 1950 Mark Surya 27,048 $308.9M Alumni Stadium 4,100 4 1 McMaster University Marauders Hamilton ON 1901 Stefan Ptaszek 29,411 $609M Ron Joyce Stadium 6,000 8 1 University of Toronto Varsity Blues Toronto ON 1877 Darrell Adams 73,185 $1.88B Varsity Stadium 5,000 25 2 York University Lions Toronto ON 1969 Dexter Janke 55,000 $439M York Lions Stadium 4,000 0 0 Queen's University Gaels Kingston ON 1882 Steve Snyder 24,582 $1.04B Richardson Stadium 8,000 23 4 University of Ottawa Gee-Gees Ottawa ON 1881 Marcel Bellefeuille 42,587 $233.9M Gee-Gees Field 4,152 4 2 Carleton University Ravens Ottawa ON 1945 Corey Grant 31,202 $270.6M TAAG Park 3,500 0 0
Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec +InstitutionTeamCityProvinceFoundedHead coachEnrollmentEndowmentFootball stadiumCapacityDunsmore CupsVanier Cups Bishop's University Gaiters Sherbrooke QC 1884 Chérif Nicolas 1,817 $32.5M Coulter Field 2,200 4 0 Concordia University Stingers Montreal QC 1974 Brad Collinson 38,809 $136.7M Concordia Stadium 4,000 3 0 Université de Montréal Carabins Montreal QC 2002 Marco Iadeluca 55,540 $276.5M CEPSUM 5,100 6 3 McGill University Redbirds Montreal QC 1898 Alex Surprenant 39,497 $1.45B Molson Stadium 20,025 3 1 Université Laval Rouge et Or Quebec City QC 1996 Glen Constantin 37,591 $108.3M Stade Telus 12,817 17 12 Université de Sherbrooke Vert et Or Sherbrooke QC 1971 Kevin Régimbald 35,000 --- Stade de l'Université de Sherbrooke 3,359 0 0
Expansion There have been efforts at establishing new varsity football programs at institutions that currently do not have teams. A group of alumni from Carleton University in Ottawa successfully revived that school's program which returned in 2013. The team is a member of the Ontario University Athletics conference of U Sports, returning football to Carleton University after a 15-year absence. Carleton football veteran celebrates team’s revival
The Université de Moncton investigated a possible football program in 2011, due to the construction of Moncton Stadium in 2010.cbc.ca University ponders legacy after IAAF games In May 2011, the athletics department submitted a feasibility report to the school's president and are based part of their decision upon how the fans in Moncton received the Uteck Bowl in 2011.http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/sports/article/1402895 U de M continues to study viability of university football The 2011 Uteck Bowl was not well supported in Moncton, and there has been little support for a team since.
A club team league, the Atlantic Football League, features four-to-five universities, depending on the season. There is hope this may lead to varsity teams featured at some of these schools.http://dalnews.dal.ca/2010/03/22/football.html Pigskin promise
Following their successful application to become full members of the Canada West Universities Athletic Association, the UBC Okanagan Heat explored the feasibility of starting their own football program, partnered with the CJFL's Okanagan Sun. UBCO would have partnered with the Sun in much the same way that the University of Regina was paired with the Prairie Football Conference's Regina Thunder.
However, UBC-O lacked a stadium on campus. The Kelowna city-owned Apple Bowl Stadium did not meet the guidelines required for entry into Canada West football after a conference site visit in 2014.
The University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières explored the possibility of adding a football program with the launch planned for the 2017 season.A new university team from 2017 The program would have been similar to Carleton University's in that there would be private funding from football alumni, but operated by shareholders. As of April 2015, $800,000 of the required $3 million had been raised in support of the varsity sport at UQTR. The capacity of the football stadium would then be increased from 2000 to 6270 seats. However, the UQTR Board of Regents refused to commit to the proposal. The UQTR Patriotes previously fielded a senior varsity team from 1971 to 1973 and 1977 to 1979.
Proposed interconference consortium In February 2015, businessman David Dube (an alumnus and supporter of the Saskatchewan Huskies) and Jim Mullin announced a proposal for a consortium known as the "Northern 8", which would organize interconference games between its member schools. Dube felt that this plan could help improve the prominence of CIS football on a national basis outside of the post-season (which, as of the 2014 season, was the only period of the season that featured nationally televised CIS games), as it would allow a nationally televised package of regular-season games to be sold to a major broadcaster. The Northern 8 would be structured as a non-profit corporation and would subsidize production costs for its telecasts: profits would be distributed to non-member schools. It would start with eight teams but could expand to 10 in the future. The Canada West conference backed the proposal. The OUA, RSEQ and AUS showed concerns for the plan due to travel costs and their effects on standings and rejected the plan.
Awards The Hec Crighton Trophy is awarded to U Sports most outstanding player. The Russ Jackson Award is presented to the player best exemplifying the attributes of academic achievement, football skill, and citizenship. The Presidents' Trophy (U Sports) is presented to the Most Outstanding Defensive Player. The Peter Gorman Trophy is awarded to the Rookie of the Year. The J. P. Metras Trophy is awarded annually to the Most Outstanding Down Lineman. The Frank Tindall Trophy is awarded to the Coach of the Year. The Jeff Russel Memorial Trophy is awarded to the Most Outstanding Player from the RESQ.
Additionally, the players deemed to be the best at each position are named to the annual All-Canadian Football Team as first or second team players.
Professional advancement
U Sports players in the CFL