The Hamilton Tigers won their first Grey Cup title over the Parkdale Canoe Club .
113-768: The West Division is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League (CFL), its counterpart being the East Division . With a few exceptions, a senior men's football championship has been contested in Western Canada since 1911, and with a few additional exceptions the Western champion has played the Eastern champion for the Grey Cup . Although its teams have been members of
226-727: A Western team, the Winnipeg Pegs (soon to be known as the present-day Blue Bombers) captured the Grey Cup, after they defeated the Hamilton Tigers (one of the forerunner teams to the modern Hamilton Tiger-Cats) 18–12. However, despite Winnipeg's national title (or perhaps even indirectly because of it) football in Western Canada was in crisis by the mid-1930s. The Great Depression , which had caused serious financial difficulties for professional sports across North America , hit Western Canada particularly hard. Making matters worse
339-573: A complete merger of the two regional conferences. In 1981, the CFL's two conferences agreed to a full merger and a full interlocking schedule. Although the WFC has carried on since that time as the CFL's West Division, full authority was now vested within the CFL itself. The decision to create a full interlocking schedule meant that the teams were playing fewer divisional games, consequently the league decided to add two extra divisional games per team, thus extending
452-487: A different city every year, selected two or more years in advance. The Toronto Argonauts have won the most Grey Cups with 19 wins total, most recently in 2024. In 2013, the Grey Cup was won at home for the third consecutive time (by the Saskatchewan Roughriders ), which had not been done since Toronto won at home from 1945 to 1947. In 2016, the Grey Cup was won on the natural grass turf of BMO Field by
565-538: A greater emphasis on divisional play. Under the eighteen game format, each Eastern team played ten games within their division and eight games against Western opponents, thus playing two of the Western teams once (one at home and one on the road) and the other three Western teams twice, while playing two Eastern opponents three times and one division rival four times. Three of the Western teams played each division rival three times, two Eastern teams twice and two Eastern teams once. The remaining two Western teams played three of
678-966: A national craze in the late 19th century, the Argonaut Rowing Club of Toronto formed a rugby team for its members' off-season participation. The football team name Toronto Argonauts still remains even though it and the rowing club have long since gone their separate ways. After World War II, the Hamilton Tigers absorbed the upstart war-era Flying Wildcats and called the team the Hamilton Tiger-Cats . The league remained stable with nine franchises—the BC Lions , Calgary Stampeders , Edmonton Eskimos , Saskatchewan Roughriders , Winnipeg Blue Bombers , Hamilton Tiger-Cats , Toronto Argonauts , Ottawa Rough Riders and Montreal Alouettes —from its 1958 inception until 1981 . After
791-486: A new five-year collective bargaining agreement (from 2014 through the 2018 season) between the CFL and the Canadian Football League Players' Association (CFLPA). The Toronto Argonauts entered a period of transition off the field, with new ownership and a new stadium. The Argonauts were sold by politician/businessman David Braley to Bell Media and MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum . At
904-659: A permanent basis for the 1936 season, was the introduction of automatic divisional playoffs. Other than the aforementioned short-lived Tri-City League, prior to the formation of the WIFU, the playoff format in Western Canadian football was similar to the format used in U.S. professional leagues right up to the introduction of the Super Bowl in that playoff qualification was limited to union winners and intra-provincial playoffs were only used (when necessary) to break ties in
1017-488: A player with the Calgary Stampeders , Toronto Argonauts and Edmonton Eskimos from 1985 to 1993, Ambrosie is the first commissioner to have played in the league since Larry Smith left the position in 1997. On September 12, 2018, it was announced that Buffalo, New York –based New Era Cap Company would become the official apparel supplier of the CFL beginning in 2019, replacing Adidas . In October 2018,
1130-505: A re-branding for the CFL, including a new logo, motto, uniforms for all nine teams and website. After not having a drug enforcement policy in effect for the 2015 season the league and the CFLPA agreed to a new drug policy. In 2017, the Board of Governors and Jeffrey Orridge agreed to part ways, effective June 30, 2017; Orridge cited "differing views on the future of the league" between him and
1243-600: A semi-final against the champion of the Ontario Rugby Football Union (ORFU)–by then, the only amateur union still competing for the Grey Cup. The ORFU withdrew from Grey Cup competition after the 1953 season, and the WIFU champion was given an automatic berth in the Grey Cup final. For this reason, 1954 is reckoned as the start of the modern era of Canadian football, in which the Grey Cup has been exclusively contested by professional teams. Since 1965, Canada's top university football teams, competing in what
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#17327808541531356-426: A single game average of 28,193. The 2007 season was a recent high point with average game attendance of 29,167, the best since 1983. During Mark Cohon's time in office many of the teams either undertook major renovations to their existing stadiums, or constructed brand new stadiums. The Montreal Alouettes were the first to undertake this project, adding 5,000 seats to Percival Molson Memorial Stadium in time for
1469-566: A special ceremony in the host city during the week before the Grey Cup game; this ceremony is broadcast nationally on TSN . The Annis Stukus Trophy , also known as the Coach of the Year Award, is awarded separately at a banquet held during the off-season each February. While the CFL has not held an all-star game since 1988 , an All-Star Team is selected and honoured at the league awards ceremony during Grey Cup week. The CFL Championship game,
1582-418: A tradition of at least one Friday night game each week, branded as Friday Night Football . CBC and TSN drew record television audiences for CFL broadcasts in 2005. The 2006 season was the first season in which every regular-season game was televised, as the league implemented an instant replay challenge system. In 2006, the CFL also began offering pay-per-view webcasts of every game on CFL Broadband. Until
1695-417: Is allowed the three days before the main camp opens. The pre-season exhibition schedule is two weeks long with each team playing two games against teams from its own division. The regular season is 21 weeks long, with games beginning in early June and finishing by late October. With 18 regular season games being played, each team gets three bye weeks. The CFL's nine current teams are divided into two divisions:
1808-881: Is now U Sports , have competed for the Vanier Cup . In 1956, the Montreal Alouettes threatened to leave the Big Four and join the rival WIFU. As a result, the Big Four and WIFU formed a new umbrella organization, the Canadian Football Council (CFC) to modernize the operations and management of the professional game. In 1958 , the CFC formally left the CRU and reorganized as the Canadian Football League. As part of an agreement between
1921-702: Is one of Canada's largest annual sports and television events. The CFL was officially named on January 19, 1958, upon the merger between the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union or "Big Four" (founded in 1907) and the Western Interprovincial Football Union (founded in March 1936). Rugby football began to be played in Canada in the 1860s, and many of the first Canadian football teams played under
2034-479: Is possible for two teams in the same division to play for the Grey Cup, only five crossover teams have won a semifinal since the rule's 1996 inception, and none of them have advanced to the Grey Cup). The winners of each division's semifinal game then travel to play the first place teams in the division finals. The two division champions then face each other in the Grey Cup game, which, since 2022 , has been held on
2147-642: Is the first documented East-West series of games. On September 6, the Hamilton Alerts applied for reinstatement in the ORFU under the name of the East Hamilton Athletic Association, but the request was denied. The Hamilton Rowing Club, however, was accepted. Source: Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, Pts = Points *Bold text means that they have clinched
2260-427: The 111th Grey Cup . Ambrosie had reportedly lost a vote of confidence among the league's owners a day prior. Notes Note: team franchise history is listed as it is recognized by the CFL in its publication CFL Guide and Record Book (2017) . Since 2022 , the CFL season has included: Team training camps open 28 days prior to the first regular season game of the season, a camp solely devoted to first year players
2373-527: The 1948 Grey Cup in which fans of the Western and eventual Grey Cup champion Stampeders brought pageantry to the event for the first time, with pancake breakfasts at Toronto City Hall, riding a horse through the lobby of the Royal York Hotel, and the first Grey Cup parade. This development proved decisive in turning the national football championship into big business, and the Big Four and WIFU quickly dropped all pretense of amateurism. Despite this,
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#17327808541532486-819: The 1995 season , all eight Canadian teams competed in the North Division, although the championship game was still an East–West affair as the Baltimore Stallions of the South Division defeated Calgary to become the only U.S. team to claim the Grey Cup. Prior to the 1996 season , however, all of the American clubs disbanded, with the Stallions ownership establishing a revived Alouettes franchise in Montreal . The pre-1987 divisional alignment
2599-547: The 2010 CFL season . The Edmonton Eskimos and Calgary Stampeders also renovated their respective stadiums and facilities for the 2010 season. In 2011 , the BC Lions played under a new, retractable roof in BC Place after spending one and a half seasons at Empire Field . In 2013 , the Winnipeg Blue Bombers moved to Investors Group Field, now known as Princess Auto Stadium , an entirely new stadium at
2712-479: The BC Lions joined the league, thus giving the West the same five teams that compete in the modern CFL. By the end of World War II, the WIFU had upgraded its quality of play to a level almost equal to that of the strongest Eastern union, the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (Big Four). From 1945 onward, the WIFU champion regularly faced the Big Four champion for the Grey Cup. An important turning point came during
2825-787: The Banjo Bowl . Other features of the regular season schedule are the Hall of Fame Game and the Thanksgiving Day Classic , the one or two games held on Thanksgiving where the match ups usually do not feature traditional rivalries. From 2010 to 2013, a neutral site regular season game was played in Moncton under the name Touchdown Atlantic . The neutral site games returned in 2019 and were also played in 2022, 2023, and 2024. The league awards points based on regular season results (much like in most ice hockey leagues, but unlike
2938-464: The East Division and five teams in the West Division . As of 2024 , it features a 21-week regular season in which each team plays 18 games with three bye weeks . This season traditionally runs from mid-June to early November. Following the regular season, six teams compete in the league's three-week playoffs , which culminate in the Grey Cup championship game in late November. The Grey Cup
3051-489: The East Division with four teams and the West Division , with five teams. From the 1986 season until the COVID-19 pandemic (other than during the U.S. expansion when the league had twelve and thirteen teams) each team played two games against each of the other eight teams, plus two or four additional divisional games with opponents rotating each season. This format was changed when the league resumed play in 2021 to create
3164-499: The East Division , and concluding with a simulcast of the 111th Grey Cup ; returning the CFL to over-the-air television for the first time since 2007. As of 2024, the CFL's agreement with TSN, CTV and RDS runs through the 2026 CFL season. In 2013, the CFL announced that its U.S. broadcast rights would return to the ESPN Networks for the 2013 season, with five games airing on ESPN2 , and 55 airing on ESPN3 . This agreement
3277-608: The Edmonton Eskimos joined in 1938. The Eskimos lasted only two years before withdrawing following the outbreak of the war. The Bronks left the following year, but were replaced by the Vancouver Grizzlies following the collapse of the BCRFU. This arrangement lasted only one season, with the WIFU suspending operations altogether for the duration of the war in 1942. During this time, the WIFU's relationship with
3390-606: The Fédération française de football américain [ fr ] would participate in the CFL national combine. Throughout early 2019, Ambrosie actively travelled Europe forming partnerships between the CFL and top-level European American football leagues and associations, specifically Germany ( GFL ), Austria ( AFL ), France (FFFA), the Nordic countries ( NL , VL , SS and NAFL) and Italy ( IFL ). By January 2020 football leagues from 13 countries had signed partnerships with
3503-468: The Ottawa Redblacks beating the heavily favoured Calgary Stampeders 39–33 in overtime; the first Grey Cup championship for any Ottawa CFL team in 40 years. As the country's single largest annual sporting event, the Grey Cup has long served as an unofficial Canadian autumn festival generating national media coverage and a large amount of revenue for the host city. Many fans travel from across
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3616-511: The Ottawa Rough Riders , in existence since 1876, folded after the 1996 season (another dispersal draft was conducted the next year to distribute the former Rough Rider players among the remaining eight teams). Toronto and recently revived Montreal also were struggling; Montreal's woes were solved by moving to Percival Molson Memorial Stadium , a much smaller venue than the cavernous Olympic Stadium . The Winnipeg team again moved to
3729-754: The Sacramento Gold Miners . After modest success, the league then expanded further in the U.S. in 1994 with the Las Vegas Posse , Baltimore Stallions , and Shreveport Pirates . For the 1995 campaign, the American teams were split off into their own South Division, and two more teams, the Birmingham Barracudas and Memphis Mad Dogs , were added; at the same time, the Posse folded and the Gold Miners relocated to become
3842-529: The San Antonio Texans . In 1995, the Stallions became the only non-Canadian team to win the Grey Cup . Despite all American teams having the advantage of not being bound to the CFL's minimum Canadian player quotas, only the Stallions proved to be an on-field and off-field success. The establishment of the NFL's Baltimore Ravens , worsening financial problems among the league's core Canadian teams, and
3955-570: The Saskatchewan Roughriders in 1948, the Edmonton Eskimos (renamed to Elks in 2021) permanently rejoined the league in 1949, and in 1950 the third-place team was once again granted a playoff berth. The regular season schedule was also expanded, from eight games per team in 1946 to 12 in 1948 and 14 in 1949 before settling on a 16-game schedule in 1952. The West's schedule remained longer than any other regular season schedule in professional football for more than two decades. The expansion of
4068-502: The Tri-City Rugby Football League. This experiment was abandoned after one year due to travel expenses. However, the league notably introduced the concept (then established in hockey, but unheard of in gridiron football) of an automatic end-of-season playoff between the regular season winner and runner-up. This postseason format would later be adopted when the western unions merged permanently. Finally in 1935
4181-483: The University of Manitoba . The Hamilton Tiger-Cats began using their new stadium, Tim Hortons Field , after spending 2013 at University of Guelph's stadium and the first half of the 2014 season at McMaster University's football field following the demolition of the iconic Ivor Wynne Stadium . In 2014 the Ottawa Redblacks kicked off their inaugural season (having been awarded a franchise in 2008 ), becoming
4294-560: The Western Canada Rugby Football Union in 1911, with the Calgary Tigers winning the first Western championship later that year. The format often changed from year to year, in large part because provincial champions often declined to participate in the Western playoffs while during the latter years of World War I the competition was suspended altogether. In the years following the establishment of
4407-460: The World War II years, an amateur team last won the Grey Cup in 1936. By the end of World War II, the WIFU's play was at the same level as that of the Big Four. Within a few years after the return of peace, both interprovincial unions had turned openly professional. However, while the Big Four champion got an automatic berth to the Grey Cup final, until 1954 the WIFU's champion had to play in
4520-470: The "Big Four"). It took almost 30 years for an elite interprovincial western union to emerge, when in 1936 the stronger senior clubs in Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan formed the Western Interprovincial Football Union (WIFU). From the 1930s to the 1950s, the Big Four and WIFU gradually evolved from amateur to professional leagues, and amateur teams were no longer competitive for the Grey Cup. Apart from
4633-676: The 1981 season, the Alouettes folded and were replaced the next year by a new franchise named the Concordes. In 1986 the Concordes were renamed the Alouettes to attract more fan support, but the team folded the next year. The loss of the Montreal franchise forced the league to move its easternmost Western team, Winnipeg, into the East Division from 1987 to 1994. In 1993 , the league admitted its first United States–based franchise,
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4746-556: The 2002 and 2010 Men's Olympic Gold Medal Hockey Game. Currently, the official television broadcasters of CFL games are cable network TSN (which began televising CFL games in 1985 ), while TSN's French-language network RDS broadcasts Montreal Alouettes games for the Quebec television market. Games are typically scheduled for Thursday to Saturday evenings during June, July and August, but switch to more Saturday and Sunday afternoon games during September and October. TSN has created
4859-440: The 20th century. For example, the West had a different playoff format until 1973 and a longer schedule until 1974. During this time, attendances increased substantially for most clubs and television revenue gained prominence and importance. However, by the start of the 1980s rising player salaries had caused considerable financial losses for some teams. In an effort to bolster the league's stability, CFL clubs decided to proceed with
4972-502: The Albertan and Saskatchewan unions, leaving the BCRFU as the only purely provincial union operating in Western Canada. The WCRFU subsequently agreed to a format whereby the BCRFU and NWL champions would have the right to challenge the WIFU champion for the right to represent the West in the Grey Cup. Ultimately, no such challenge would be issued by either league, neither of which survived World War II . The WIFU expanded to four teams when
5085-628: The BCRFU, the Western playoffs usually took the form of a four-team bracket – on these occasions, to reduce travel costs the BCRFU champion usually played the ARFU champion while the SRFU champion played the MRFU champion, with the winners of those games competing in the Western Final. Initially, Western champions were not permitted to compete for the Grey Cup, because the CRU believed the calibre of
5198-472: The Big Four was reluctant to accept the WIFU as an equal. Well into the 1950s, long after the Big Four champion got an automatic berth to the Grey Cup, the WIFU champion was often obliged to play the champion of the Ontario Rugby Football Union — the only purely amateur union still playing for the title — in a Grey Cup semi-final. However, as the 1950s wore on, the ORFU found it increasingly difficult to compete in
5311-590: The Blue Bombers won the East Division championship for the first time. In 1993, the CFL decided to expand to the United States , leading to the addition of the league's first American -based team, the Sacramento Gold Miners . In 1994, the division added a sixth team, the Las Vegas Posse . Following the 1994 season, the Posse folded while the Gold Miners moved to San Antonio and became the Texans . For
5424-400: The Board of Governors for the departure, with both sides stating the decision was mutual and amicable. His last day as commissioner was June 15, 2017. Jim Lawson , the CFL's Chair of the Board of Governors, took over the duties of interim Commissioner until a suitable replacement was found. On July 5, 2017, Randy Ambrosie succeeded Orridge as CFL commissioner. Having spent nine seasons as
5537-585: The CFC withdrew from the CRU and renamed itself the Canadian Football League . The new league also assumed control of the Grey Cup, though it had been the de facto professional championship of Canadian football for four years before then. The WIFU was officially renamed the Western Football Conference on February 8, 1961. However, it had become known informally as the Western Conference or Western Football Conference in
5650-475: The CFL announcing that its global combine in 2020 with new rules, including two designated active-roster international players and three practice-squad international players with as many as 45 global players in the league. The league took over operations of the Montreal Alouettes prior to the 2019 season after Robert C. Wetenhall , the league's last non-Canadian owner, surrendered the franchise to
5763-665: The CFL began focusing marketing internationally again after the unsuccessful expansion into the United States during the 1990s, with Ambrosie's plan being called CFL 2.0 . Ambrosie partnered with the Professional American Football League of Mexico (LFA) for player development, as part of the league's plan to expand globally. Ambrosie also later announced a special edition of the CFL Combine to be held in 2019 in Mexico for Mexican players, which
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#17327808541535876-441: The CFL instituted a rule that permitted a fourth-place team in one division to make the playoffs provided it had more points in the standings than the third-place team in the other division. That year in the West the first-place Eskimos (13–4–1) defeated the fourth-place Stampeders (11–7–0) by a score of 27–18. The second-place Lions (12–6–0) defeated the third-place Blue Bombers (11–7–0) by a score of 21–14. The Eskimos then demolished
5989-597: The CFL since 1958, the then-Western Football Conference remained a distinct legal entity until 1981. The five teams in the West Division are the BC Lions , Calgary Stampeders , Edmonton Elks , Saskatchewan Roughriders , and Winnipeg Blue Bombers . There were also two now-defunct teams from the mid 1990s United States expansion of the CFL who played in the West Division. Additionally, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers have played three separate stints in
6102-407: The CFL, becoming the first openly gay player in the league's history. Sam left the team the day before the first preseason game, citing personal reasons. As reported by Fox Sports , Sam returned to Montreal to continue his professional football career. He left again on August 14, this time permanently, again citing personal reasons. Immediately following the 2015 season Jeffrey Orridge announced
6215-405: The CFL, these partnerships included mutual exchanging of players and coaches with leagues like the Mexican LFA holding reserved roster spots for Canadians with up to 25 playing in the league's 2020 season. In February 2020, the CFL expanded its global alliance system, welcoming the Japanese X-League , generally regarded the third-best professional gridiron league in the world. This coincided with
6328-459: The CRU and CFL, the CFL took possession of the Grey Cup, and the amateurs were officially locked out of Grey Cup play. However, the Grey Cup had been the de facto professional championship since 1954. The CRU remained the governing body for amateur play in Canada, eventually adopting the name Football Canada . Initially, the two unions remained autonomous, and there was no intersectional play between eastern (Big Four) and western (WIFU) teams except at
6441-471: The CRU remained strained. Teams in the Western league continued to push for rule changes intended in part to make the game more attractive to U.S. players familiar with the American game. This came to a head in 1940 when the CRU again barred the Western champion Blue Bombers from the Grey Cup on the grounds that the West had played using rules that differed from those in the East. Perhaps the most important pre-war development, implemented in both East and West on
6554-452: The East Division from 1997 to 2001 to make up for the loss of Ottawa. In 1997, the NFL provided a US$ 3-million interest-free loan to the financially struggling CFL. In return, the NFL was granted access to CFL players entering a defined two-month window in the option year of their contract. This was later written into the CFL's collective bargaining agreement with its players. The CFL's finances have since stabilized and they eventually repaid
6667-426: The East Division, during seasons in which the divisions needed to be rebalanced due league expansion, contraction, or reorganization. The first organized football club in Western Canada was the Winnipeg Rugby Football Club which was founded in 1879. At the time the sport was generally called rugby or rugby football because its rules were similar to rugby union 's, although this would change drastically in
6780-431: The East Final, and only four other teams (the 2009 BC Lions , 2016 Eskimos , 2017 Saskatchewan Roughriders and 2019 Eskimos ) have won a game since. Neither crossover team won more than one playoff game. As of 2022, no team from the East has crossed over into the West playoffs. This reflects Winnipeg Blue Bombers results only while in the West Division since its creation in 1930. The Sacramento Gold Miners played in
6893-456: The East in the regular season. From 1954 to 2015, the West has won 35 Grey Cups and lost 26. This is not counting the 1995 season. Additionally two of the West's Grey Cup losses were to the Blue Bombers, who have played in the West for most of their history. The West was particularly dominant from 1978 to 1989, winning all but three Cups in that period (Winnipeg, traditionally a West team, won as an East team in 1988). For most seasons since 1950,
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#17327808541537006-429: The Eastern opponents twice and one of the Eastern opponents once, while playing each other twice and the other Western teams three times. The CFL returned to the previous more balanced format beginning in the 2024 season . The most popular featured week in the CFL season is the Labour Day Classic , played over the course of the Labour Day weekend, where the matchups feature the first half of home-and-home series between
7119-422: The Eskimos 39–15. With the demise of the Montreal Alouettes on the eve of the 1987 season the playoff format reverted to the top three teams in the respective divisions making the playoffs (as it happened, no fourth place team achieved the league's sixth best record prior to U.S. expansion), while four teams qualified for the playoffs in 1993 and 1994. In 1997, the present cross-over rule was implemented, allowing
7232-419: The Grey Cup had the highest ever television ratings for a championship game in English Canada. During the 2000s the CFL had the third highest per-game attendance of any North American sports league and the seventh highest per-game attendance of any sports league worldwide . A 2006 survey conducted at the University of Lethbridge confirmed that the CFL was the second most popular sports league in Canada, with
7345-412: The Grey Cup by remaining in their respective provincial unions – meaning that the new WIFU faced the threat of being branded an "outlaw" league. Calgary and Regina reluctantly agreed to play in both the WIFU and their respective provincial unions for the 1936 season, with both clubs fielding weaker "B" sides in provincial competition. Regina would go on to win the first Western championship following
7458-449: The Grey Cup final. This situation was roughly analogous to how Major League Baseball operated for almost all of the 20th century. The Big Four was renamed the Eastern Football Conference in 1960 , while the WIFU was renamed the Western Football Conference in 1961 . Also in 1961, limited intersectional play was introduced. Because the West played 16 games by this time while the East still only played 14, this arrangement oddly allowed both
7571-399: The Grey Cup, previously held the record for the largest television audience in Canadian history. Television coverage on CBC, CTV and Radio-Canada of the 1983 Grey Cup attracted a viewing audience of 8,118,000 people as Toronto edged B.C. 18–17, ending a 31-year championship drought for the Argonauts. At the time, this represented 33% of the Canadian population. This has since been surpassed by
7684-413: The Lions in the West Final 41–5 and advanced to the Grey Cup. In the East the first-place Argonauts (10–8–0) played a two-game total point series against the second-place Tiger-Cats (9–8–1). The Argonauts won the first game 31–17, but the Tiger-Cats won the second game by a score of 42–25—and with it, a berth in the Grey Cup final. The Tiger-Cats, in their third consecutive Grey Cup game, were victorious over
7797-412: The MRFU, the Regina Roughriders of the SRFU and the Calgary Bronks of the ARFU decided to break away from their provincial unions and form a new elite competition, the Western Interprovincial Football Union . The MRFU ceased operations almost immediately. However, the SRFU, ARFU and WCRFU all initially resisted the formation of the new league. The WCRFU insisted that Western teams could only compete for
7910-445: The NFL, which strictly uses winning percentages to determine their standings; two points are awarded for a win, one for a tie and none for a loss). As of the 2021 season, in the event two or more teams in a division finish the season with the same number of points, the tie is broken based on the following criteria (in descending order), with coin tosses used if all such tie-breaker steps fail: The playoffs take place in November. After
8023-431: The Western clubs to be inferior to those in the East. Such perceptions were reinforced in 1913 when the Hamilton Tigers toured Western Canada for a series of exhibition games, as Hamilton easily defeated all four Western opponents they faced. It was not until 1921 that a Western team was finally allowed to compete in the Grey Cup game, when the Edmonton Eskimos lost 23–0 to the Toronto Argonauts . Initial challenges for
8136-748: The auspices of the Canadian Rugby Football Union (CRFU), founded in June 1880 then reorganized in February 1884. The CRFU was reorganized as the Canadian Rugby Union (CRU) in 1891, and served as an umbrella organization for several provincial and regional unions. The Grey Cup was donated by Governor General the Earl Grey in 1909 to the team winning the "Senior Amateur Football Championship of Canada". By that time,
8249-692: The coming decades. The first organized competition in the West was formed in 1888. Winnipeg Rugby Football Club , St.John's Rugby Football Club and the Royal School of Infantry / 90th Regiment formed the Manitoba Rugby League, later re-organized as the Manitoba Rugby Football Union . Football was being played in what was to become Alberta and Saskatchewan by 1890, and by 1907 the new provinces had organized their own respective competitions and agreed to adopt
8362-583: The country to attend the game and the week of festivities that lead up to it. Since 2015, the Grey Cup game's presenting sponsor is Shaw Communications . Following the Grey Cup game, the Grey Cup Most Valuable Player and Grey Cup Most Valuable Canadian are selected. A number of league individual player awards, such as the Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Defensive Player , are awarded annually at
8475-566: The creation of the Ottawa Renegades . After four seasons of financial losses, the Renegades were suspended indefinitely before the 2006 season ; their players were absorbed by the remaining teams in a dispersal draft. Winnipeg was moved to the East Division again in 2006, a situation that continued until 2013. In 2005 , the league set an all-time attendance record with a total attendance of more than 2.3 million. In June 2006
8588-499: The division from 1993–1994 and the Las Vegas Posse played in the division in 1994. Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League ( CFL ); French : Ligue canadienne de football (LCF ) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football . The league consists of nine teams, each in a city in Canada. They are divided into two divisions: four teams in
8701-399: The end of the 2007 season , CBC and RDS were the exclusive television broadcasters for all playoff games, including the Grey Cup , which regularly draws a Canadian viewing audience in excess of 4 million. In 2008 , the CFL began a new, five-year television deal with CTVglobemedia . Valued at $ 16 million per-year, it gave TSN and RDS exclusive rights to all CFL games, including
8814-484: The following of 19% of the total adult Canadian population compared to 30% for the NHL . The NFL had 11% following, with a total of 26% following at least one of the pro football leagues. In other words, approximately 80% of Canadian football fans follow the CFL, and about 55% follow the NFL. With the absence of Ottawa from 2006 to 2013, league attendance hovered around the 2 million mark. It stood at 2,029,875 in 2012 for
8927-457: The formation of the WIFU, only to find themselves barred by the CRU from competing in the Grey Cup. The WIFU had ignored a rule implemented by the CRU immediately following Winnipeg's first Grey Cup win strictly limiting the use of American players in Canadian football. By the following season, the ARFU and SRFU had both collapsed. The North Western League was organized in an effort to replace
9040-567: The four-team Eastern Conference and the five-team Western Conference to play three games per intraconference opponent and one game per interconference opponent. It was not until 1974 that the East expanded its schedule to 16 games, just like the West. In 1981 , the two conferences agreed to a full merger, becoming the East and West Divisions of the CFL. With the merger came a fully balanced and interlocking schedule of 16 games per season (with all nine teams playing each other twice, once at home and once on
9153-414: The fourth-place team from one division to take the play-off place of the third-place team in the other division, should the fourth-place team earn a better record. From 1997 to 2016, the fourth place team in the West has taken advantage of the cross-over rule nine times, including four times when there were equal teams in the divisions. However, it was not until 2008 that a West team ( Edmonton ) advanced to
9266-424: The inconsistent performance of the other American teams prompted the CFL to abandon its American experiment and retrench its Canadian operations. The Stallions organization was used as the basis for a revival of the Montreal Alouettes . The CFL returned to an all-Canadian format in 1996 with nine teams; the league conducted a dispersal draft to distribute players from the disbanded American-based teams; however,
9379-487: The league announced the launch of CFL Broadband, an internet streaming service designed to provide fans with another media platform, in addition to TSN and CBC broadcasts, to watch games live. With Mark Cohon as commissioner of the league the CFL entered a period of stability and growth. New television deals, two new collective bargaining agreements, the 100th Grey Cup celebration, and widespread stadium renovation and rebuilding highlighted this era. The 100th anniversary of
9492-400: The league briefly considered temporarily leaving Winnipeg in the East in an effort to keep the divisions relatively equal in strength, but the Blue Bombers successfully lobbied to be moved back to the West immediately. Prior to 1954, Western clubs found limited success in the Grey Cup. Since 1954, however, the West has generally been on an equal footing and in recent decades has often dominated
9605-399: The league in 1938, when they were expanded to three teams, reverting again to two teams after Edmonton dropped out of the WIFU. Following the war, the league resumed play in 1945 with Winnipeg, Regina and the newly formed Calgary Stampeders . In 1945, the three teams competed in a playoff in lieu of a regular season, but the competition was fully resumed by 1946. The Regina Roughriders became
9718-569: The league in May. The Alouettes found new ownership in January 2020 in Crawford Steel executives Sid Spiegel and Gary Stern, whose holding company S and S Sportsco would oversee the team. On August 17, 2020, the CFL cancelled its 2020 season after coronavirus-related social distancing mandates and travel restrictions imposed in most of Canada prevented the league from selling tickets and
9831-502: The league was unable to secure a bailout from the federal government to cover any losses. It was the first cancelled season in the league's history, and the first year without a Grey Cup championship since the canceled 1916–1919 seasons. The league returned in 2021 , playing a shortened 14-game schedule which began that August, with the season concluding with the Grey Cup game in December for the first time since 1972. On March 10, 2021,
9944-551: The loan. The CFL–NFL agreement expired in 2006. Both leagues have been attempting to reach a new agreement, but the CFL broke off negotiations in November 2007 after Canadian telecommunications firm Rogers Communications paid $ 78 million to host seven Bills games in Toronto over five seasons (the last Bills Toronto Series game was played during the 2013 NFL season ). In 2002 , the league expanded back to nine teams with
10057-540: The media for some years before then. Also in 1961, the WFC agreed to a partial interlocking schedule with what was by then known as the Eastern Football Conference . Although the WFC was part of the CFL, its merger with the EFC was only a partial merger for the next two decades. During this time, the conferences maintained considerable autonomy, much like the two Major League Baseball leagues operated in
10170-438: The mid-1930s, the Western provincial unions usually maintained separate regular season schedules. However, they soon set out to create a unified Western Canadian playoff structure involving the respective provincial champions, with the view that the Western champion ought to be allowed to challenge for the Canadian Rugby Union's new championship trophy, the Grey Cup . To this end, the Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta unions formed
10283-433: The new environment. The ORFU stopped challenging for the Grey Cup after the 1954 season, and the Grey Cup has been an East vs. West contest since. Although the amateurs would not be formally locked out of Grey Cup play for another four years, 1954 is usually viewed as the start of the modern era of Canadian football. In 1956, these two leagues agreed to form the Canadian Football Council as an umbrella organization. In 1958,
10396-510: The ownership of the Alouettes was transferred back to the CFL. Mario Cecchini was appointed as the interim President while the league sought to finalize a sale to new ownership. On March 10, Quebec media mogul and former Parti Québécois leader Pierre Karl Péladeau purchased the team. On April 11, 2024, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers announced league record revenue of $ 50.5 million and operating profit of $ 5.7 million. Ambrosie announced his resignation on October 26, 2024, to take effect following
10509-498: The playoffs and Grey Cup. In March 2013, TSN exercised an option to extend its contract through 2018. In 2015, the deal was extended for an additional three years, along with exclusive Grey Cup rights for Bell Media Radio stations. In June 2024, Bell Media announced that CTV would broadcast TSN-produced 2024 season coverage on digital terrestrial television , including a late-season package of exclusive 3 p.m. ET games beginning on September 7, continuing with playoff coverage of
10622-597: The prairies could muster. The collapse of the last such "major" Western hockey league in 1926 opened a void that was quickly filled by football, with a provincial union finally being formed in British Columbia that same year. The four rugby unions in the West were named the Manitoba Rugby Football Union , Saskatchewan Rugby Football Union , Alberta Rugby Football Union and the British Columbia Rugby Football Union . Until
10735-421: The presence of American players (later called "imports" and today officially known as "internationals") would play a decisive role in bringing the calibre of the top Western teams to a level approaching that of the top clubs in the East, it further exacerbated the disparity within the Western provincial unions. In a bid to stabilize and improve the quality of the game in Western Canada, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of
10848-434: The regular season, the top team from each division has an automatic home berth in the division final, and a bye week during the division semifinal. The second-place team from each division hosts the third-place team in the division semifinal, unless a fourth-place team from one division finishes with a better record than a third place team in the other (this provision is known as the crossover rule , and while it implies that it
10961-453: The road). Since 1986 (with exception of 2021), the CFL's regular season schedule has been 18 games. The separate histories of the Big Four and the WIFU accounted for the fact that two teams had basically the same name: the Big Four's Ottawa Rough Riders were often called the "Eastern Riders", while the WIFU's Saskatchewan Roughriders were called the "Western Riders" or "Green Riders". Other team names had traditional origins. With rowing
11074-490: The rules of the national governing body, the Canadian Rugby Union . Initially, interest in rugby football was mostly confined to the prairie provinces. As is the case today, ice hockey was Western Canada's most popular sport, and the presence of what were recognized to be "major league" professional circuits in Western Canada initially served to limit the resources which the fledgling senior football unions on
11187-426: The schedule coincided with the WIFU's gradual transition into a professional competition. However, players were paid under the table well into the 1940s in order to keep up the pretense of amateurism, though it was an open secret that the WIFU had become professional. The WIFU's increasing professionalism, combined with the growing use of air travel in Canada, made expansion to Vancouver a more feasible option. In 1954,
11300-411: The schedule to the current 18 games per team starting in 1986. The West Division has undergone major changes since the dissolution of the WFC. In 1987 an East Division team, the Montreal Alouettes , folded. Consequently, Winnipeg, the easternmost city in the West Division, was transferred to the East Division to keep the divisions equal in size. This led to the first "all-Western" Grey Cup in 1988 when
11413-607: The sport as played in Canada had diverged markedly from its rugby origins with the introduction of the Burnside rules , and started to become more similar to the American game . For much of the early part of the 20th century, the game was contested by intraprovincial leagues, or unions. In 1907, several of the stronger senior clubs in Ontario and Quebec formed the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (IRFU or more commonly known as
11526-399: The standings. However, the founders of the WIFU had come to recognize the popularity of the Western playoffs as well as the need to ensure as many regular season games as possible were meaningful so as to encourage fans to attend games, and therefore decided that a multi-team playoff was necessary for the league to remain solvent. The playoffs consisted of the top two teams until Edmonton joined
11639-697: The start of the 2016 season the Argos moved to BMO Field after more than twenty seasons at the Rogers Centre (formerly called the SkyDome from 1989 to 2005). Construction on the New Mosaic Stadium for the Saskatchewan Roughriders was completed in October 2016 and the first game was played in the 2017 season . In 2015, Michael Sam signed a two-year contract with Montreal Alouettes of
11752-429: The then-on hiatus XFL entered into talks with the CFL over the possibility of a future collaboration; these discussions were called off four months later with nothing coming of them. On August 29, 2022, Gary Stern of the Montreal Alouettes stepped away from day-to-day operations with the club and resigned from his role with the Canadian Football League's board of governors, effective immediately. On February 14, 2023,
11865-414: The third Ottawa franchise in CFL history. The new Ottawa franchise returned the league to a nine-team structure, with five teams in the West Division and four in the East; the Winnipeg Blue Bombers moved back to the West Division. The expansion Ottawa Redblacks played at the massively renovated Frank Clair Stadium , now branded as TD Place Stadium . In Mark Cohon's last year as commissioner he negotiated
11978-585: The third Sunday of November; for 2021, the game was played in December, which was the first time this had happened since 1972 . The Grey Cup is both the name of the championship of the CFL and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. The Grey Cup is the second-oldest trophy in North American professional sports, after the Stanley Cup. The Grey Cup game is hosted in one of the league's member cities. In recent years, it has been hosted in
12091-413: The top three teams in the West have made the playoffs. For many years, the semi-final and final was a two-game or even a best-of-three-game series, but this was abandoned in the 1970s in favour of a single-elimination format. Quite often a fourth-place team in the West had a better record than the third-place team in the East, with the West team out of the playoffs. This was rectified beginning in 1986 when
12204-506: The traditional geographic rivalries of Toronto–Hamilton (a rivalry which began in 1873 ), Edmonton–Calgary (see Battle of Alberta ), Winnipeg–Saskatchewan, and Ottawa–Montreal. In years that Ottawa or Montreal were not in the league, BC played against one of these teams. The following week's rematch of these games is a popular event as well, especially in recent years, where the rematch of the Saskatchewan–Winnipeg game has been dubbed
12317-447: The trophy met with futility – a large factor in this lack of success was the requirement that the Western champion travel to the East to compete in the championship game, but the main reason was that clubs in the larger Eastern markets were able to make the transition from amateur to professional status more quickly. The first attempt to create a unified Western circuit came in 1928 when Regina, Moose Jaw and two Winnipeg sides formed
12430-558: Was held on January 13, 2019. Ambroise said he wished the combine in Mexico to become annual, and that a combine could be held in Europe. On January 14, 2019, the league held a draft of LFA and Mexican university players where wide receiver Diego Viamontes was the first pick, selected by the Edmonton Eskimos. The CFL announced in February 2019 that German and French football players from the German Football League and
12543-799: Was renewed in 2014 for five years, the same length as the TSN deal (ESPN holds a stake in TSN), with a stipulation that at least 17 games would be carried on ESPN2 (or another ESPN network, such as ESPN or ESPNEWS ) each season, including the Grey Cup; this gives ESPN exclusive CFL rights during this time frame. Originally ESPN3 carried all games not carried on one of the linear channels online, later ESPN moved those games to ESPN+ . 1913 in Canadian football The Hamilton Tigers played four exhibition matches in Western Canada , defeating Winnipeg 26–1, Regina 26–4, Moose Jaw 25–1 and Calgary 19–2. This
12656-402: Was restored, only to see Winnipeg return to the East after one season when the Ottawa Rough Riders folded. The Blue Bombers returned to the West in 2002 after an expansion franchise named the Renegades was granted in the nation's capital. With the suspension of the Ottawa Renegades for the 2006 season , the Blue Bombers moved back to the East. With the launch of the Ottawa Redblacks in 2014,
12769-560: Was the existence of massive disparity between teams within the provincial unions. For example, by 1935 the Regina Roughriders had won fourteen consecutive SRFU titles, mostly by lopsided margins. Moreover, by the 1930s the top Western teams had begun to tap the massive U.S. talent pool, signing American players who had been passed over by the National Football League and its rivals south of the border. While
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