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92-810: The Des Moines Dragons were a minor league basketball team in the International Basketball Association . They were located in Des Moines, Iowa , and played at the Iowa Veterans Memorial Auditorium . The Dragons were owned by Paul Miller, and Dick Giesen. The Des Moines Dragons were the International Basketball Association champions in 2000 and the runner-up in 2001 to the Dakota Wizards . They played in

184-543: 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

276-593: 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

368-621: A lesser extent ARCA and its ARCA Menards Series since ARCA's buyout by NASCAR in 2018); Monster Jam 's Triple Threat Series; Overwatch Contenders ; the FIA Formula 2 Championship and FIA Formula 3 Championship for Formula One ; and various other affiliated satellite tours of other individual sports, including the Challengers Tour of Professional Tennis. Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League ( CFL ); French : Ligue canadienne de football (LCF )

460-966: 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

552-535: 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

644-556: A partnership with the USL organization which began formal affiliation between some USL teams and MLS teams. The partnership continued to deepen through the 2010s; by the end of that decade, most MLS teams fielded their reserve teams in the USLC, while a few had their reserve sides in USL1 instead of the USLC. For several years, MLS nominally required all of its teams to either field a reserve team in

736-488: 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,

828-505: 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

920-651: 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

1012-426: 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

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1104-566: 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,

1196-418: 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

1288-701: 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 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

1380-656: Is a North American indoor soccer league that serves as the developmental league of the Major Arena Soccer League . Minor league baseball is almost as old as the professional game itself, and at first consisted of attempts to play baseball in smaller cities and towns independent of the National League , the first true major league. Soon, scouts for the National League were traveling to watch minor league teams play and attempting to sign

1472-417: 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:

1564-553: Is not used, although teams have been informally "promoted" from lower leagues up to Major League Soccer. The United Soccer League operates the USL League Two (formerly the Premier Development League, or PDL), a semi-professional league that has some age restrictions. The National Premier Soccer League operates at approximately the same level as USL League Two. In 2013 Major League Soccer announced

1656-881: 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

1748-534: 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

1840-556: Is the most prominent of the minor hockey leagues in North America. Minor League Cricket (MiLC) is a developmental league of Major League Cricket that began play in 2021. Other sports organizations considered to be minor leagues are golf's Korn Ferry Tour and Epson Tour , respectively affiliated with the PGA Tour and LPGA ; NASCAR 's Xfinity Series , Camping World Truck Series and Whelen All-American Series (and to

1932-427: 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

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2024-547: 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

2116-619: The Atlantic Coast Football League , and most recently, the league owned-and-operated NFL Europe . In modern times, the NFL has developed players not ready for the active roster through each team's practice squad . Several NFL owners had purchased teams in the Arena Football League in the mid-2000s, prior to its bankruptcy and restructuring. Arena football is played under very different conditions, and

2208-787: 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

2300-548: The ECHL . On "the farm", the NHL team will develop young players, occasionally rehabilitate older players who are injured or whose quality of play has slumped. These teams, in turn, have lower-level minor leagues to draw players from and pass players down to. Minor professional ice hockey leagues should not be confused with Junior (amateur players) or Senior (semi-professional to amateur) ice hockey leagues. The American Hockey League

2392-489: 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

2484-499: 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

2576-606: 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

2668-668: The IBA from the 1997-1998 season until the end of the 2000-2001 season. The Dragons were coached by Glenn Duhon from 1997 through 2000 and Michael Born from 2000 through 2001. The Dragons played their home games at Veterans Auditorium from 1997 through 2001. In 2000 Lonnie Cooper received the IBA Playoffs MVP. Lonnie Cooper of the Dragons received the 2001 IBA MVP as well as the IBA Finals MVP award. Also in 2001 Michael Born

2760-707: The Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (IRFU or more commonly known as 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

2852-468: 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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2944-511: 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

3036-810: 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

3128-537: 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

3220-559: The United Football League and both the 2001 and 2020 incarnations of the XFL, have sought to maintain independence and maintain a national profile while acknowledging the lack of funds (particularly from television, which is by far the NFL's largest revenue stream) that would be needed to compete for NFL-caliber talent. The UFL during its existence was recognized and accepted as the second tier of professional football behind

3312-689: The United States Soccer Federation , but through the affiliated United States Adult Soccer Association . The USL organization has announced plans to create a full women's developmental pathway, establishing the semi-professional third-level USL W League (USLW; not to be confused with its former W-League) in 2022 and planning to launch the USL Super League (USLS) in 2023. The USL has applied for U.S. Soccer sanctioning of USLS; it has not yet announced its sanctioning plans for USLW. The Major Arena Soccer League 2 (M2)

3404-483: 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

3496-467: The "NBA D-League") and NBA Summer League . The now-defunct Continental Basketball Association (CBA) served some of the purposes of a minor league for the NBA for many years. However, there were no direct developmental agreements between CBA and NBA teams the way that there are between Major League Baseball and National Hockey League teams and their minor league affiliates. Pro Semi-Pro The sport with

3588-733: The 1860s, and many of the first Canadian football teams played under 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

3680-676: 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,

3772-556: 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

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3864-530: The AFL had its own minor league, af2 , until 2009. Several other independent indoor football leagues that play a similar game exist. Similarly, the Canadian Football League , though it has developed ties with the NFL in recent years and has moved away from competing with the NFL for talent, plays a visibly different game than the American game, and the two sports favor different types of skills;

3956-400: 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

4048-475: 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

4140-521: The CFL arguably holds major league status in its home territory of Canada . Several minor or developmental leagues, independent of the NFL, have come and gone. Some, such as the Alliance of American Football and Fall Experimental Football League (along with the FXFL's successor, the still extant but non-paying The Spring League ), have explicit minor league and developmental aspirations. Others, such as

4232-728: 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

4324-407: 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

4416-405: 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

4508-459: 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

4600-417: The Division Finals. The Dragons took a 2-0 IBA Finals lead against the Dakota Wizards before losing three straight to lose the finals 3-2. Minor league The minor league concept is a manifestation of the franchise system used in North American sports , whereby the group of major league teams in each sport is fixed for long periods between expansions or other adjustments, which only take place with

4692-404: The Dragons had better luck in the playoffs, they started out by sweeping Billings 2-0 in the IBA Division Semifinals and Fargo-Moorhead 3-0 in the IBA Division Finals before going on to defeat the Magic City Snowbears 3-1 in the IBA Finals for the Dragons only championship. During the Dragons final season they swept Fargo-Moorhead 2-0 in the IBA Semifinals as well as sweeping Souixland 2-0 in

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4784-452: 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

4876-429: 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

4968-419: 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

5060-449: 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

5152-399: 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

5244-425: The Grey Cup. Apart from 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

5336-445: 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

5428-420: The NFL, with several former NFL stars playing in the UFL near the ends of their careers. High-level Low-level High-level Mid-level Low-level Below Major League Soccer several lower-level leagues operate on both sides of the U.S.–Canada border as part of the American and Canadian soccer pyramids. As is standard for sports in both countries , the formal promotion and relegation system

5520-400: The Short-Season A level eliminated from the minor leagues, and all leagues above Rookie level in the affiliated system renamed. Also, four independent leagues were officially designated as "MLB Partner Leagues". In 2022, the leagues renamed in 2021 reverted to their traditional names. The National Basketball Association has affiliated minor leagues: the NBA G League (formerly called

5612-411: The USL or officially affiliate with a separately owned USL team, but this was never strictly enforced. No formal relationship existed between NASL and the other leagues; NASL's commissioner had said he believed it would "stay that way for some time". However, MLS clubs started withdrawing their reserve sides from the USL system in 2020 amid rumors that MLS would relaunch its former MLS Reserve League in

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5704-458: The advent of television; minor league clubs only survived in many markets because their major league affiliations included financial support. The trend began to reverse in the 1990s, as new independent minor leagues began for the first time in decades and have become successful to varying levels. In 2021, a major reorganization of the minor leagues saw the number of affiliated teams (i.e., those with formal links to MLB teams) reduced from 160 to 120,

5796-523: The coming years; these rumors were proved correct by the 2022 establishment of MLS Next Pro . MLS Next (stylized in all caps) is a system of youth soccer leagues that are managed, organized and controlled by Major League Soccer . It was introduced by the league in 2020. Semi-professional and amateur leagues sanctioned by the United States Adult Soccer Association are USL League Two , National Premier Soccer League , NISA Nation and United Premier Soccer League . The system, introduced in mid-2020,

5888-416: The consent of the major league owners. In Europe , and many other parts of the world, association football (soccer), basketball, american football, baseball, handball, hockey, etc. leagues have many divisions below the top-flight level as part of the football pyramid . In other parts of the world there is usually either a system of annual promotion and relegation , meaning that clubs have no fixed status in

5980-425: 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

6072-443: 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

6164-399: 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

6256-436: 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

6348-516: 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

6440-428: The hierarchy, or there is only one professional league per country in each sport, rendering the major/minor distinction irrelevant. While there are various semi-professional football leagues, none have any affiliation with the National Football League (NFL). The NFL and its teams have had working relationships with several independent leagues in the past, including the Association of Professional Football Leagues ,

6532-424: 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,

6624-498: The large number of American-based teams is that minor league franchises will frequently move from city to city, and even between leagues. In contrast, Canadian cities more commonly host major junior teams, which develop teenage prospects prior to their move to the professional leagues. All National Hockey League teams have a farm team in the American Hockey League and often have a secondary affiliated team in

6716-487: 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

6808-569: 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

6900-502: 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,

6992-551: 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

7084-475: The more talented ones away. Soon Major League Baseball began formal developmental agreements with some minor league teams, while others remained independent . Since it was first developed in the 1920s by St. Louis Cardinals executive Branch Rickey , the formal developmental affiliations have come to dominate minor league baseball, and the majority of minor leagues are part of the affiliated system. A general decline in minor league attendance occurred following

7176-501: The next most extensive system of minor league teams other than baseball is ice hockey . In North America, between 1988 and 2005, 233 minor league ice hockey teams played in a total of 160 cities in 13 minor professional leagues. The vast majority of these teams played in the United States, with only 21 of these teams based in Canadian cities. 123 of these minor professional teams played in the southern United States. One reason given for

7268-583: 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

7360-498: 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

7452-552: 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 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

7544-434: 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

7636-453: 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

7728-697: 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

7820-617: The team winning the "Senior Amateur Football Championship of Canada". By that time, 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

7912-429: 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,

8004-528: 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

8096-585: 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

8188-506: 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

8280-531: Was active for the first time during the 2020–21 season. It is a successor to the U.S. Soccer Development Academy . The system covers the under-13, under-14, under-15, under-16, under-17 and under-19 age groups. The developmental pathway for players outside the collegiate system has so far been mostly an ad hoc affair, with semi-professional and amateur leagues including the former USL W-League . The current United Women's Soccer , UWS League 2 and Women's Premier Soccer League not being sanctioned directly through

8372-625: 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

8464-717: Was named the Coach of the year in the IBA along with David Joerger of the Dakota Wizards. The Dragons were the IBA organization of the year in all four years of their existence. In 1998 the Dragons were swept 2-0 by the Fargo-Moorhead Beez in the IBA Semifinals. The Dragons swept Rochester 2-0 in the 1999 IBA Semifinals before losing to Mansfield 1-2 in the IBA Division Finals. In 2000

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