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.
29-4566: The Frank Tindall Trophy is presented to the U Sports Football Coach of the Year. The award is dedicated in honour of the former U Sports head coach of the Queen's Golden Gaels (29 years, 106-74-2, 8 league and 1 national title). The Selection Committee is composed of members of the Carleton University Old Crow Society. List of Frank Tindall Trophy winners [ edit ] Year Winner School 1969 Henry Janzen Manitoba Bisons 1970 Frank Cosentino Western Ontario Mustangs 1971 Jim Donlevy Alberta Golden Bears 1972 Tuffy Knight Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 1973 Ed Hilton UPEI Panthers 1974 Ron Murphy Toronto Varsity Blues 1975 Don Gilbert Ottawa Gee-Gees 1976 Darwin Semotiuk Western Ontario Mustangs 1977 Peter Connellan Calgary Dinos 1978 Frank Smith UBC Thunderbirds 1979 Tuffy Knight Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 1980 Cam Innes Ottawa Gee-Gees 1981 John Huard Acadia Axemen 1982 Bernie Custis McMaster Marauders 1983 Doug Hargreaves Queen's Golden Gaels 1984 Steve Bruno Mount Allison Mounties 1985 Peter Connellan Calgary Dinos 1986 Bruce Coulter Bishop's Gaiters 1987 Frank Smith UBC Thunderbirds 1988 Larry Uteck Saint Mary's Huskies 1989 Tuffy Knight Waterloo Warriors 1990 Larry Haylor Western Ontario Mustangs 1991 Rich Newbrough Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 1992 Ian Breck Bishop's Gaiters 1993 Larry Uteck Saint Mary's Huskies 1994 Brian Towriss Saskatchewan Huskies 1995 Rick Zmich Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 1996 Dan McNally Guelph Gryphons 1997 John Stevens St. Francis Xavier X-Men 1998 Larry Haylor Western Ontario Mustangs 1999 Blake Nill Saint Mary's Huskies 2000 Greg Marshall McMaster Marauders 2001 Brian Dobie Manitoba Bisons 2002 Chuck McMann McGill Redmen 2003 Gary Jeffries Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 2004 Jerry Friesen Alberta Golden Bears 2005 Glen Constantin Laval Rouge et Or 2006 Denis Piché Ottawa Gee-Gees 2007 Frank McCrystal Regina Rams 2008 Pat Sheahan Queen's Golden Gaels 2009 Steve Sumarah Saint Mary's Huskies 2010 Glen Constantin Laval Rouge et Or 2011 Jeff Cummins Acadia Axemen 2012 Stefan Ptaszek McMaster Marauders 2013 Kevin Mackey Bishop's Gaiters 2014 Kelly Jeffrey Mount Allison Mounties 2015 Wayne Harris, Jr. Calgary Dinos 2016 Michael Faulds Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 2017 Jeff Cummins Acadia Axemen 2018 Greg Marshall Western Ontario Mustangs 2019 Greg Marshall Western Ontario Mustangs 2021 Steve Snyder Queen's Gaels 2022 Gary Waterman St. Francis Xavier X-Men 2023 Chris Morris Alberta Golden Bears 2024 Michael Faulds Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks See also [ edit ] Hec Crighton Trophy J. P. Metras Trophy Presidents' Trophy Peter Gorman Trophy Russ Jackson Award References [ edit ] ^ "Past CIS Award Winners" . Canadian Interuniversity Sport. Archived from
58-482: 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. 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
87-420: 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
116-515: A record 208 U Sports alumni on CFL rosters. Maya Turner became the first woman to play in any 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 in their game against the Regina Rams . The regular season is nine to ten weeks long, depending on the conference, and, as of 2019 , opens on
145-399: Is Huskies Stadium , located in the centre of the university's campus. In September 2007, Saint Mary's announced the plans to build the new Homburg Centre for Health & Wellness, that will comprise the current gymnasium (The Tower), the new Dauphinee Arena, and a new building to connect the two. The centre is to be named after Richard Homburg, who provided a $ 5 million gift to the project,
174-499: Is a member of the Ontario University Athletics conference of U Sports, returning football to Carleton University after a 15-year absence. The Université de Moncton investigated a possible football program in 2011, due to the construction of Moncton Stadium in 2010. In May 2011, the athletics department submitted a feasibility report to the school's president and are based part of their decision upon how
203-855: 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 Rams . However, UBC-O lacked a stadium on campus. The Kelowna city-owned Apple Bowl Stadium did not meet
232-598: The Canadian Football League . Opening Day of the 2015 CFL season saw a record 199 U Sports football players on rosters around the League. In 2022 , 205 former U Sports football players were featured on CFL teams' rosters on opening day. The following is a list of recent numbers from the CFL Draft , which is an annual eight-round event with a current maximum of 74 players drafted. From 1997 to 2012
261-652: The Mitchell Bowl and the Uteck Bowl . The participant conferences of each bowl are determined several years in advance on a rotating basis. 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
290-717: The National Football League with Giovanni Manu being the most recent. As of 2023, U Sports had produced 41 players who have earned a spot on an NFL roster (including four who did not play a regular season game; players listed in chronological order by entry year in NFL): Saint Mary%27s Huskies The Saint Mary's Huskies are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia , Canada. Their primary home turf
319-505: 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
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#1732794356386348-447: The U Sports Women's Basketball Championships seven times, winning a CIS Silver Medal in 2014, and Bronze Medals in 2016 and 2013. The Huskies football team reached the Vanier Cup eight times between 1988 and 2007, winning in 2001 and 2002. They were the third university to win back-to-back championships, and the first of three universities to appear in at least three consecutive championship tournaments (2001–2003). The Huskies have
377-524: The 2011 season. The men reached the U Sports Men's Soccer Championship five times (1979, 1989, 2000, 2003, and 2011) but have yet to win the championship. The women's team are tied with the St. Francis Xavier X-Women for the fourth-most Atlantic Conference Championships (2), their last title being in 2002. The Huskies women's volleyball program is tied with the Moncton Aigles Bleues for
406-532: The CFL Draft had six rounds of selections and from 2013 to 2015 it had seven rounds. From 2002 to 2005, the CFL had nine teams, then reverted to eight teams from 2006 to 2013, and then was back to its current number of nine teams in 2014. The high-water mark of 60 players from the U Sports drafted was recorded in the 2022 CFL Draft , which was the most since 1978 . There have been 15 U Sports players drafted into
435-481: 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
464-579: The current champions (2017-18 season). The Huskies have yet to compete in the U Sports Women's Ice Hockey Championship final. Since rugby became a fully sanctioned Atlantic University Sport in 2002, the Huskies have finished runner up four times (2002, 2007, 2008 and 2009) to the St. Francis Xavier X-Women . The men's team is tied with the Dalhousie Tigers for the second-most Atlantic Conference Championships (13), with their most recent in
493-559: The fans in Moncton received the Uteck Bowl in 2011. 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. Following their successful application to become full members of
522-421: The first documented game was played at University College at the University of Toronto in 1861. A number of U Sports programs have been in existence since the origins of the sport. It is from these Canadian universities that the game now known as Canadian football began. In 1874 , McGill University ( Montreal ) challenged Harvard University ( Cambridge, Massachusetts ) to a series of games. The Grey Cup ,
551-918: 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:
580-429: 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. 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
609-414: The largest gift the university has received in its 205-year history. The Dauphinee Arena, completed in 2019, has an NHL -sized ice surface and a seating capacity of 875. The arena is named for the late Mr. Bob Dauphinee, who was a strong supporter of the Huskies hockey team for over 50 years. Upon his death in 2001, Mr. Dauphinee left an estate gift to the university of $ 2.1 million. The Huskies have
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#1732794356386638-2442: The original on 2015-11-17 . Retrieved 2011-11-21 . External links [ edit ] U Sports Football Home Page v t e U Sports football AUS Acadia Axemen Bishop's Gaiters Mount Allison Mounties Saint Mary's Huskies St. Francis Xavier X-Men Canada West Alberta Golden Bears Calgary Dinos Manitoba Bisons Regina Rams Saskatchewan Huskies UBC Thunderbirds OUA Carleton Ravens Guelph Gryphons McMaster Marauders Ottawa Gee-Gees Queen's Gaels Toronto Varsity Blues Waterloo Warriors Western Mustangs Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks Windsor Lancers York Lions RSEQ Concordia Stingers Laval Rouge et Or McGill Redbirds Montreal Carabins Sherbrooke Vert et Or Championships National Vanier Cup Mitchell Bowl Uteck Bowl Atlantic Bowl (historical) Churchill Bowl (historical) Conference Hardy Trophy Yates Cup Dunsmore Cup Jewett Trophy Awards Hec Crighton Trophy J. P. Metras Trophy Presidents' Trophy Peter Gorman Trophy Russ Jackson Award Frank Tindall Trophy Lois and Doug Mitchell Awards All-Canadian teams 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 Seasons 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Other East–West Bowl Panda Game Shrum Bowl Northern 8 CFL Combine Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frank_Tindall_Trophy&oldid=1258869582 " Categories : U Sports football trophies and awards 1969 establishments in Canada U Sports football The origins of North American football can be traced here, where
667-480: The plan due to travel costs and their effects on standings and rejected the plan. There are post-season awards for on-the-field excellence. 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. Additionally there are a number of individual awards for categories like "best defensive player". Many players from U Sports football have become professional athletes with most of them playing in
696-428: 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,
725-471: 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. In February 2015, businessman David Dube (an alumnus and supporter of
754-453: The second-most Atlantic Conference Championships (14), their last being the 2013–14 season. Of the AUS conference teams, the Huskies have the most U Sports Championships, winning the W. P. McGee Trophy four times: in 1973, 1978, 1979, and most recently in 1999. Saint Mary's University was the host venue for the championship tournament four times: in 1965, 1976, 1977, and 1978. The tournament
783-474: The third-most Atlantic Conference Championships (13), their last being the 2009–10 season. In 2010, the Huskies won their first U Sports University Cup by defeating the Alberta Golden Bears 3–2 in overtime. This was the Huskies' fifth appearance in the championship final and their first since 1973. The women's team has won the second-most Atlantic Conference Championships (7), and they are
812-638: 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. After
841-686: Was hosted in Halifax again for 24 consecutive years, first at Dalhousie University from 1984 to 1987 and then at the Halifax Metro Centre from 1988- 2007 . The tournament returned to the Metro Centre for the 2011 and 2012 championships. The women's team is in a tie with the Memorial Sea-Hawks for the third-most Atlantic Conference Championships (7), their last being the 2023-24 season. The women have competed in
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