The Vanier Cup is a post season college football championship game, used to determine the national champion in U Sports football. The game is the final for the winners of the Uteck Bowl and the Mitchell Bowl. In turn, the participating teams are determined by the winners of 4 bowl games: the Loney Bowl (AUS), Hardy Cup, Dunsmore Cup (RSEQ), and Yates Cup (OUA).
The Uteck Bowl is one of the two semifinal bowls of U Sports football, Canada's national competition for university teams that play Canadian football. It is held in the easternmost of the two semifinal venues. The Uteck Bowl champion moves on to face the Mitchell Bowl champion for the Vanier Cup. It was named for Larry Uteck, a former professional football player and university coach who died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in 2002.
The Sir Winston Churchill Bowl was one of two semi-final bowl games played in Canadian Interuniversity Sport football that would determine a participant in the Vanier Cup national championship. The trophy was originally donated and managed by McGill University to serve as an annual, often pre-season, invitational football contest between the sister universities of McGill and UBC in aid of the Canadian Paraplegic Association. The Churchill Bowl was retired in 2003 and replaced by the Mitchell Bowl.
Larry Uteck was a Canadian professional football athlete, university sports administrator, football coach, and municipal politician.
Erik Glavic is a former Canadian football quarterback who played CIS football for both the Calgary Dinos and the Saint Mary's Huskies. Glavic is the only CIS football player to have won the Hec Crighton Trophy with two different teams. His brother Sasha Glavic is a former defensive back for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League.
The 2008 CIS football season began on August 23, 2008, and concluded with the 44th Vanier Cup national championship on November 22 at Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton, Ontario, with the Laval Rouge et Or winning their fifth championship. Twenty-seven universities across Canada compete in CIS football, the highest level of amateur play in Canadian football, under the auspices of Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS).
The 2009 CIS football season began on August 29, 2009, and concluded its campaign with the 45th Vanier Cup national championship on November 28 at PEPS stadium in Quebec City, Quebec. Twenty-seven universities across Canada compete in CIS football, the highest level of amateur play in Canadian football, under the auspices of Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS). The Queen's Golden Gaels defeated the Calgary Dinos 33-31 in the Vanier Cup to claim the 2009 national championship and their fourth in school history.
The 44th Vanier Cup was played on November 22, 2008, at Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton, Ontario, and decided the CIS Football champion for the 2008 season. The Laval Rouge et Or dominated the Western Mustangs to win the championship 44-21, en route to a perfect 12-0 season. The win gave Laval its fifth Vanier Cup in school history and its fourth in the last six years.
The 2003 CIS football season began on August 29, 2003, and concluded with the 39th Vanier Cup national championship on November 22 at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, with the Laval Rouge et Or winning their second championship. Twenty-seven universities across Canada competed in CIS football this season, the highest level of amateur play in Canadian football, under the auspices of Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS).
The 2002 CIS football season began on August 27, 2002, and concluded with the 38th Vanier Cup national championship on November 23 at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, with the Saint Mary's Huskies winning their second consecutive championship and third overall. Twenty-six universities across Canada competed in CIS football this season, the highest level of amateur play in Canadian football, under the auspices of the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS).
The 2001 CIAU football season began on August 31, 2001, and concluded with the 37th Vanier Cup national championship on December 1 at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, with the Saint Mary's Huskies winning their second championship. Twenty-four universities across Canada competed in CIAU football this season, the highest level of amateur play in Canadian football, under the auspices of the Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Union (CIAU).
The 2000 CIAU football season began on September 2, 2000, and concluded with the 36th Vanier Cup national championship on December 2 at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, with the Ottawa Gee-Gees winning their second championship. Twenty-four universities across Canada competed in CIAU football this season, the highest level of amateur play in Canadian football, under the auspices of the Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Union (CIAU).
The Laval Rouge et Or football team represents Laval University in Quebec City in the sport of Canadian football in U Sports. The program began its first regular season in 1996 and has quickly become one of the most successful programs in Canadian university football history. The Rouge et Or have won a record 11 Vanier Cup championships and their most recent victory occurred at the 57th Vanier Cup in 2022. They are also the only program to have played in four straight Vanier Cups and have a record of 11–2 in Vanier Cup games. The Rouge et Or have also won the Dunsmore Cup 16 times since 1999, demonstrating their historical dominance in their conference.
The Saint Mary's Huskies football team represents Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia in the sport of Canadian football in U Sports. The Huskies have been the most successful in the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) conference of U Sports football, reaching the Vanier Cup championship game nine times and winning three times, both marks being the highest in the AUS. The program also has the most Jewett Trophy conference championships, winning 24 times in 32 appearances.
The 2017 U Sports football season began on August 25 with the St. Francis Xavier X-Men visiting the Saint Mary's Huskies in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and the Montreal Carabins visiting the Concordia Stingers in Montreal, Quebec. The season concluded on November 25 with the 53rd Vanier Cup championship at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario. This season saw the first conference shift since 2001 with the Bishop's Gaiters moving from the Quebec Student Sport Federation to the Atlantic University Sport conference. 27 university teams in Canada participated in the newly re-branded U Sports football, the highest level of amateur Canadian football. The Western Mustangs defeated the Laval Rouge et Or, 39-17, to win their first Vanier Cup since 1994.
The 2018 U Sports football season began on August 24, 2018, with the St. Francis Xavier X-Men visiting the Saint Mary's Huskies in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Quebec Student Sport Federation teams played an hour later with the Laval Rouge et Or visiting the Sherbrooke Vert et Or and the McGill Redmen playing the Montreal Carabins. The Ontario University Athletics teams began play on August 25, 2018, and the Canada West teams opened their season one week later on August 31, 2018.
The 2019 U Sports football season began on August 23, 2019, with the Concordia Stingers hosting the Montreal Carabins in Montreal, Quebec. The Atlantic University Sport conference started play the following day and the Ontario University Athletics conference began play on August 25, 2019. The Canada West teams began play during the following weekend, on August 30, 2019. All 27 U Sports football teams played eight regular season games against opponents within the same conference.
The 1999 CIAU football season began on September 10, 1999, and concluded with the 35th Vanier Cup national championship on November 27, 1999, at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, with the Laval Rouge et Or winning the first Vanier Cup in program history. Twenty-four universities across Canada competed in CIAU football this season, the highest level of amateur play in Canadian football, under the auspices of the Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Union (CIAU). The Regina Rams began their first season of play in the CIAU after previously playing in the Canadian Junior Football League.
The 1998 CIAU football season began on September 2, 1998, and concluded with the 34th Vanier Cup national championship on November 28, 1998, at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, with the Saskatchewan Huskies winning the third Vanier Cup championship in program history. Twenty-four universities across Canada competed in CIAU football this season, the highest level of amateur play in Canadian football, under the auspices of the Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Union (CIAU). This year would be the last for the Carelton Ravens until their re-establishment in 2013 as the program was discontinued in 1998.
The 2021 U Sports football season began on August 28, 2021, with the Sherbrooke Vert et Or hosting the Montreal Carabins in Sherbrooke, Quebec. The Atlantic University Sport conference began play on September 17, 2021, and ten Ontario University Athletics teams opened their seasons on September 18, 2021. The Canada West conference began their regular season last with all six teams playing on September 25, 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, all conferences except the RSEQ played six regular season games while the RSEQ played eight.
