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 Regina Rams represent the University of Regina, located in Regina, Saskatchewan, in the sport of Canadian football in U Sports. The Rams joined U Sports in 1999 and have competed in the Canada West Conference since then. The program has won one U Sports football conference championship, in 2000, and the team has made one appearance in the Vanier Cup championship game.
U Sports women's ice hockey is the highest level of play of women's ice hockey at the university level under the auspices of U Sports, Canada's governing body for university sports. Women's ice hockey has been played in U Sports since the 1997-98 season, when the governing body was known as the Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Union, following a long stint of teams only competing in the OUA. There are 35 teams, all of which are based in Canada, that are divided into four conferences that are eligible to compete for the year-end championship. As these players compete at the university level, they are obligated to follow the rule of standard eligibility of five years.
The Hardy Trophy is a Canadian sport trophy, presented annually to the winner of the Canada West Universities Athletic Association Football Conference of U Sports, the country's governing body for university athletics. It is named for Evan Hardy, the former head of the agricultural engineering department at the University of Saskatchewan, who had played for the Huskies for its first five years before a rule that only students could play. Hardy continued on as coach and created a western university league. The original trophy was replaced in 1997 after it fell apart during an on-field celebration of the Huskies win in 1996 at home at Griffiths Stadium. The original Hardy trophy was unearthed beneath a pile of storage boxes in 2008 at the University of Saskatchewan. Since 2018, the trophy has been with Canada West conference staff, and has occasionally been displayed at conference football events.
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.
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 2009-10 CIS women's ice hockey season began in October 2009 and ended with the Alberta Pandas claiming the 2010 CIS National Championship.
The 2010 Saskatchewan Huskies football team represented the University of Saskatchewan in the 2010 CIS university football season. They played their home games at Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The team had lost to the Calgary Dinos in the 2009 Canada West Final, in the previous season.
The 2010 CIS football season began on August 31, 2010, with the Windsor Lancers hosting the Ottawa Gee-Gees and the defending Vanier Cup champion Queen's Golden Gaels visiting the McMaster Marauders. The season concluded on November 27 at the PEPS stadium in Quebec City, Quebec with the Laval Rouge et Or winning the 46th Vanier Cup, a record tying sixth championship for the school. In this year, 25 university teams in Canada played CIS football, the highest level of amateur Canadian football.
Matthew John Walter is a retired professional Canadian football running back. Walter spent 4 seasons with the Calgary Stampeders, he was most recently a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was drafted 34th overall by the Calgary Stampeders in the 2011 CFL Draft and was originally signed by the team on May 26, 2011. He played CIS football for the Calgary Dinos and played for the Stampeders from 2011 to 2015.
Anthony Lawrence Parker is a former professional Canadian football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Calgary Stampeders and played with that organization for seven years, winning a Grey Cup championship in 2014. He played CIS football for the Calgary Dinos.
The 2011–12 Canadian Interuniversity Sport women's ice hockey season represented a season of play in Canadian Interuniversity Sport women's ice hockey. The Calgary Dinos women's ice hockey program claimed their first CIS national title.
The 2012 Saskatchewan Huskies football team represented the University of Saskatchewan in the 2012 CIS university football season. They played their home games at Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The team had hopes to win Canada West and to advance to the Vanier Cup for the first time in 6 years, however they lost to the Regina Rams in the Canada West Semi-Final.
Jerry Friesen is a former award-winning linebacker in the Canadian Football League and is the special teams coordinator for the Saskatchewan Huskies.
Julie Paetsch is an athlete from Lanigan, Saskatchewan. Currently, she is a two-sport athlete in hockey and football. Selected by the Calgary Inferno in the 2013 CWHL Draft, she is also a competitor for the Saskatoon Valkyries of the Western Women's Canadian Football League.
The SFU Red Leafs football or Simon Fraser Red Leafs football team represented Simon Fraser University since the athletic department's inception in 1965 until 2022. The team played by American rules while they competed in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics from 1965 to 2001 against other American teams. Along with other SFU teams, the football program transferred to Canadian Interuniversity Sport and thereby switched to playing Canadian football against Canadian University teams in 2002. While playing in the CIS, SFU won its first and only Hardy Trophy conference championship in 2003 while qualifying for the playoffs twice. After playing eight seasons in the Canada West Conference of the CIS, the football team began competing in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference of NCAA Division II in 2010, and have played the American format of football again since. After the GNAC dropped football after the 2021 season, SFU and the other two GNAC members that still sponsored the sport became football-only members of the Lone Star Conference. After the 2022 season, it was announced on April 4, 2023, that football would be dropped from the school after it was previously announced the Lone Star Conference was ending its affiliation with Simon Fraser after the 2023-24 season.
The U Sports East–West Bowl is an annual preseason Canadian university football all-star game which showcases the top U Sports football prospects in the country who will be eligible for the following year's CFL Draft. The East–West Bowl is organized by the Canadian University Football Coaches Association (CUFCA) with the support of the Canadian Football League (CFL). It brings together over 90 of the top U Sports football players for a week of practices and evaluation, culminating with the annual all-star game. A national committee of U Sports head coaches selects the participants from a pool of players nominated by their respective universities. Players who are generally in their third year of eligibility are the prime candidates for nomination. Every U Sports football program is represented by a minimum of three and a maximum of four players who will be eligible for the CFL draft the following year. Each school submits a list of six players they nominate. A committee of U Sports coaches and CFL representatives review the nominations and determine who gets invited.
The Alberta Golden Bears football team represents the University of Alberta in the sport of Canadian football in U Sports. The Golden Bears have been in competition since 1910 and the team has won three Vanier Cup national championships, in 1967, 1972, and most recently in 1980. The Golden Bears have also won 18 Hardy Cup conference titles, second only to the Saskatchewan Huskies who have won 19 of them. The Golden Bears have also had three players win the Hec Crighton Trophy, with Mel Smith winning in 1971, Brian Fryer winning in 1975, and most recently Ed Ilnicki winning the award in 2017.
Gridiron Nation presented by Krown Produce is a weekly college football recap and features show focusing on Canadians in the NCAA and USPORTS football. The show was previously known as Krown Countdown U until 2019 when the show moved to TSN across Canada. The show generally airs on Wednesday at 1pm ET and Friday at 3:30pm ET on TSN1 or TSN2.
U Sports women's basketball is the highest level of play of women's basketball at the university level under the auspices of U Sports, Canada's governing body for university sports. There are 48 teams, all of which are based in Canada, that are divided into four conferences that are eligible to compete for the year-end championship. As these players compete at the university level, they are obligated to follow the rule of standard eligibility of five years. The winning team of the U Sports women's basketball championship is awarded the Bronze Baby trophy. The championship has been played for since 1972, with the UBC Thunderettes capturing the inaugural championship.
