2023 U Sports football season | |
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League | U Sports |
Sport | Canadian football |
Duration | August 25, 2023 – October 28, 2023 |
Playoffs | |
Hardy Cup champions | UBC Thunderbirds |
Yates Cup champions | Western Mustangs |
Dunsmore Cup champions | Montreal Carabins |
Loney Bowl champions | St. Francis Xavier X-Men |
Mitchell Bowl champions | UBC Thunderbirds |
Uteck Bowl champions | Montreal Carabins |
Vanier Cup | |
Date | November 25, 2023 |
Venue | Richardson Memorial Stadium (Kingston, Ontario) |
Champions | Montreal Carabins |
The 2023 U Sports football season began on August 25, 2023, with the defending champion Laval Rouge et Or visiting the Sherbrooke Vert et Or. On the following day, ten Ontario University Athletics teams, four Atlantic University Sport teams, and two RSEQ opened their schedules on August 26, 2023. [1] [2] [3] On the following weekend, the six Canada West teams opened their seasons on September 1, 2023. [4]
The conference championships were played on the weekend of November 11, 2023, and the season concluded on November 25, 2023, with the 58th Vanier Cup championship. The Vanier Cup game was held at Richardson Memorial Stadium in Kingston, Ontario, for the first time in its history. [5] 27 university teams in Canada played U Sports football, the highest level of amateur Canadian football. [6]
On September 23, 2023, Manitoba Bisons kicker Maya Turner became the first woman to play in a U Sports regular season football game. She kicked the game winning field goal in overtime for the Bisons in their game against the Regina Rams. [7]
On January 19, 2023, the OUA released their schedule which featured no major changes from the 2022 season, with 11 teams playing eight regular season games over nine weeks. [1] The regular season will start on August 26, 2023, and end on October 21, 2023. Seven teams will qualify for the playoffs, which begin on October 28, 2023, with the top seed having a first-round bye. [1] The 115th Yates Cup game is scheduled to be played on November 11, 2023. [1]
On April 20, 2023, the AUS schedule was revealed with the first two games scheduled to be played on August 26, 2023. [2] Five AUS teams will play eight games over 10 weeks with each team receiving two bye weeks. [2] In a format change this year, the top four teams will qualify for the AUS playoffs rather than three, with two semi-final games determining the participants for the AUS championship. [8] The Canada West schedule was announced on April 25, 2023, and the RSEQ schedule was revealed on April 27, 2023, with no major scheduling changes from the 2022 U Sports football season. [3] [4]
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Quebec | Ontario | Atlantic | Canada West | National | |
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Hec Crighton Trophy | Jonathan Sénécal (Montreal) | Taylor Elgersma (Wilfrid Laurier) | Silas Fagnan (St. Francis Xavier) | Matthew Peterson (Alberta) | Jonathan Sénécal (Montreal) |
Presidents' Trophy | Harold Miessan (Montreal) | Max Charbonneau (Ottawa) | Daniel Bell (Mount Allison) | Nick Wiebe (Saskatchewan) | Harold Miessan (Montreal) |
J. P. Metras Trophy | Christopher Fontenard (Montreal) | Tyson Hergott (Waterloo) | Alex Fedchun (St. Francis Xavier) | Theo Benedet (British Columbia) | Theo Benedet (British Columbia) |
Peter Gorman Trophy | Justin Cloutier (Laval) | Ethan Gregorcic (Wilfrid Laurier) | Mikaël Pattin (Bishop's) | Owen Sieben (Regina) | Justin Cloutier (Laval) |
Russ Jackson Award | N/A | Alex Cheng (McMaster Marauders) | Spencer Richard (Acadia) | Mark Rauhaus (Manitoba) | Mark Rauhaus (Manitoba) |
Frank Tindall Trophy | Marco Iadeluca (Montreal) | Michael Faulds (Wilfrid Laurier) | Gary Waterman (St. Francis Xavier) | Chris Morris (Alberta) | Chris Morris (Alberta) |
Gino Fracas Award | Émilie Pfeiffer Badoux (Concordia) | Zach Scotto (Wilfrid Laurier) | Matt Elliott (Saint Mary's) | Vaughan Mitchell (Manitoba) | Vaughan Mitchell (Manitoba) |
First Team | Second Team | |
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Quarterback | Jonathan Sénécal (Montreal) | Taylor Elgersma (Laurier) |
Running Back | Matthew Peterson (Alberta) Jared Chisari (Queen's) | Malcolm Bussey (St. Francis Xavier) Amlicar Polk (Ottawa) |
Receiver | Ethan Jordan (Laurier) Darius Simmons (McGill) Savaughn Magnaye-Jones (Western) A. K. Gassama (Manitoba) | Raidan Thorne (Laurier) Kaseem Ferdinand (Carleton) Ben Harrington (St. Francis Xavier) Hassane Dosso (Montreal) |
Centre | Daniel Shin (Alberta) | Ryan Berta (Queen's) |
Guard | Giordano Vaccaro (Manitoba) Alassane Diouf (Montreal) | Matthew Ljuden (Alberta) Evan Floren (Queen's) |
Tackle | Theo Benedet (UBC) Erik Andersen (Western) | Giovanni Manu (UBC) Nathaniel Dumoulin-Duguay (Laval) |
Utility | Lucas Robertson (UBC) | Niklas Henning (Queen's) |
First Team | Second Team | |
---|---|---|
Defensive Tackle | Christopher Fontenard (Montreal) Darien Newell (Queen's) | Muftah Ageli (Windsor) Kyle Samson (UBC) |
Defensive End | Jeremiah Ojo (Montreal) Tyson Hergott (Waterloo) | Kolade Amusan (Windsor) George Idoko (Saskatchewan) |
Linebacker | Harold Miessan (Montreal) Nick Wiebe (Saskatchewan) Ife Onyemenam (Laurier) | Nicky Farinaccio (Montreal) Max Charbonneau (Ottawa) Lourenz Bowers-Kane (Western) |
Free Safety | Jackson Findlay (Western) | Jonathan Giustini (Alberta) |
Defensive Halfback | Bruno Lagacé (Montreal) Eric Cumberbatch (Ottawa) | Cristophe Beaulieu (Laval) Daniel Bell (Mount Allison) |
Cornerback | Kaylyn St-Cyr (Montreal) Katley Joseph (Saskatchewan) | Jassin States-McClean (Saint Mary's) Louis Lavaud (Carleton) |
First Team | Second Team | |
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Kicker | Ben Hadley (St. Francis Xavier) | Vincent Blanchard (Laval) |
Punter | Aldo Galvan (Regina) | Michael Horvat (McMaster) |
Returner | Javonni Cunningham (Windsor) | Guillaume Cauchon (Laval) |
Rush/Cover | Charles-Eliot Boulianne (Montreal) | Skyler Griffith (UBC) |
The Vanier Cup was played between the champions of the Mitchell Bowl and the Uteck Bowl, the national semi-final games. In 2023, as per the rotating schedule, the Atlantic conference's Loney Bowl championship team, the St. Francis Xavier X-Men, visited the Canada West Hardy Trophy winners, the UBC Thunderbirds for the Mitchell Bowl. The Yates Cup Ontario conference championship team, the Western Mustangs, visited the Québec conference Dunsmore Cup winners, the Montreal Carabins, for the Uteck Bowl. [14] These games were played on November 18, 2023, while the Vanier Cup was played on November 25, 2023. [14]
November 4 Semi-finals | November 11 32nd Loney Bowl | ||||||||
1 | St. Francis Xavier | 36 | |||||||
4 | St. Mary's | 20 | |||||||
1 | St. Francis Xavier | 34 | |||||||
2 | Bishop's | 23 | |||||||
2 | Bishop's | 34 | |||||||
3 | Mount Allison | 15 |
November 4 Semi-finals | November 11 86th Hardy Trophy | ||||||||
1 | UBC | 29 | |||||||
4 | Manitoba | 21 | |||||||
1 | UBC | 28 | |||||||
2 | Alberta | 27 | |||||||
2 | Alberta | 40 | |||||||
3 | Saskatchewan | 17 |
October 28 Quarter-finals | November 4 Semi-finals | November 11 115th Yates Cup | ||||||||||||
1 | Western | 47 | ||||||||||||
4 | Queen's | 20 | ||||||||||||
4 | Queen's | 15 | ||||||||||||
5 | Ottawa | 10 | ||||||||||||
1 | Western | 29 | ||||||||||||
2 | Laurier | 14 | ||||||||||||
2 | Laurier | 69 | ||||||||||||
7 | Waterloo | 0 | ||||||||||||
2 | Laurier | 21 | ||||||||||||
3 | Windsor | 14 | ||||||||||||
3 | Windsor | 14 | ||||||||||||
6 | Carleton | 11 |
November 4 Demi-finales | November 11 42e Coupe Dunsmore | ||||||||
1 | Montréal | 54 | |||||||
4 | Sherbrooke | 3 | |||||||
1 | Montréal | 12 | |||||||
2 | Laval | 6 | |||||||
2 | Laval | 34 | |||||||
3 | Concordia | 27 |
November 18th Semi-finals | November 25th Final | |||||
Uteck Bowl – Montreal, QC | ||||||
Montreal | 29 | |||||
Vanier Cup – Kingston, ON | ||||||
Western | 3 | |||||
Montreal | 16 | |||||
Mitchell Bowl – Vancouver, BC | ||||||
UBC | 9 | |||||
UBC | 47 | |||||
St. Francis Xavier | 17 | |||||
The Vanier Cup is a post season university 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.
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 McMaster Marauders football team represents McMaster University based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The team plays U Sports football in the Ontario University Athletics conference. The Marauders have been playing organized football since 1901 when they played their first exhibition game in the Canadian Intercollegiate Rugby Football Union. The team has appeared in four Vanier Cup games, winning one in 2011.
The 2012 Vanier Cup, the 48th edition of the Canadian university football championship, took place on Friday, November 23, 2012 at Rogers Centre in Toronto. The game featured a rematch of the previous year's Vanier Cup game as the McMaster Marauders attempted to become repeat champions against the Laval Rouge et Or. This was the second time in Vanier Cup history that the same two teams played each other in consecutive years.
The 2014 CIS football season began on September 1, 2014 with ten Ontario University Athletics teams playing that day. The season concluded on November 29 with the 50th Vanier Cup championship at Molson Stadium in Montreal. This year, 27 university teams in Canada are scheduled to play Canadian Interuniversity Sport football, the highest level of amateur Canadian football.
The 2015 Vanier Cup, the 51st edition of the Canadian university football championship, took place on Saturday, November 28, 2015 at Telus Stadium in Quebec City, Quebec. It was the fourth time that the city of Quebec has hosted the Vanier Cup. For the third consecutive year the championship game was played in the province of Quebec. The game featured the Canada West Champion UBC Thunderbirds and the RSEQ Champion Montreal Carabins. This was the second appearance for the Carabins - in back-to-back years - and the sixth for the Thunderbirds.
The 2016 CIS football season began on August 28 with ten Ontario University Athletics teams playing that day. The season concluded on November 26 with the 52nd Vanier Cup championship at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario. In 2016, 27 university teams were scheduled to play Canadian Interuniversity Sport football, the highest level of amateur Canadian football.
The 53rd Vanier Cup, the 2017 edition of the U Sports football championship, was held on November 25, 2017, at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario. The defending champion Laval Rouge et Or made their 11th Vanier Cup appearance while the Western Mustangs made their nation-leading 13th appearance. This was a rematch of the 44th Vanier Cup which was won by Laval and also played in Hamilton. Western defeated Laval, 39–17, to win its first national championship since 1994.
The Bishop's Gaiters football team represents Bishop's University in Sherbrooke, Quebec in the sport of Canadian football in the Atlantic University Sport conference of U Sports. The Bishop's Gaiters football program can trace its roots back to 1884 and has fielded teams in every decade since then. The program is one of six currently playing U Sports football that has not made a Vanier Cup appearance. However, it is the only program to have appeared in three of the four current conference championship games, with two Yates Cup games played, nine Dunsmore Cup games, and four Loney Bowl games. The program has five conference championships with victories in 1986, 1988, 1990, 1994, and 2024.
The Montreal Carabins football team represents the University of Montreal in Montreal, Quebec in the sport of Canadian football in U Sports. The Carabins program has been in operation since its resurrection in the 2002 football season and has established itself as a provincial and national powerhouse with five RSEQ conference championships and two national championships, in 2014 and 2023.
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 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.
The 2022 U Sports football season began on August 27, 2022, with four Atlantic University Sport teams, four RSEQ teams, and ten Ontario University Athletics teams opening their schedules that day. The six Canada West teams began their schedules one week later with two games on September 2 and one on September 3.
The 2022 Vanier Cup, the 57th edition of the U Sports Football Championship, took place on November 26, 2022 at Western Alumni Stadium in London, Ontario. The game determined the U Sports football national champion for the 2022 season.
The 2023 Vanier Cup, the 58th edition of the U Sports Football Championship, took place on November 25, 2023 at Richardson Memorial Stadium in Kingston, Ontario. The game determined the U Sports football national champion for the 2023 season.
The 2024 Vanier Cup was the 59th edition of the Canadian university football championship, held on November 23, 2024, at Richardson Memorial Stadium in Kingston, Ontario. It took place between the Uteck Bowl champions, the Laurier Golden Hawks and the Mitchell Bowl champions, the Laval Rouge et Or.
The 2024 U Sports football season began on August 23, 2024, with the defending champion Montreal Carabins hosting the Sherbrooke Vert et Or. On the following day, four Atlantic University Sport teams and six Ontario University Athletics teams opened their schedules on August 24, 2024. The Canada West conference began their season one week later on August 30.