The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hockey in Canada, alongside the Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. Teams play for the Ed Chynoweth Cup, with the winner moving on to play for the Memorial Cup, Canada's national junior championship. WHL teams have won the Memorial Cup 19 times. The WHL is composed of 22 teams divided into two conferences of two divisions. The Eastern Conference comprises 11 teams from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, while the Western Conference comprises 11 teams from British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon.
The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The Elks were founded in 1949 as the Edmonton Eskimos and have won the Grey Cup championship fourteen times, most recently in 2015 and the most of any CFL club based in Western Canada. The team has a rivalry with the Calgary Stampeders. The team discontinued using the Eskimos name in 2020, with the new name Elks formally announced on June 1, 2021.
The Colorado Crush were an arena football team based in Denver, Colorado. They began play as a 2003 Arena Football League expansion team. The Crush played in the Central Division of the American Conference until the Arena Football League suspended operations in 2009. They were last coached by Mike Dailey and owned by a coalition of Denver sports figures led by John Elway.
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 two U Sports football conference championships, in 2000 and 2024, and the team has made one appearance in the Vanier Cup championship game.
The Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) is a national Major Junior Canadian football league consisting of 19 teams playing in five provinces across Canada. The teams compete annually for the Canadian Bowl. Many CJFL players move on to professional football careers in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and elsewhere.
The Battle of Alberta is a term applied to the intense rivalry between the Canadian cities of Calgary, the province's most populous city, and Edmonton, the capital of the province of Alberta. Most often it is used to describe sporting events between the two cities, although this is not exclusive as the rivalry predates organized sports in Alberta.
Pasquale "Wally" Buono is a Canadian ex-football coach currently working as the vice president of football operations, alternate governor and the former head coach of the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and one of the most successful head coaches in league history. He spent 22 years as head coach of the Calgary Stampeders and the Lions, which is tied for the most seasons coached all-time. On September 19, 2009, Buono became the CFL's all-time winningest coach when his Lions beat the Toronto Argonauts 23–17, giving him 232 regular-season victories, passing Don Matthews. He retired in 2011 with a CFL record 254 regular-season wins as head coach, to focus on duties as general manager for the Lions. In 2016, Buono came out of retirement to coach the Lions again through the 2018 season. In the final home game of the 2018 season, Buono was honored with the Bob Ackles Award as he was retiring from football with the most wins as a coach.
Shannon Kleibrink is a retired Canadian curler from Okotoks, Alberta. She and her team of third Amy Nixon, second Glenys Bakker, lead Christine Keshen and alternate Sandra Jenkins represented Canada at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. They won a bronze medal.
Patrick Dennis Bowlen was an American lawyer, executive and the majority owner of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL), winning three Super Bowls. He was inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the class of 2019. Bowlen owned other professional sports franchises in the Colorado region. Bowlen served as the Broncos CEO from 1984 until July 2014, when he stepped down as Broncos' CEO due to the onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease.
The Saskatoon Hilltops are a junior Canadian football team based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The Hilltops play in the six-team Prairie Football Conference, which is part of the Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) and compete annually for the Canadian Bowl. The team was founded in 1921 as a senior team in the Saskatchewan Rugby Football Union, which it played in until 1936. Two years after WWII the team reorganized in 1947. Beginning in 1953, the Hilltops have won 23 Canadian Bowl championships. The Hilltops won six consecutive Canadian Bowls between 2014 and 2019.
The UConn Huskies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Connecticut, with its main campus located in Storrs, Connecticut. The school is a member of the NCAA's Division I and the Big East Conference.
Bill LaForge was a Canadian ice hockey coach. LaForge briefly coached the Vancouver Canucks in National Hockey League, but enjoyed more success in junior ice hockey with Western Hockey League and the Ontario Hockey League teams. LaForge was known for his controversial coaching style, intimidation tactics, on-ice brawls, suspensions and fines. Teams he coached were known for physical play, and high scoring. Notable players coached by LaForge in junior ice hockey include; Shayne Corson, Keith Primeau, Dean Evason, Gary Leeman, Tony Tanti, Brad May, Ken Daneyko, Doug Bodger, Garth Butcher, and Rob Brown. LaForge died June 19, 2005, after an apparent heart attack.
The Edmonton Wildcats are a Canadian football team based in Sherwood Park, Alberta. The Wildcats play in the Prairie Football Conference, which is part of the Canadian Junior Football League and competes for the league championship, the Canadian Bowl. The team was founded in 1948.
Chris Morris is a Canadian former professional Canadian football offensive lineman who is the president and CEO for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played for 14 seasons and 237 regular season games as a member of the Elks and is a three-time Grey Cup champion. He also served as head coach for the University of Alberta's football team, the Alberta Golden Bears, for 12 years.
J. R. (Alozie) LaRose is a former Canadian football safety. He originally signed with the Edmonton Eskimos in 2005 as a territorial protected junior. He played for the Canadian Junior Football League's Edmonton Huskies; his team won the Canadian Bowl in 2005. He then played in the Canadian Football League for the Edmonton Eskimos and the BC Lions; his team won the Grey Cup in 2011. He continued playing in the CFL until retiring in 2014.
Billy Moores is a Canadian ice hockey executive, scout, and former assistant coach in the National Hockey League and in Canadian University athletics. He also played minor hockey for the Edmonton Oil Kings in the late 1960s, playing the position of left wing. He was named the Director of Coaching Development and Special Projects for the Edmonton Oilers on July 30, 2013, re-joining the organization after first being associated with them in 2000.
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 12 Vanier Cup championships and their most recent victory occurred at the 59th Vanier Cup in 2024. They are also the only program to have played in four straight Vanier Cups and have a record of 12–2 in Vanier Cup games. The Rouge et Or have also won the Dunsmore Cup 17 times since 1999, demonstrating their historical dominance in their conference.
Mario Pouliot is a Canadian former ice hockey coach and general manager. He began coaching in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) as an assistant coach with the Saint-Hyacinthe Laser. He later coached the Collège Antoine-Girouard Gaulois for eight seasons, and once held the Quebec AAA Midget Hockey League record for the most career wins by a head coach. He also led the Gaulois to the finals of the 2003 Air Canada Cup for the Canadian national Midget AAA championship. He later served two terms as an assistant coach for the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies around a head-coaching stint for the Baie-Comeau Drakkar. During this time, he was chosen as head coach of Team Quebec at the 2011 World U-17 Hockey Challenge.
David John Siciliano is a Canadian former ice hockey coach and player. He played university hockey for the Lakehead Nor'Westers, and led them to the International Collegiate Hockey Association championship as the most valuable player in the 1966–67 season. As the player-coach for the Thunder Bay Twins, his team won both the United States Hockey League (USHL) playoffs and the 1975 Allan Cup as the Canadian senior champions. He served as head coach of the Thunder Bay Flyers from 1986 to 1993, where he won four regular season titles, and two playoffs championships, and two Centennial Cups as Canadian junior champions. He was a coach for the Canada men's under-18 team at the Phoenix Cup in 1987 and 1991, and for the Canada men's junior team which won gold at the 1993 World Juniors.
Mark Kilam is a Canadian professional football coach who is the head coach of the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is a three-time Grey Cup champion as an assistant coach with the Calgary Stampeders, having won in 2008, 2014, and 2018.
