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.[3] The Rouge et Or have also won the Dunsmore Cup 17 times since 1999, demonstrating their historical dominance in their conference.
The Rouge et Or football program was first conceived of by Mike Labadie, a local physical education teacher, and Jacques Tanguay, a wealthy alumnus and avid sports fan.[4] They had noted an exodus of French-speaking football players to English speaking schools because there was no Francophone option for them to continue their football careers. Tanguay invested heavily into the football program as the Rouge et Or began their first season in 1996, one year after the National Hockey League's Quebec Nordiques had left Quebec City to relocate to Colorado.[4] Labadie was the team's first head coach and they finished the year with a 1–7 record.[5] The following year, Jacques Chapdelaine was hired to become the team's head coach. The Rouge et Or were the first Canadian collegiate team to feature full-time, paid assistant coaches and the first to use video editing, further giving them a heightened competitive advantage.[4]
Laval won their first national championship in 1999, against the Saint Mary's Huskies, under head coach Chapdelaine, bringing the Vanier Cup back to Quebec for the first time since 1987.[6] Chapdelaine left the program following the 2000 season to continue his coaching career in the Canadian Football League. In 2001, current head coach Glen Constantin was promoted from his defensive coordinator position and led the team to 5–3 record and another Dunsmore Cup.[7][4] However, during that season, the program had to vacate all victories due to use of an ineligible player. Consequently, that season is recorded as having eight regular season losses and three playoff losses.[8]
Football game featuring the Rouge et Or and Acadia Axemen at Laval in 2012.
For the following season in 2002, the Rouge et Or finished 6-2 and lost to the Concordia Stingers in the QUFL semi-final. This is notable because, as of 2024, it is the last time that the Rouge et Or failed to qualify for the Dunsmore Cup. The following season, the Rouge et Or began their conference dominance, scoring a school record 481 points in eight regular season games (over 60 points on average per game), en route to their second Dunsmore Cup. The Rouge et Or finished that season with their second Vanier Cup victory, also against Saint Mary's, in the 39th Vanier Cup which was Constantin's first as head coach.[9]
In 2004, the Rouge et Or repeated as Vanier Cup champions for the first time in school history by defeating the Saskatchewan Huskies in the 40th Vanier Cup.[10] Laval became the fourth program in Canadian collegiate history to repeat as Vanier Cup champions. It was the lowest scoring game in Vanier Cup history as Laval won by a score of 7-1 and it was the first Vanier Cup held outside of Toronto as the game was played at Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton, Ontario.[10]
In 2005, the Saskatchewan Huskies collected a measure of revenge as they defeated the Rouge et Or in the semi-final Mitchell Bowl in Saskatoon. However, in the following year, the two teams met again in the 2006 Vanier Cup, where the Vanier Cup was being played in Saskatoon for the first time and in the Huskies home stadium, Griffiths Stadium.[11] The team claimed the rubber match by defeating the Saskatchewan Huskies 13–8, in a game played in temperatures below −20°C.[11]Linebacker Éric Maranda, that game's MVP, was chosen to play in the U.S. East–West Shrine Game in Houston, Texas on January 19, 2008.
A practice in their home stadium.
For the 2007 season, the Rouge et Or claimed their fifth straight Dunsmore Cup championship, but lost to the Saint Mary's Huskies in the Uteck Bowl in Huskies Stadium in Halifax. It marked the last time, as of 2024, that Laval had lost to a team from the Atlantic University Sport conference. The following year, Laval, ranked first in Canada, played in the 2008 Vanier Cup, and defeated the third-ranked Western Mustangs 44–21 to claim their fifth national championship.[12] It was the eighth time that Laval had finished their season paying in a national final or semi-final and, oddly, the first of those occurrences where the opposing team was not nicknamed the "Huskies." The 2008 season also saw the program produce its first Hec Crighton Trophy winner as Benoit Groulx was named the CIS football's most valuable player.[13]
Laval University hosted the Vanier Cup game for the first time in 2009, but the Rouge et Or lost to the eventual champion Queen's Golden Gaels in the Mitchell Bowl played at Richardson Memorial Stadium in Kingston, Ontario.[14] However, Laval was hosting back-to-back Vanier Cup games and the Rouge et Or qualified for the 46th Vanier Cup in 2010. There, the Rouge et Or dominated the Calgary Dinos 29–2 to win their sixth Vanier Cup championship.[15] They were the first team in CIS history to win 13 straight games in 13 weeks of play after they played nine regular season games in 2010 (The QUFL extended the regular season to nine games in 2010).[15] Their defence also set a Vanier Cup record for fewest yards allowed, 140, beating the previous record of 161 allowed by the Guelph Gryphons in 1984.[15] Laval won in front of 16,237 hometown fans, becoming the second program to win the Vanier Cup at home, with the Toronto Varsity Blues winning in 1965 and 1993.[15]
In the following season, Laval lost a Vanier Cup game for the first time in program history, as they fell 41-38 to the McMaster Marauders in double overtime in the 2011 Vanier Cup.[16][17] This game was played at BC Place and was the first Vanier Cup to be played in Vancouver.[16] The Rouge et Or would exact a measure of revenge the following year in a rematch against the Marauders in the 48th Vanier Cup.[18] The team won a Canadian collegiate record seventh Vanier Cup championship in front of an also record crowd of 37,098 fans at the Rogers Centre in Toronto by a score of 37–14.[18] In 2013, they won back-to-back national championships for the second time in program history when they defeated the Calgary Dinos in the 49th Vanier Cup by a score of 25–14.[19] The game was again played at Telus Stadium on the campus of Laval University in front of 18,543 fans.[19]
The 2014 season saw the full rise of the Montreal Carabins to prominence, as they not only defeated the Rouge et Or in the regular season, but they also defeated them in the post-season and at home in the Dunsmore Cup. It snapped Laval's 70-game home winning streak (combined regular season and post-season) and 11-year Dunsmore Cup winning streak.[20] Proving that 2014 was no fluke, the Carabins again defeated the Rouge et Or the following year in Quebec City in the Dunsmore Cup and would again represent the RSEQ in the Vanier Cup.[21]
In 2016, the Rouge et Or finished in second place in the RSEQ after losing the head-to-head tie-breaker to the Carabins. Nonetheless, they defeated those Carabins in Montreal in the Dunsmore Cup and advanced to their tenth Vanier Cup appearance in the 52nd Vanier Cup. In that game, the Rouge et Or came back on top by squeezing a narrow 31–26 victory against the Calgary Dinos in Hamilton at Tim Hortons Field.[22] The Rouge et Or qualified for the 53rd Vanier Cup the following year, but were soundly defeated by the Western Mustangs by a score of 39–17.[23] It was their most lopsided loss since they were defeated by the Saint Mary's Huskies by a similar 22-point margin in their 24–2 loss in the 2007 Uteck Bowl. In 2018, the Rouge et Or would exact a measure of revenge by returning to the national championship game and defeating the Mustangs by a score of 34–20 in front of a home crowd in the 54th Vanier Cup. The win capped the fourth undefeated season in program history.
On October 20, 2019, a record 19,381 fans attended the Rouge et Or game against the Montreal Carabins as the program celebrated their 25th anniversary.[24] The team finished in first place in 2019, but were defeated by the Carabins at home in the Dunsmore Cup, ending their three-year Vanier Cup appearance streak.
In 2022, the Rouge et Or ended a 3 years championship drought (one of these years being the 2020 season, canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic) by winning both their 16th Dunsmore Cup, against the Carabins, and their 11th Vanier Cup, against the Saskatchewan Huskies. In 2023, the Rouge et Or finished in second place and lost the conference championship to the Carabins.
In the second game of the 2024 season, the Rouge et Or hosted the Carabins and broke their previous attendance record as 20,903 fans attended the game.[25]
↑ Laval was later forced to forfeit all victories and postseason titles for use of ineligible players during the season. Actual results are listed here.
↑ Season totals are corrected for the 2001 season in which all Laval victories count as losses for that season.
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).
Jacques Chapdelaine is a Canadian football coach and former professional slotback in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He most recently served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL. He has also served as the offensive coordinator for four other CFL teams, the head coach of the Montreal Alouettes (2016-17), and the head coach for two Canadian university football teams. He has won three Grey Cup championships as an assistant coach and one Vanier Cup as the head coach of the Laval Rouge et Or. He played collegiately for the Simon Fraser Clan as a wide receiver and played between 1983 and 1989 for four different CFL teams.
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 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.
Glen Constantin is the head coach of the Université Laval football team, the Laval Rouge et Or, a position he has held since 2001. He has won 12 Vanier Cups with the team, including 11 as head coach which is the most by a single head coach in U Sports football history. He was named coach of the year in 2005 and in 2010. As head coach, Constantin has an all-time record of 185-30, with 17 Quebec championships as of 2019.
The 2012 CIS football season began on August 31, 2012 with the Saskatchewan Huskies hosting the Alberta Golden Bears at Griffiths Stadium. The season concluded on November 23 in Toronto, Ontario with the 48th Vanier Cup championship, won by the Laval Rouge et Or after they defeated the McMaster Marauders 37-14. This year, 26 university teams in Canada are scheduled to play Canadian Interuniversity Sport football, the highest level of amateur Canadian football.
Guillaume Allard-Caméus is a former Canadian football fullback who played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was selected in the fifth round of the 2009 CFL Draft. During the 2009 season, he went on to play four games with the Tiger-Cats and three with the Alouettes. He played college football for the Laval Rouge et Or, winning the Vanier Cup in 2006 and 2008.
The Sherbrooke Vert et Or football team represents the Université de Sherbrooke in Sherbrooke, Quebec in the sport of Canadian football in the RSEQ conference of U Sports. The Sherbrooke football team first began play in 1971 in the Quebec Universities Athletic Association, but only played for three seasons. The program was re-started in 2003 and has been in continuous operation since then. The Vert et Or football team is one of two U Sports football programs to have never won a conference championship, with the other being the York Lions.
The Concordia Stingers football team represents Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, in the sport of Canadian football in the RSEQ conference of U Sports. The Concordia Stingers football program was created in 1974 from the amalgamation of the Loyola Warriors and Sir George Williams Georgians. The team has won three Dunsmore Cup conference championships, in 1982, 1993, and 1998. In 1998, the Stingers also made their first and only appearance in the national championship which was a loss to the Saskatchewan Huskies in the 34th Vanier Cup game.
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 2021 Vanier Cup, the 56th edition of the Canadian university football championship, was played on December 4, 2021, at Telus Stadium in Quebec City, Quebec. The OUA champion Western Mustangs defeated the Canada West champion Saskatchewan Huskies by a score of 27–21. The Mustangs made their U Sports–leading 15th Vanier Cup appearance and won their eighth championship. The Huskies made their tenth appearance in the title game, and first since 2006, but lost a record-tying seventh Vanier Cup game.
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.
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.
Kevin Mital is a Canadian professional football wide receiver for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is a Grey Cup champion after winning with Argonauts in 2024. He played U Sports football for the Laval Rouge et Or of the RSEQ conference. He is a Vanier Cup champion after winning with the Rouge et Or in 2022 and was named the game's MVP. He also won the Hec Crighton Trophy in 2022 as U Sports football's most outstanding player.
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.
Marco Iadeluca is the current head coach and offensive coordinator for the Université de Montréal's football team, the Montreal Carabins. He is a three-time Vanier Cup champion, once as a head coach and twice as an offensive coordinator.
References
↑ Rouge et Or Football (2013). Guide médias 2013(PDF) (in French). Quebec City: Université Laval. p.2. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
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