The Vanier Cup is the championship of Canadian university football. It is organized by U Sports football and is currently played between the winners of the Uteck Bowl and the Mitchell Bowl. It is named after Georges Vanier, the former governor general of Canada and was first awarded in 1965 to the winner of an invitational event contested between two teams that were selected by a panel. In 1967, the trophy was declared the official "CIAU National Football Championship" and a playoff system was instituted. From its creation until 1982, it was known as the Canadian College Bowl. The game typically occurs in late November, although it is occasionally played in December.
The University of Saskatchewan began in 1907 and has operated teams that compete with others since 1911. The term Huskie Athletics is defined as those student athletes from the University of Saskatchewan that compete in elite interuniversity competition administered by U Sports and its members, both as regions and as individual institutions.
The UBC Thunderbirds are the athletic teams that represent the University of British Columbia in the University Endowment Lands just outside the city limits of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In Canadian intercollegiate competition, the Thunderbirds are the most successful athletic program both regionally in the Canada West Universities Athletic Association, and nationally in U Sports.
Norman Lim Kwong was a Canadian football player who played for the Calgary Stampeders and Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was also an active businessman and politician being part owner of the Calgary Flames and serving as the 16th Lieutenant Governor of Alberta from January 2005 to May 2010.
The Trinity Western Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Trinity Western University in Langley, British Columbia. The university's teams are members of U Sports, and compete in the Canada West Universities Athletics Association, and where applicable, in the Pacific division.
The Windsor Lancers are the varsity athletic teams that represent the University of Windsor in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The school's varsity program supports 9 different sports. Their mascot is a lancer and the team's colours are blue and gold. The varsity teams compete in the Ontario University Athletics provincial conference and the national U Sports organization. The school joined the Ontario-Quebec Athletic Association in 1952.
Peter Ladner is a former Vancouver city councilor, Metro Vancouver vice-chair and business owner.
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP is a leading, full-service law firm in Canada. With almost two hundred years of history going back to the 1823 founding of McMaster Gervais, it is the most prominent law firm in the country, with offices in Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver, Ottawa, and Calgary. About 700 lawyers, intellectual property agents and other professionals are associated with the firm. BLG is governed by a national council composed of partners from across Canada. Sean Weir served as the firm’s first National Managing Partner until 2018, and was succeeded in the position by John Murphy of the Montreal office.
The Lionel Conacher Award is an annual award given to Canada's male athlete of the year. The sports writers of the Canadian Press (CP) first conducted a poll to determine the nation's top athlete, of either gender, in 1932. Separate polls for the best male and female athletes were conducted beginning the following year. The CP formalized the poll into an award in 1978, presenting their winner a plaque. It was named after Lionel Conacher, a multi-sport champion whom the news organization had named its top athlete of the half-century in 1950. The award is separate from the Lou Marsh Trophy, in which a select panel of sports writers vote for their top overall athlete.
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).
Douglas Harding Mitchell, is a former Canadian Football League player, executive, and commissioner.
Lois Elizabeth Mitchell is a Canadian businesswoman and philanthropist who was the 18th Lieutenant Governor of Alberta. Her appointment as Lieutenant Governor was made by Governor General of Canada David Lloyd Johnston on the Constitutional advice of Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper, effective June 12, 2015. A former teacher and founder of a consulting firm, Mitchell is also a longtime organizer of events and active volunteer in the Calgary community, along with her husband, Doug Mitchell.
The Calgary Dinos football team represents the University of Calgary in the sport of Canadian football in U Sports. The program has been in operation since 1964, winning the Vanier Cup national championship five times, the most out of any of the Canada West teams. The Dinos have also won the Hardy Trophy conference championship 18 times, including six consecutive wins from 2008 to 2013. The team appeared in the 2013 and 2016 Vanier Cup, but lost both years to the Laval Rouge et Or.
The UBC Thunderbirds football team represents the University of British Columbia athletics teams in U Sports and is based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The program has won the CWUAA Hardy Trophy conference championship 16 times, which is third all-time among competing teams. On a national level, the team has won the Vanier Cup championship four times, in 1982, 1986, 1997 and, most recently, in 2015. The team has also lost twice in the title game, in 1978 and 1987. The Thunderbirds program has also yielded three Hec Crighton Trophy winners: Jordan Gagner in 1987, Mark Nohra in 1997, and, most recently, Billy Greene in 2011.
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 Trinity Western Spartans men's volleyball team is a university varsity volleyball program in Canada that represents Trinity Western University, competing in the Canada West Universities Athletics Association of U Sports. Based out of Langley, British Columbia, the Spartans play their home games at the Langley Events Centre, a multi-sport facility close to the main campus. Led by then head coach Ron Pike, the Spartans won their first ever National Championship in 2006, defeating the University of Alberta Golden Bears in the final by a score of 3–0. Since then, the Spartans have won five more championships, for a total of six, hoisting the Tantramar Trophy again in 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, and 2019. Since 2007, the Spartans have been led by head coach Ben Josephson. In the Canada West conference, the Spartans have won the league title seven times, taking the conference championship in 2007, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, and 2022.
The Calgary Dinos women's basketball team represent the University of Calgary in the Canada West Universities Athletic Association of U Sports women's basketball. In 1989, the Dinos captured the Bronze Baby, awarded to the U Sports National Champions.
Tre Ford is a Canadian football quarterback for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was named a Hec Crighton Trophy winner in 2021 as U Sports football's most outstanding player and won the Lois and Doug Mitchell Award as U Sports top male university athlete.
