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 Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the fifth oldest active franchise in the CFL. The Stampeders were officially founded in 1945, although there were clubs operating in Calgary since the 1890s.
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.
David Dickenson is a Canadian-American professional football head coach and general manager for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played as a quarterback with the Stampeders and the BC Lions, where he won the 2006 Grey Cup and was named the game's MVP. Dickenson played college football for the Montana Grizzlies, where he led the team to the 1995 NCAA Division I-AA college football championship.
Javier Glatt is a retired professional Canadian football linebacker who played for eight seasons in the Canadian Football League. He spent one season with the Edmonton Eskimos, but spent seven years with the BC Lions and won a Grey Cup championship with the team in 2006.
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.
John Coleman Hufnagel is an American special advisor for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He has previously served as the Stampeders' President, General Manager, Head Coach, and Offensive Coordinator. He played quarterback for fifteen professional seasons in the CFL and National Football League (NFL). Prior to his hiring to the Stampeders on December 3, 2007, he was the offensive coordinator of the New York Giants of the NFL.
Richie Hall is a defensive assistant coach for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played professionally as a Canadian football defensive back for nine seasons for the Calgary Stampeders and Saskatchewan Roughriders where he was a CFL All-Star in 1983 and a four-time divisional All-Star. He is a five-time Grey Cup champion, once as a player and four times as a defensive coordinator. He was formerly the head coach of the Edmonton Eskimos from 2009 to 2010.
Mark Nelson is a gridiron football coach and a former professional Canadian football linebacker. He is the special teams coordinator and linebackers coach for the Saint Mary's Huskies of U Sports. He played for seven seasons in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for the Calgary Stampeders and Saskatchewan Roughriders. He is a three-time Grey Cup champion having won as a coach in 1993, 1996 and 2016.
Craig Dickenson is a professional football coach who is a senior consultant for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He has also served as the head coach for the Saskatchewan Roughriders for four seasons. He has coached professional football since 2000 and won a Grey Cup championship with the CFL's Calgary Stampeders in 2008 and with the Edmonton Eskimos in 2015.
Brandon Isaac is the defensive backs coach for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is a former professional football linebacker. He has been a member of the Spokane Shock, Manchester Wolves, Milwaukee Iron, Calgary Stampeders, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Saskatchewan Roughriders, and Toronto Argonauts. He is a Grey Cup champion, having won with the Argonauts in 2012.
Chris Jones is an American gridiron football coach who is the senior defensive consultant for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was previously the head coach and general manager of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Edmonton Elks after serving as the head coach of the Edmonton Eskimos. Jones previously served as the defensive coordinator for the Montreal Alouettes, Calgary Stampeders and Toronto Argonauts before becoming a head coach. Jones won four Grey Cup rings with four teams between 2002 and 2015.
Rick Campbell is an American-Canadian professional football coach who was most recently the head coach and co-general manager for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was the Calgary Stampeders' defensive coordinator from 2012 to 2013 and was also an assistant coach with the Edmonton Eskimos and Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He then served as the head coach for the Ottawa Redblacks for six seasons. He is a three-time Grey Cup champion, once as the special teams coordinator with the Eskimos in 2003, again with the Eskimos as the defensive coordinator in 2005, and once as the head coach of the Redblacks in 2016. He attended Washington State University.
Jermaine Gabriel is a former professional Canadian football defensive back and is currently the defensive backs coach for the Saint Mary's Huskies of U Sports. He played for eight seasons with three teams in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and won a Grey Cup championship with the Toronto Argonauts in 2017.
Deron Mayo is an American football coach and former linebacker who is the head strength and conditioning coach for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Old Dominion University. He signed with the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2011. Mayo also played for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
Adam Konar is a Canadian professional football linebacker for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was originally drafted 25th overall in the 2015 CFL Draft by the Edmonton Eskimos and played for six non-consecutive seasons with the team. He played CIS football for the Calgary Dinos.
Royce Metchie is a Nigerian-Canadian professional football defensive back for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is a two-time CFL All-Star and a three-time Grey Cup champion after winning with the Calgary Stampeders in 2018 and with the Argonauts in 2022 and 2024.
Cory McDiarmid is a Canadian gridiron football coach who is currently the special teams coach for the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He previously coached in the CFL with several teams and is a two-time Grey Cup winner with the BC Lions and Saskatchewan Roughriders. He has also coached for the Panthers Wrocław in the European League of Football.
Brent Monson is a Canadian football coach, most recently as the defensive coordinator for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
Josiah Schakel is a Canadian professional football linebacker for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played U Sports football at Alberta. He has also been a member of the Calgary Stampeders.
