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).
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 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 2009 CIS football season began on August 29, 2009, and concluded its campaign with the 45th Vanier Cup national championship on November 28 at PEPS stadium in Quebec City, Quebec. 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 Queen's Golden Gaels defeated the Calgary Dinos 33-31 in the Vanier Cup to claim the 2009 national championship and their fourth in school history.
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.
The 2011 Vanier Cup, the 47th edition of the Canadian university football championship, took place on Friday, November 25, 2011, at BC Place in Vancouver. The McMaster Marauders defeated the Laval Rouge et Or 41–38 in only the second ever Vanier Cup to go into overtime. The Marauders won their first ever national championship while the Rouge et Or lost a Vanier Cup game for the first time. BC Place underwent a renovation, including a retractable roof, and hosted the Vanier Cup on the same weekend it hosted the Grey Cup. This marked the first time the two games were played at the same venue on the same weekend since 2007. This Vanier Cup is notable for being considered one of the best Canadian football games ever played.
The 2003 CIS football season began on August 29, 2003, and concluded with the 39th Vanier Cup national championship on November 22 at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, with the Laval Rouge et Or winning their second championship. Twenty-seven universities across Canada competed in CIS football this season, the highest level of amateur play in Canadian football, under the auspices of Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS).
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 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.
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 2014 Vanier Cup, the 50th edition of the Canadian university football championship, took place on Saturday, November 29, 2014, at Molson Stadium in Montreal, Quebec. It was the first time that the city of Montreal hosted the Vanier Cup and it was organized by the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes as opposed to a member CIS club. For the second consecutive year the championship game was played in the province of Quebec.
The University of Ottawa Gee-Gees football team represents the University of Ottawa in the sport of Canadian football. The Gee-Gees compete in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) conference of U Sports. Football at the University of Ottawa began in 1881, it was one of the first established football programs in Canada.
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.
Marshall Ferguson is a Canadian radio and television personality, sports broadcaster and former Canadian football quarterback. Ferguson is currently a host and play-by-play announcer for The Sports Network (TSN) in Hamilton, Ontario.
Kojo Aidoo is a former Canadian football fullback and special teams specialist who played for the Edmonton Eskimos, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 2003 to 2007.
The York Lions Football team represents York University in Toronto, Ontario, in the sport of Canadian football in U Sports. The York Lions football team has been in continuous operation since 1968 and are one of two teams currently playing in U Sports football to have never won a conference championship. The other team, the Sherbrooke Vert et Or, did not begin their current program until 2003.
The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks football team represents Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario in the sport of Canadian football in the Ontario University Athletics conference of U Sports. The Golden Hawks football team has been in continuous operation since 1961 and has been playing U Sports football in every year since 1962. The team has appeared in five Vanier Cup championships, losing in 1966, 1968 and 1972, and winning the national title in 1991 and 2005. The team has also won eight Yates Cup conference championships, most recently in 2016. The Golden Hawks have had one Hec Crighton Trophy winner, Bill Kubas, a former quarterback who won the award in 1994.
Kyle Graves is a former professional Canadian football wide receiver who played for five years in the Canadian Football League. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Montreal Alouettes after being bypassed in the 2012 CFL Draft. He played quarterback and punter for the Acadia Axemen in Canadian Interuniversity Sport football from 2008 to 2012. He also spent time as the offensive coordinator for the Mount Allison Mounties of U Sports football.
Chris Merchant is a gridiron football quarterback for the Fehérvár Enthroners of the Hungarian American Football League (HAFL). He is a Vanier Cup champion after leading the Western Mustangs to a win in 2017 and a Hec Crighton Trophy winner after he earned the award in the final year of his university playing eligibility in 2019.
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.
