Northern 8

Last updated
Northern Football Series
NORTHERN-8-RED-LOGO.png
Conference U Sports (then known as CIS)
Sports fielded
Headquarters Saskatoon, Vancouver
RegionCanada

The Northern Football Series (a.k.a. Northern 8) was a proposed sub-conference and competition for Canadian university football teams which was submitted to all Canadian university football schools on January 5, 2015. [1] It would potentially involve the top two teams from the CWUAA, which covers Western Canada, four teams from the Ontario University Athletics (OUA), and the top two teams from the Quebec Student Sport Federation (RSEQ). A team from Atlantic University Sport (AUS) could qualify in the second year of operation.

Contents

The series would have been managed as a football-only conference by U Sports, then known as Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), which would provide direct oversight.

Business model

The Northern Football Series was a creation of Saskatoon-based businessman L. David Dube and Vancouver-based broadcaster Jim Mullin. The objective was to create a televised game of the week for Canadian university football to expand and grow the game in Canada. The proposed model was a non-profit business with Dube investing the full-cost of television production and administrative functions. Participating schools would split the cost of air travel equally between participants. [2] [3] [4]

The investors in the conference would have held 51 per cent of the vote on a board of directors, with the other four conferences possessing a vote proportional to the number of teams they have competing in U Sports football.

Any profits from the operation of the conference would have been redistributed to non-participating teams.

Competition

The first season would have featured two draws of four teams each side.

Draw oneProjected TeamDraw twoProjected Team
RSEQ 1 Laval Rouge et Or OUA 1 McMaster Marauders
CWUAA 1 Calgary Dinos OUA 2 Guelph Gryphons
RSEQ 2 Montreal Carabins OUA 3 Western Mustangs
CWUAA 2 Manitoba Bisons or Saskatchewan Huskies OUA 4 Ottawa Gee Gees

The following games would count in a Northern 8 standing, and in the regular season standing of the team in their native conference. The schedule would be as follows:

RSEQ 1atOUA 1
OUA 1atCWUAA 1
CWUAA 1atOUA 2
OUA 2atRSEQ 1
RSEQ 2atOUA 3
OUA 3atCWUAA 2
CWUAA 2atOUA 4
OUA 4atRSEQ 2

There is a provision for an additional two non-conference games to complete the competition cycle. These games would not count in conference standings for the Canada West or RSEQ but they would count within a Northern 8 standing. These games would be played before the start of the regular season of CIS Football:

RSEQ 1v.CWUAA 1
CWUAA 2v.RSEQ 2

Games played in-conference (Canada West, OUA, RSEQ) against common opponents would create a five-game sub-conference standing for the Northern 8. For example:

OUA 1v.RSEQ 1(Northern 8 game)
OUA 1v.CW 1(Northern 8 game)
OUA 1v.OUA 2(OUA regular season game, versus common Northern 8 participant)
OUA 1v.OUA 3(OUA regular season game, versus common Northern 8 participant)
OUA 1v.OUA 4(OUA regular season game, versus common Northern 8 participant)

Selection of teams

Teams would have been selected in cooperation with all stakeholders. The primary means of selection of a team will be based on the previous season's regular season record. However, other variables would be factored into selection. There would be annual promotion and relegation from the series.

Parity and non-competing teams

Teams which do not participate in Northern 8 will have a parity adjusted schedule. Teams that are developing programs would face other teams at a similar level more often in their conference play, while facing Northern 8 teams fewer times.

Coupled with the existing AUS-RSEQ interlock, the competition also provided the tools for a national ratings percentage index (RPI) for all 27 teams by the end of the season.

Play off and championships

The champion of the Northern 8 would have been determined by the standings and not a championship game.

The structure of the competition is such that it maintained the current championship formats for the four main conferences, and the national playoff system for the CIS.

First attempt (2014–2015)

The CWUAA approved the Northern 8 proposal in principle at their winter football meetings February 2, 2015. [5] [6] The RSEQ requested that the applicants reconsider their bid for 2016 after a vote at their winter meetings in January. The OUA has stated in media reports that they have rejected the proposal. OUA CEO Gord Grace told TSN, "It's impossible. We've already approved our schedule. We have to get on with things." [7]

The OUA did not invite the Northern 8 group to make a presentation at their winter football meetings. [8] The AUS has stated that they would direct all efforts toward a CIS Football task force which was formed in February 2015 to address issues associated with the management of the game. [9]

Football Canada, the governing body for the sport in Canada approved the plan in March 2015, [10] although their decision does not have a direct impact on the execution of the proposal.

There was national media coverage of the proposal across the country. Opinion columns on the proposal were generally favourable. [11] Morris Dalla Costa of the London Free Press wrote;

"The pressure will mount on those in the OUA who are resisting. It will increase because the interlocking idea is a good one and is needed to give university football in this country at least a chance of garnering more interest and profile.An interlocking schedule would be accompanied by nationally televised games, games that a private sponsor has already committed to paying for. How’s that not a good thing?" [12]

Second attempt (2016–2017)

Le Journal de Québec reported in December 2016 that the RSEQ was again interested in interlocking play with the Canada West. Laval athletic director and RSEQ football chairperson Christian Gagnon indicated the conference was ready to talk to the N8 Group again along with the Canada West. "We have to sit down, the four regions, and look at the portrait on a Canadian scale," Gagnon told JDQ. "We must also talk with David Dube and Jim Mullin who had launched a project of a national calendar last year." [13]

Dube and Mullin's N8 Group, working with Canada West proposed an eight team home-and-home competition featuring the top four teams from the RSEQ playing the top four teams from Canada West, along with the bottom two teams from Canada West playing the bottom one or two teams from RSEQ. At the USPORTS AGM in June 2017 in Toronto, N8 and Canada West offered a three-month window to work through the details of the plan, but the offer was rejected. The RSEQ reversed their position citing they did not want to work with a third party to deliver games to television in English Canada. [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vanier Cup</span> Canadian university gridiron football championship trophy

The Vanier Cup is a post season college 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).

The Montréal Carabins are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent the Université de Montréal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Teams play at the CEPSUM Stadium and at l'aréna du CEPSUM, located at the Université de Montréal campus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ontario University Athletics</span> Governing body for university sport in Ontario

Ontario University Athletics is a regional membership association for Canadian universities which assists in co-ordinating competition between their university level athletic programs and providing contact information, schedules, results, and releases about those programs and events to the public and the media. This is similar to what would be called a college athletic conference in the United States. OUA, which covers Ontario, is one of four such bodies that are members of the country's governing body for university athletics, U Sports. The other three regional associations coordinating university-level sports in Canada are Atlantic University Sport (AUS), the Canada West Universities Athletic Association (CW), and Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec</span>

The Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec is the current name for the organisation formerly known as the Fédération du sport scolaire du Québec. RSEQ is the governing body of primary and secondary school, collegiate and university sport in Quebec. It also serves as a regional membership association for Canadian universities which assists in co-ordinating competition between their university level athletic programs and providing contact information, schedules, results, and releases about those programs and events to the public and the media. This is similar to what would be called a "college athletic conference" in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Mullin</span> Canadian sports journalist, broadcaster

Jim Mullin is a Vancouver-based broadcaster, producer and promoter. In June 2019, he was elected as President of Football Canada, the governing body for gridiron football at the amateur level. He was re-elected to the position for a second term in June 2022. In December 2021, he was acclaimed for the position of General Secretary of IFAF. He is the producer and host of Krown Gridiron Nation on The Sports Network. He also hosted and produced Krown Countdown U Radio on the TSN Radio Network. He was the play-by-play voice for SHAW TV/Global TV for 10 years from 2007 to 2016. He was the play-by-play voice of the IFAF World Junior Football tournament in Mexico carried on CBC Sports in 2018. He is one of the two patrons of the Jon Cornish Trophy, presented annually to the top Canadian in NCAA Football.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U Sports football</span> University competition in Canadian football

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U Sports men's soccer</span>

U Sports men's soccer is the highest level of amateur play of association football in Canada and operates under the auspices of U Sports, Canada's governing body for university sports. As of the 2018 season, 48 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, eight teams compete for the Sam Davidson Memorial Trophy, awarded to the U Sports Men's Soccer Championship team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">48th Vanier Cup</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 CIS University Cup</span>

The 2013 CIS Men's University Cup Hockey Tournament was held March 14–17, 2013. It was the first of two consecutive CIS Championships to be held at the Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon hosted by the University of Saskatchewan. The defending champions were the McGill Redmen, but they were unable to defend their title, having been eliminated in the first round of the OUA-East playoffs by the Nipissing Lakers.

Krown Produce Canada West Football on Shaw was a presentation of Canada West football aired on Shaw TV, Shaw Direct and Access7. In 2012, broadcasts were streamed on CanadaWest.tv.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">50th Vanier Cup</span>

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 featured the OUA champion McMaster Marauders and the RSEQ champion Montréal Carabins. This was the first appearance for the Carabins and the fourth for the Marauders. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">51st Vanier Cup</span>

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.

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.

Gridiron Nation presented by Krown Produce is a weekly college football recap and features show focusing on Canadians in the NCAA and USPORTS football. The show was previously known as Krown Countdown U until 2019 when the show moved to TSN across Canada. The show generally airs on Wednesday at 1pm ET and Friday at 3:30pm ET on TSN1 or TSN2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U Sports women's volleyball</span>

U Sports women's volleyball is the highest level of amateur play of indoor volleyball in Canada and operates under the auspices of U Sports. 42 teams from Canadian universities are divided into four athletic conferences, drawing from the four regional associations of U Sports: Canada West Universities Athletic Association (CW), Ontario University Athletics (OUA), Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ), and Atlantic University Sport (AUS). Following intra-conference playoffs, eight teams are selected to play in a national tournament to compete for the U Sports women's volleyball championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U Sports men's volleyball</span>

U Sports men's volleyball is the highest level of amateur play of men's indoor volleyball in Canada and operates under the auspices of U Sports. Thirty-one teams from Canadian universities are divided into three athletic conferences, drawing from the three of the four regional associations of U Sports: Canada West Universities Athletic Association (CW), Ontario University Athletics (OUA), and Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ). The Atlantic University Sport (AUS) formerly featured men's volleyball as a U Sports championship sport, but it was removed following the 2017–18 season. The 31 participating teams compete in a regular season and following intra-conference playoffs, eight teams are selected to play in a national tournament to compete for the U Sports men's volleyball championship.

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 U Sports football season began on August 27, 2022, with four Atlantic University Sport teams, four RSEQ teams, and ten Ontario University Athletics teams opening their schedules that day. The six Canada West teams began their schedules one week later with two games on September 2 and one on September 3.

References

  1. ↑ February 2015 - Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, copy of Northern Football Series business proposal -https://thestarphoenix.com/pdf/athletic_directors_package.pdf
  2. ↑ Dec. 17, 2014 - Le Journal de Québec, Richard Boutin (French) "Un calendrier national a letude" - http://www.journaldequebec.com/2014/12/16/un-calendrier-national-a-letude
  3. ↑ Dec. 26, 2014 - Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, Kevin Mitchell - Dube wants interlocking sked - https://thestarphoenix.com/entertainment/Saskatoon+Dube+wants+interlocking+sked/10681013/story.html
  4. ↑ Dec. 27, 2014 - Yahoo Canada, Neate Sager - CIS Football has willing financial backer for interlocking schedule - https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/eh-game/cis-football-has-willing-financial-backer-for-interlocking-schedule-172152948.html
  5. ↑ Feb. 5, 2015 - Canada West Winter Meetings, media release|http://canadawest.org/cwest/2014-15/Releases/20150205WinterMeeting
  6. ↑ Feb. 24, 2015 - Dube still chasing national interlock series - Kevin Mitchell, Saskatoon Star-Phoenix - https://thestarphoenix.com/sports/Dube+still+chasing+interlock+deal/10837267/story.html
  7. ↑ Feb. 24, 2015 - Is CIS Super League in the Works?, Mike Hogan, TSN - https://www.tsn.ca/talent/is-cis-football-super-league-in-the-works-1.215093
  8. ↑ March 5, 2015 - TSN Radio The Drive with David Naylor - bit.ly/1B8EKf5
  9. ↑ Feb. 22, 2015 - Krown Countdown U/Shaw TV
  10. ↑ March 5, 2015 - Football Canada feature - http://footballcanada.com/information-about-proposed-cis-interlock-northern-8/
  11. ↑ Jan 22, 2015 - Le Journal de Québec, Richard Boutin (column)- "Vivement du Changement" (in French) - http://www.journaldequebec.com/2015/01/22/vivement-du-changement
  12. ↑ Feb. 10, 2015 - Morris Dalla Costa, The London Free Press, "Change Locked Out This Year" - https://lfpress.com/2015/02/10/oua-football-schedule-doesnt-include-interlocking-games-just-yet
  13. ↑ Dec. 17, 2016 - Le Journal de Québec, Richard Boutin, "Le depart des Gaiters reclame une reflexion" (in French) https://www.pressreader.com/canada/le-journal-de-quebec/20161217/282896615267583
  14. ↑ June 12, 2017 - Le Journal de Québec, Richard Boutin, "Le calendrier national sur le glace" (in French) http://www.journaldequebec.com/2017/06/12/le-calendrier-national-sur-la-glace
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.