St. Francis Xavier X-Men / St. Francis Xavier X-Women | |
---|---|
University | St. Francis Xavier University |
Association | U Sports |
Conference | Atlantic University Sport |
Athletic director | Leo MacPherson |
Location | Antigonish, Nova Scotia |
Football stadium | Oland Stadium |
Arena | Charles V. Keating Millennium Centre |
Other venues | Oland Centre Gymnasium |
Colours | Blue, White, and Silver |
Website | www |
The St. Francis Xavier X-Men and X-Women are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. Their primary home turf is Oland Stadium located at the University's campus.
In 1966, the X-Men Football team won the College Bowl (now the Vanier Cup) as top university football team in Canada. The X-Men Basketball program has won 3 CIS Championships (1993, 2000, and 2001) and in 2004, the X-Men Hockey team won their first CIS Championship. In 2011, the X-Women Hockey team placed 2nd at the CIS Championships in Ottawa and in 2016, the X-Men hockey team were runners-up in the CIS Championships in Halifax.
In 2006, the X-Women Rugby team became the first female StFX varsity team to win a CIS Championship, as 10-time defending AUS Rugby Champions. In 2008, the team placed 2nd at the CIS Championships in Lethbridge, Alberta after capturing their 12th consecutive AUS Championship. [1] The team has a total of five National Championships, having won a fifth title in 2016 in Victoria, BC. [2] and 17 consecutive conference championships from 1997-2014. [3]
Between 2006 and 2016 the X-Men Cross Country team won 9 AUS Championships, including 6 consecutively and 2 CIS medals. [4] In 2017 it was announced that alumnus, CIS Champion, and Olympian Eric Gillis would become head coach. [5]
The X-Men & X-Women compete in:
The X-Men football program has been in operation since 1954. They were the first Atlantic conference team to win a Vanier Cup national championship in 1966 and have also finished as runner-ups in the 1996 game. The team has won 16 Jewett Trophy conference championships. [6]
The X-Women ice hockey team has participated in the Atlantic University Sport conference since the sport was established in the CIAU in 1997. [7] The program has won 11 AUS conference championships with the most recent coming in 2020. [8] Nationally, the program's best finish was in 2011 when they finished as national runners-up.
The Saint Mary's Huskies are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Their primary home turf is Huskies Stadium, located in the centre of the university's campus.
The Concordia Stingers are the athletic teams that represent Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They compete with other schools in Canadian Interuniversity Sport, and more specifically in Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec. The Stingers were established in 1974 when Sir George Williams University and Loyola College merged to form Concordia University and replaced the preceding Sir George Williams Georgians and Loyola Warriors.
The UBC Thunderbirds are the athletic teams that represent the University of British Columbia. 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, winning 116 national titles. UBC has won an additional 20 national titles competing in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics against collegiate competition from the United States and 40 national titles in sports that compete in independent competitions.
The Queen's Gaels is the athletics program representing Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. The main athletics facilities include Richardson Memorial Stadium, the Queen's Athletics and Recreation Centre, Nixon Field and Tindall Field. The team colours are gold, blue, and red.
St. Francis Xavier University is a public undergraduate liberal arts university located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a member of the Maple League, a group of primarily undergraduate universities in Eastern Canada.
The Mitchell Bowl is one of the two semifinal bowls of U Sports football, Canada's national competition for university teams that play Canadian football. It is held in the more westerly location of the two semifinal venues. The winner of this game goes on to play against the Uteck Bowl champions for the Vanier Cup. The home of the Mitchell Bowl, as well as the two conference champions, changes each year on a rotating basis. The Mitchell Bowl was named after Douglas H. Mitchell, a former Canadian Football League commissioner and member of the National Hockey League board of governors.
The Uteck Bowl is one of the two semifinal bowls of U Sports football, Canada's national competition for university teams that play Canadian football. It is held in the easternmost of the two semifinal venues. The Uteck Bowl champion moves on to face the Mitchell Bowl champion for the Vanier Cup. It was named for Larry Uteck, a former professional football player and university coach who died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in 2002.
The UNB Reds are the athletic teams that represent the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada.
The UPEI Panthers are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent the University of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. The UPEI Panthers have teams playing in the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) conference of the U Sports, including men's and women's ice hockey, soccer, basketball, cross country running, curling as well as women's rugby. The women's field hockey team competes in an Atlantic league where the winner is then allowed to compete in the U Sports playoffs. UPEI also offers a club-level men's rugby team.
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 St. Francis Xavier X-Women ice hockey team plays for St. Francis Xavier University, located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. The team competes in the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) conference of U Sports where they were an inaugural varsity member of U Sports women's ice hockey in the 1997–98 season. Representing St. Francis Xavier Athletics, the X-Women have won the most AUS championships with eleven conference championship wins, most recently in 2020.
The 2002 CIS football season began on August 27, 2002, and concluded with the 38th Vanier Cup national championship on November 23 at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, with the Saint Mary's Huskies winning their second consecutive championship and third overall. Twenty-six universities across Canada competed in CIS football this season, the highest level of amateur play in Canadian football, under the auspices of the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS).
The 2016 CIS Men's University Cup Hockey Tournament was held March 17–20, 2016 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to determine a national champion for the 2015–16 CIS men's ice hockey season. It was the second of two consecutive CIS Championships to be held at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax.
The Bishop's Gaiters football team represents Bishop's University in Sherbrooke, Quebec in the sport of Canadian football in the Atlantic University Sport conference of U Sports. The Bishop's Gaiters football program can trace its roots back to 1884 and has fielded teams in every decade since then. The program is one of six currently playing U Sports football that has not made a Vanier Cup appearance. However, it is the only program to have appeared in three of the four current conference championship games, with two Yates Cup games played, nine Dunsmore Cup games, and two Loney Bowl games. The program has four conference championships, all Dunsmore Cup wins, with victories in 1986, 1988, 1990, and 1994.
The Mount Allison Mounties football team represents Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick in the sport of Canadian football in U Sports. The Mounties program has been in continuous operation since 1955 when they played an exhibition schedule and then officially joined the New Brunswick Football League (NBFL) in 1956. The football team was an inaugural member of the Maritime Intercollegiate Football League (MIFL), which was a precursor to the current sporting association, Atlantic University Sport.
The St. Francis Xavier X-Men football team represents the St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia in the sport of Canadian football in U Sports. The X-Men program has been competing at the varsity level since 1954 and won the second ever Vanier Cup national championship in 1966. The team has played in two National Championship games overall when they were runners-up in 1996 and have won 16 conference championships in total.
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.
Gary Waterman is the current head coach for St. Francis Xavier University's football team, the St. Francis Xavier X-Men, a position he has held since the 2009 U Sports season. He is a five-time Loney Bowl Champion and five-time Atlantic University Sport Coach of the Year winner. In 2022, he was awarded the Frank Tindall Trophy as the U Sports Football Coach of the Year.
Tyler Bradley Richards was a former Canadian professional basketball player who played two seasons for the Halifax Rainmen of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL) as a combo guard. He was also one of the top high school basketball players in Canada and played at the collegiate level with St. Francis Xavier University.