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).
Greg Marshall is a former Canadian football running back and current head coach for the University of Western Ontario's football team, the Western Mustangs. Marshall was the head coach with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 2004 to 2006. Prior to his time with the Tiger-Cats, Marshall was the head coach of McMaster University's football team. He is the brother of Blake Marshall.
Corey Grant is the head coach for the Carleton Ravens football team of U Sports. He is a former professional wide receiver in the Canadian Football League where he played for 11 years and won two Grey Cup championships.
Jason Riley is a former professional Canadian football offensive lineman.
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 2011 CIS football season began on September 1, 2011, with the Montreal Carabins hosting the McGill Redmen at CEPSUM Stadium. The season concluded on November 25 at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia with the 47th Vanier Cup championship. This year, 26 university teams in Canada played CIS football, the highest level of amateur Canadian football.
The 2005 CIS football season began on September 1, 2005, and concluded with the 41st Vanier Cup national championship on December 3 at Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton, Ontario, with the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 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).
Blake Nill is a former Canadian football defensive lineman and the current head coach for the University of British Columbia's football team, the UBC Thunderbirds. He is a three-time Vanier Cup champion as a head coach and was awarded the Frank Tindall Trophy in 1999.
Roger Dunbrack is a football coach and a retired Canadian Football League player. He spent his 10-year career as a defensive lineman for the Toronto Argonauts, the now defunct Ottawa Renegades and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He has since coached football at the high school, university and professional level.
Gary Jeffries is the former head coach for the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks football team, women's basketball team, and men's basketball team. Most prominently, he served as the football team's head coach from 2002 to 2012, winning the CIS Coach of the Year award in 2003 and a Vanier Cup championship in 2005. Jeffries also played baseball in the Detroit Tigers organization from 1966-1969.
The McMaster Marauders football team represents McMaster University based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The team plays U Sports football in the Ontario University Athletics conference. The Marauders have been playing organized football since 1901 when they played their first exhibition game in the Canadian Intercollegiate Rugby Football Union. The team has appeared in four Vanier Cup games, winning one in 2011.
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.
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.
Michael Daly is a former professional Canadian football defensive back and is currently the special teams assistant coach for the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks of U Sports football. He spent nine years with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
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.
Jesse Alexander is a former Canadian football linebacker who played for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. He played college football for the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks. In 2004, he was named a second-year CIS all-star. The following year, Alexander helped the Golden Hawks win their second Vanier Cup.
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.
Declan Cross is a former professional Canadian football fullback who played for six seasons for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is a Grey Cup champion with the Argonauts and a Yates Cup champion with the Marauders.
Kurleigh Gittens Jr. is a Guyanese professional Canadian football wide receiver for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played U Sports football for the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks where he was the OUA Most Valuable Player in 2017.
Greg Knox is a Canadian football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the York Lions of U Sports football. He played professionally as a defensive back with the Calgary Stampeders for seven years where he won two Grey Cup championships. He is also a two-time Vanier Cup champion after winning as a player with the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks in 1991 and then as a defensive coordinator with the McMaster Marauders in 2011. He was formerly the head coach of the Marauders from 2016 to 2018.
