Current season, competition or edition: 2025 U Sports Men's Basketball Championship | |
Sport | Basketball |
---|---|
Founded | 1963 |
First season | 1963 |
Organising body | U Sports |
No. of teams | 8 |
Country | Canada |
Most recent champion(s) | Laval Rouge et Or (1st title) |
Most titles | Carleton Ravens (17) |
TV partner(s) | CBC, [1] TVA |
Official website | usports |
The U Sports Men's Basketball Championship, branded as the Men's Basketball Final 8, is a Canadian university basketball tournament conducted by U Sports, and determines the men's national champion. The tournament involves the champions from each of Canada's four regional sports conferences. The W. P. McGee trophy is awarded to the winners.
Twenty different schools have won the tournament. Carleton University have the most tournament wins with 17 championships. The University of Victoria has eight championships, Saint Mary’s University, Brandon University, and the University of Windsor have four championships, the University of Alberta, St. Francis Xavier University, and Acacia University have three championships, Brock University, and the University of British Columbia have two championships. Eleven programs are tied with one national championship.
Assumption University has the distinction of originating the national championship trophy. In 1963, the University of Windsor Alumni Association donated the award featuring a silver basketball, and named in memory of W.P. McGee for his outstanding contribution as both teacher and coach during the 1920s and 1930s. Assumption won the first McGee trophy, the only time it took the national title under the Assumption name. The University of Windsor would win it four times in that same decade (1960s). For more than 60 years, the McGee trophy has been awarded annually to the U Sports men's basketball champion.
The tournament first consisted of only conference champions (four or five teams) and held that format from 1963 until 1971. In 1972 and 1973, only four teams qualified, regardless of conferences. In 1974, the championship expanded to include eight teams, similar to the format seen today. That was again changed in 1983 where regional championships took place with up to 16 teams participating in up to five different cities with the national championship featuring four teams in the main host city. [2]
In 1984, Dalhousie University hosted the championship in what would be the first of 24 straight years that Halifax, Nova Scotia would host. The format reverted to an eight team national championship in 1987, which would be the consistent format until 2004 when the tournament expanded to ten teams. The Final 10 format would last only three years, until it was again reverted to a Final 8 tournament in 2007. [3] In 2008, the finals moved to Scotiabank Place in Ottawa for three years. After two years back in Halifax, the next two tournaments were held in the now renamed Canadian Tire Centre (formerly Scotiabank Place). The 2015 championship was hosted by Ryerson University, while the 2016 tournament was hosted by the University of British Columbia.
The 2021 championship tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [4]
The championship consists of an eight-team single-elimination tournament. Four teams automatically qualify for the tournament as one of the winners of the four conferences, two qualify as the runners-up of both the OUA and Canada West conference, one qualifies as the host, and one is given an at-large berth. [5]
The tournament is played over four days. The quarterfinals are played on the Thursday, the consolation semi-finals on Friday, the consolation final and championship semi-finals on Saturday, and the bronze and gold medal games on Sunday. [6] This format has been in use since 2015.
Team | Wins | Last Won |
---|---|---|
Carleton Ravens | 17 | 2023 |
Victoria Vikes | 8 | 1997 |
Saint Mary's Huskies | 4 | 1999 |
Brandon Bobcats | 4 | 1996 |
Windsor Lancers | 4 | 1969 |
Alberta Golden Bears | 3 | 2002 |
St. Francis Xavier X-Men | 3 | 2001 |
Acadia Axemen | 3 | 1977 |
Brock Badgers | 2 | 2008 |
UBC Thunderbirds | 2 | 1972 |
Laval Rouge et Or | 1 | 2024 |
Calgary Dinos | 1 | 2018 |
Saskatchewan Huskies | 1 | 2010 |
Bishop's Gaiters | 1 | 1998 |
Western Ontario Mustangs | 1 | 1991 |
Concordia Stingers | 1 | 1990 |
Manitoba Bisons | 1 | 1976 |
Waterloo Warriors | 1 | 1975 |
Guelph Gryphons | 1 | 1974 |
Waterloo Lutheran Golden Hawks | 1 | 1968 |
Assumption College | 1 | 1963 |
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 U Sports Men's Ice Hockey Championship, is a Canadian university ice hockey tournament conducted by U Sports, and determines the men's national champion. The tournament involves the champions from each of Canada's four regional sports conferences. The David Johnston University Cup is awarded to the winners.
The U Sports Women's Basketball Championship, branded as the Women's Basketball Final 8, is a Canadian university basketball tournament conducted by U Sports, and determines the women's national champion. The tournament involves the champions from each of Canada's four regional sports conferences. The Bronze Baby trophy is awarded to the winners.
The Carleton Ravens are the athletic teams that represent Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario. The most notable sports team for Carleton is the men's basketball team. In men's basketball, the Ravens have won 16 of the last 19 national men's championships, which is more than any top division college in Canada or the United States. The Ravens went on an 87-game winning streak from 2003 to 2006. They also had a 54-game home winning streak. The Ravens finished 2nd in the World University Basketball Championships in 2004.
The TRU WolfPack are the athletic teams that represent Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. They were known as the UCC Sun Demons prior to 2005.
Dave Smart is a Canadian college basketball coach who is the head coach of the Pacific Tigers men's basketball team, in Stockton, California. Regarded as the most successful Canadian university coach of all time, Smart was the head coach of the Carleton Ravens from 1999 to 2019, leading them to 13 Canadian Interuniversity Sport/U Sports national championships. During his 18 seasons at Carleton, he also led the Ravens to 11 Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championships — the most by any coach in conference history. Smart has also served as an assistant coach with the Canadian men's national team on multiple occasions, working with head coaches Leo Rautins and Jay Triano.
The Alberta Pandas ice hockey team represents the University of Alberta in the Canada West Universities Athletic Association of U Sports. The team was led by head coach Howie Draper from 1997 until 2023, when Draper left to become head coach of PWHL New York. The current head coach is Darren Bilawchuk. The program has won the most Canada West conference championships with 14 and the most U Sports national championships with eight.
The U Sports Women's Ice Hockey Championship, is a Canadian university ice hockey tournament conducted by U Sports, and determines the women's national champion. The tournament involves the champions from each of Canada's four regional sports conferences. The Golden Path Trophy is awarded to the winners.
The 2014 CIS Men's Final 8 Basketball Tournament was held March 7–9, 2014 in Ottawa, Ontario. Host and defending champion Carleton Ravens won the final against the Ottawa Gee-Gees. It was the second of two consecutive CIS Championships to be held at Canadian Tire Centre after the tournament was held in Halifax in 2011 and 2012. This was the fifth time Carleton University has hosted the tournament with the Carleton Ravens guaranteed a spot in the tournament as the host team.
The U Sports Women's Soccer Championship is a Canadian university soccer tournament conducted by U Sports, and determines the women's national champion. The tournament involves the champions from each of Canada's four regional sports conferences. The Gladys Bean Memorial Trophy is awarded to the winners.
The Ottawa Gee-Gees represent the University of Ottawa in Canadian Interuniversity Sport women's ice hockey. Home games are contested at the uOttawa Minto Sports Complex, and the Gee-Gees are members of the Quebec Student Sports Federation.
The Capital Hoops Classic is a Canadian rivalry basketball series between the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees and Carleton University Ravens sponsored by bank holding company MBNA. The series, featuring both the men's and women's teams, was held at the Canadian Tire Centre from 2007 to 2019 until moving to TD Place Arena in 2020. Since 2015, the games traditionally occur on the first Friday in February.
The 2016 CIS Men's Basketball Championship was held March 17–20, 2016 in Vancouver, British Columbia, to determine a national champion for the 2015–16 CIS men's basketball season. hosted by the University of British Columbia at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre. This was the second time UBC hosted, and the third time the tournament was played in B.C.
The 2015 CIS Men's University Cup Hockey Tournament was held March 20–23, 2014. It was the first of two consecutive CIS Championships to be held at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax jointly hosted by the St. Francis Xavier University and Saint Mary's University. Each school was a designated 'host' for one of the events; St. Francis Xavier was the 2015 host while Saint Mary's was the host in the second year (2016).
The 2019 U Sports Men's Final 8 Basketball Tournament was the 57th edition of the U Sports men's basketball championship, a postseason tournament to determine the national champion of the 2018–19 U Sports men's basketball season. The tournament was held March 7–10, 2019, at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Carleton Ravens won the tournament, beating defending national champions, the Calgary Dinos, 83-49. The win extended Carleton's record number of men's basketball titles to 14.
The U Sports Women's Volleyball Championship is a Canadian university volleyball tournament conducted by U Sports, and determines the women's national champion. The tournament involves the champions from each of Canada's four regional sports conferences. The championship trophy, first awarded in 1977, features a two-wheeled oxcart, symbolizing the pioneer era on the Red River in Manitoba. The 2024 champions are the UBC Thunderbirds who have also won the most championships with a total of 14, including six in a row from 2008 to 2013.
The U Sports Men's Volleyball Championship is a Canadian university volleyball tournament conducted by U Sports, and determines the men's national champion. The tournament involves the champions from each of Canada's four regional sports conferences. The Tantramar Trophy is awarded to the winners.
The Windsor Lancers women's basketball team represent the University of Windsor in the Ontario University Athletics conference of U Sports women's basketball. Having won the Bronze Baby for five consecutive years (2011–15), the most recent championship victory occurred at the 2015 CIS Women's Basketball Championship.
The TMU Bold women's basketball team represents Toronto Metropolitan University in the Ontario University Athletics conference of U Sports women's basketball. The Rams have won one national championship following their victory in the 2022 tournament.
The 2023 U Sports Men's Final 8 Basketball Tournament was the 60th edition of the U Sports men's basketball championship, a postseason tournament to determine the national champion of the 2022 U Sports men's basketball season. The tournament started on March 10 and ended with the bronze-medal and championship games being played on November 12 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.