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).
The Windsor Lancers are the varsity athletic teams that represent the University of Windsor in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The school's varsity program supports 9 different sports. Their mascot is a lancer and the team's colours are blue and gold. The varsity teams compete in the Ontario University Athletics provincial conference and the national U Sports organization. The school joined the Ontario-Quebec Athletic Association in 1952.
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.
Daryl Stephenson is a former professional Canadian football running back. He was originally drafted by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2008 and played with that franchise for three seasons. Stephenson then played for two seasons with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats before signing with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He played collegiately for the University of Windsor Lancers.
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 2010 CIS football season began on August 31, 2010, with the Windsor Lancers hosting the Ottawa Gee-Gees and the defending Vanier Cup champion Queen's Golden Gaels visiting the McMaster Marauders. The season concluded on November 27 at the PEPS stadium in Quebec City, Quebec with the Laval Rouge et Or winning the 46th Vanier Cup, a record tying sixth championship for the school. In this year, 25 university teams in Canada played CIS football, the highest level of amateur Canadian football.
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.
Kyle Quinlan is a former college football quarterback and formerly the co-offensive coordinator for the McMaster Marauders in the Ontario University Athletics conference of U Sports football. He played collegiately with the Marauders of the OUA where he won the Ted Morris Memorial Trophy as the Most Valuable Player in the 47th Vanier Cup, en route to winning the Marauder's first football national championship. In 2012, Quinlan won the Hec Crighton Trophy as the CIS football Most Valuable Player. On April 29, 2013, Quinlan was named the CIS male athlete of the year for 2013.
Tommy Denison is a former quarterback in Canadian Interuniversity Sport and a football coach. He is currently an analyst for the Edmonton Elks of the CFL, a role he has held since 2023. Previous to this he was the offensive coordinator for York University's football team, the York Lions of U Sports. As a player, he is a two-time All-Canadian and two-time winner of the Hec Crighton Trophy in 2002 and 2003. He played professionally for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Calgary Stampeders, and Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
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 Windsor Lancers men's ice hockey team is an active ice hockey program representing the Windsor Lancers athletic department of the University of Windsor. The team has been active since the early 1960s and is currently a member of the Ontario University Athletics conference under the authority of U Sports. The Lancers play at the Capri Pizzeria Recreation Complex in Windsor, Ontario.
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 UBC Thunderbirds football team represents the University of British Columbia athletics teams in U Sports and is based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Thunderbirds program has won the CWUAA Hardy Trophy conference championship 17 times, which is third all-time among competing teams. On a national level, the team has won the Vanier Cup championship four times, in 1982, 1986, 1997 and, most recently, in 2015. The team has also lost twice in the title game, in 1978 and 1987. The Thunderbirds program has also yielded three Hec Crighton Trophy winners: Jordan Gagner in 1987, Mark Nohra in 1997, and, most recently, Billy Greene in 2011.
The Queen's Gaels football team represents Queen's University in the sport of Canadian football. The Gaels compete at the U Sports football level, within the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) conference. Queen's began competing in intercollegiate football in 1882. The Gaels play in the Richardson Memorial Stadium in Kingston, which has a capacity of 8,000.
The Waterloo Warriors football team represents the University of Waterloo in the sport of Canadian football in U Sports. The Warriors U Sports football program has been in operation since 1957, winning two Yates Cup conference championships in 1997 and 1999. Currently, they are one of six teams to have never appeared in a Vanier Cup game and the longest tenured program in the OUA to have never qualified for the national championship game.
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.
The Western Mustangs football team represents the University of Western Ontario in Canadian university football. The Mustangs compete as a member of the Ontario University Athletics (OUA), under the U Sports association.
The 1999 CIAU football season began on September 10, 1999, and concluded with the 35th Vanier Cup national championship on November 27, 1999, at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, with the Laval Rouge et Or winning the first Vanier Cup in program history. Twenty-four universities across Canada competed in CIAU football this season, the highest level of amateur play in Canadian football, under the auspices of the Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Union (CIAU). The Regina Rams began their first season of play in the CIAU after previously playing in the Canadian Junior Football League.
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.
Jean-Paul Circelli is the head coach for the University of Windsor's football team, the Windsor Lancers. He won a Vanier Cup in 2017 with the Western Mustangs as the team's offensive line coach.
