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.
The Sir Winston Churchill Bowl was one of two semi-final bowl games played in Canadian Interuniversity Sport football that would determine a participant in the Vanier Cup national championship. The trophy was originally donated and managed by McGill University to serve as an annual, often pre-season, invitational football contest between the sister universities of McGill and UBC in aid of the Canadian Paraplegic Association. The Churchill Bowl was retired in 2003 and replaced by the Mitchell Bowl.
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).
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 Quebec University Football League was the Canadian football conference for Quebec universities who participate in CIS football until the completion of the 2010 football season. It has since been renamed Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec football, or noted by the acronym RSEQ.
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 Queen's Cup is a trophy awarded annually to the champion in men's ice hockey of the Ontario University Athletics conference of U Sports. It has been awarded since 1903 to the champion between Ontario and Quebec universities. It is the second-oldest ice hockey trophy still being awarded, after the Stanley Cup.
The 2013 CIS football season began on August 25, 2013, with ten Ontario University Athletics teams playing that day. The season concluded on November 23 with the 49th Vanier Cup championship in Quebec City, won by the Laval Rouge et Or after they defeated the Calgary Dinos 25–14. This year, 27 university teams in Canada played Canadian Interuniversity Sport football, the highest level of amateur Canadian football. The Carleton Ravens football team re-joined the CIS after a 14-year absence, increasing the number of OUA teams to 11 and necessitating the use of bye weeks in that conference.
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.
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 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 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.
The 2019 U Sports football season began on August 23, 2019, with the Concordia Stingers hosting the Montreal Carabins in Montreal, Quebec. The Atlantic University Sport conference started play the following day and the Ontario University Athletics conference began play on August 25, 2019. The Canada West teams began play during the following weekend, on August 30, 2019. All 27 U Sports football teams played eight regular season games against opponents within the same conference.
The 2021 Vanier Cup, the 56th edition of the Canadian university football championship, was played on December 4, 2021, at Telus Stadium in Quebec City, Quebec. The OUA champion Western Mustangs defeated the Canada West champion Saskatchewan Huskies by a score of 27–21. The Mustangs made their U Sports–leading 15th Vanier Cup appearance and won their eighth championship. The Huskies made their tenth appearance in the title game, and first since 2006, but lost a record-tying seventh Vanier Cup game.
The 1998 CIAU football season began on September 2, 1998, and concluded with the 34th Vanier Cup national championship on November 28, 1998, at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, with the Saskatchewan Huskies winning the third Vanier Cup championship 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). This year would be the last for the Carelton Ravens until their re-establishment in 2013 as the program was discontinued in 1998.
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.
The 2023 U Sports football season began on August 25, 2023, with the defending champion Laval Rouge et Or visiting the Sherbrooke Vert et Or. On the following day, ten Ontario University Athletics teams, four Atlantic University Sport teams, and two RSEQ opened their schedules on August 26, 2023. On the following weekend, the six Canada West teams opened their seasons on September 1, 2023.
