Vanier Cup

Vanier Cup
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 58th Vanier Cup
SportCanadian football
Founded1965; 58 years ago (1965)
Inaugural season1965
Organising bodyU Sports
CountryCanada
Most recent
champion(s)
Laval Rouge et Or (11th title)
Most titlesLaval Rouge et Or (11)
Official websiteusports.ca/en/championships/vanier-cup/m

The Vanier Cup (French: Coupe Vanier) is a post season college 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 (Canada West), Dunsmore Cup (RSEQ), and Yates Cup (OUA).

The Laval Rouge et Or have won the most Vanier Cups (11), while the Western Mustangs have the most appearances (15). Eighteen teams have won the Vanier Cup, while three others have played for the championship but never won. There are six active teams that have never appeared in the championship game. The most recent game, the 57th Vanier Cup, was played on November 26, 2022, at London, Ontario. In this game, the Laval Rouge et Or defeated the Saskatchewan Huskies 30–24 to win their 11th championship.

History

The Vanier Cup was created in 1965 as the championship trophy of the Canadian College Bowl. For the first two years of competition, the Canadian College Bowl was an invitational event, with a national panel selecting two teams to play, similar to other U.S. collegiate bowl games. In 1967, the Canadian College Bowl was declared the national football championship of the Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union, later Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) and now U Sports, with a playoff system determining the two participants.

The Vanier Cup was played in Toronto, Ontario, from its inception in 1965 through 2003. However, after the CIS opened the game to host conference bids in 2001, the possibility arose to have games held outside Toronto. As of 2016, 41 of the 52 Vanier Cups have been played in Toronto, five in Quebec City, four in Hamilton, one in Saskatoon, one in Vancouver and one in Montreal. No games have been staged in the Atlantic region. Four times, the game has been played in the same city and during the same weekend as the Grey Cup: 1973, 2007 and 2012 in Toronto and in 2011 in Vancouver at BC Place Stadium.

The winners trophy is named after Georges Vanier, the former governor general of Canada and was first awarded in 1965 to the winner of an invitational event contested between two teams that were selected by a panel. In 1967, the trophy was declared the official "CIAU National Football Championship" and a playoff system was instituted. From its creation until 1982, it was known as the Canadian College Bowl. The game typically occurs in late November, although it is occasionally played in December.

On June 8, 2020, U Sports announced that all fall athletics championships for the 2020–21 season had been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results

Key
  • (#) Number of times that team has won the Vanier Cup.

Note: All Ted Morris Trophy and Bruce Coulter Award winners played for the winning team, unless otherwise noted.

Game Date Champion Score Runner Up Stadium City Ted Morris Memorial Trophy
(Game MVP)
Bruce Coulter Award
(starts in 1992)
1st November 20, 1965 Toronto 14–7 Alberta Varsity Stadium Toronto Gerry Sternberg
2nd November 19, 1966 St. F.X. 40–14 Waterloo Lutheran Varsity Stadium Toronto Terry Gorman
3rd November 25, 1967 Alberta 10–9 McMaster Varsity Stadium Toronto Val Schneider
4th November 22, 1968 Queen's 42–14 Waterloo Lutheran Varsity Stadium Toronto Don Bayne
5th November 21, 1969 Manitoba 24–15 McGill Varsity Stadium Toronto Bob Kraemer
6th November 21, 1970 Manitoba (2) 38–11 Ottawa Varsity Stadium Toronto Mike Shylo
7th November 20, 1971 Western 15–14 Alberta Varsity Stadium Toronto Bob McGregor[A]
8th November 25, 1972 Alberta (2) 20–7 Waterloo Lutheran Varsity Stadium Toronto Roger Comartin
Andy MacLeod[B]
9th November 24, 1973 Saint Mary's 14–6 McGill Exhibition Stadium Toronto Ken Clark
10th November 22, 1974 Western (2) 19–15 Toronto Exhibition Stadium Toronto Ian Bryans
11th November 21, 1975 Ottawa 14–9 Calgary Exhibition Stadium Toronto Neil Lumsden
12th November 19, 1976 Western (3) 29–13 Acadia Varsity Stadium Toronto Bill Rozalowsky
13th November 19, 1977 Western (4) 48–15 Acadia Varsity Stadium Toronto Bill Rozalowsky
14th November 18, 1978 Queen's (2) 16–3 British Columbia Varsity Stadium Toronto Ed Andrew
15th November 17, 1979 Acadia 34–12 Western Varsity Stadium Toronto Don Ross
16th November 29, 1980 Alberta (3) 40–21 Ottawa Varsity Stadium Toronto Forrest Kennerd
17th November 28, 1981 Acadia (2) 18–12 Alberta Varsity Stadium Toronto Steve Repic
18th November 20, 1982 British Columbia 39–14 Western Varsity Stadium Toronto Glenn Steele
19th November 19, 1983 Calgary 31–21 Queen's Varsity Stadium Toronto Tim Petros
20th November 24, 1984 Guelph 22–13 Mount Allison Varsity Stadium Toronto Parri Ceci
21st November 30, 1985 Calgary (2) 25–6 Western Varsity Stadium Toronto Lew Lawrick
22nd November 22, 1986 British Columbia (2) 25–23 Western Varsity Stadium Toronto Eric Putoto
23rd November 21, 1987 McGill 47–11 British Columbia Varsity Stadium Toronto Michael Soles
24th November 19, 1988 Calgary (3) 52–23 Saint Mary's Varsity Stadium Toronto Sean Furlong
25th November 18, 1989 Western (5) 35–10 Saskatchewan SkyDome Toronto Tyrone Williams
26th November 24, 1990 Saskatchewan 24–21 Saint Mary's SkyDome Toronto David Earl
27th November 30, 1991 Wilfrid Laurier 25–18 Mount Allison SkyDome Toronto Andy Cecchini
28th November 21, 1992 Queen's (3) 31–0 Saint Mary's SkyDome Toronto Brad Elberg Eric Dell
29th November 20, 1993 Toronto (2) 37–34 Calgary SkyDome Toronto Glenn McCausland Rob Schrauth[C]
30th November 19, 1994 Western (6) 50–40 (OT) Saskatchewan SkyDome Toronto Brent Schneider[D] Xavier Lafont
31st November 25, 1995 Calgary (4) 54–24 Western SkyDome Toronto Don Blair Rob Richards
32nd November 30, 1996 Saskatchewan (2) 31–12 St. F.X. SkyDome Toronto Brent Schneider Warren Muzika
33rd November 22, 1997 British Columbia (3) 39–23 Ottawa SkyDome Toronto Stewart Scherck Mark Nohra
34th November 28, 1998 Saskatchewan (3) 24–17 Concordia SkyDome Toronto Trevor Ludtke Doug Rozon
35th November 27, 1999 Laval 14–10 Saint Mary's SkyDome Toronto Stéphane Lefebvre Francesco Pepe Esposito
36th December 2, 2000 Ottawa (2) 42–39 Regina SkyDome Toronto Phill Côté Scott Gordon
37th December 1, 2001 Saint Mary's (2) 42–16 Manitoba SkyDome Toronto Ryan Jones Kyl Morrison
38th November 23, 2002 Saint Mary's (3) 33–21 Saskatchewan SkyDome Toronto Steve Panella Joe Bonaventura
39th November 22, 2003 Laval (2) 14–7 Saint Mary's SkyDome Toronto Jeronimo Huerta-Flores Philippe Audet
40th November 27, 2004 Laval (3) 7–1 Saskatchewan Ivor Wynne Stadium Hamilton Matthew Leblanc Matthieu Proulx
41st December 3, 2005 Wilfrid Laurier (2) 24–23 Saskatchewan Ivor Wynne Stadium Hamilton Ryan Pyear David Montoya
42nd November 25, 2006 Laval (4) 13–8 Saskatchewan Griffiths Stadium Saskatoon Éric Maranda Samuel Grégoire-Champagne
43rd November 23, 2007 Manitoba (3) 28–14 Saint Mary's Rogers Centre Toronto Mike Howard John Makie
44th November 22, 2008 Laval (5) 44–21 Western Ivor Wynne Stadium Hamilton Julian Féoli-Gudino Marc-Antoine L. Fortin
45th November 28, 2009 Queen's (4) 33–31 Calgary Stade du PEPS Quebec City Danny Brannagan Chris Smith
46th November 27, 2010 Laval (6) 29–2 Calgary Stade du PEPS Quebec City Sébastien Levesque Marc-Antoine Beaudoin-Cloutier
47th November 25, 2011 McMaster 41–38 (2OT) Laval BC Place Vancouver Kyle Quinlan Aram Eisho
48th November 23, 2012 Laval (7) 37–14 McMaster Rogers Centre Toronto Maxime Boutin Arnaud Gascon-Nadon
49th November 23, 2013 Laval (8) 25–14 Calgary Stade Telus Quebec City Pascal Lochard Vincent Desloges
50th November 29, 2014 Montréal 20–19 McMaster Molson Stadium Montreal Regis Cibasu Anthony Coady
51st November 28, 2015 British Columbia (4) 26–23 Montréal Stade Telus Quebec City Michael O'Connor Stavros Katsantonis
52nd November 26, 2016 Laval (9) 31–26 Calgary Tim Hortons Field Hamilton Hugo Richard Cédric Lussier-Roy
53rd November 25, 2017 Western (7) 39-17 Laval Tim Hortons Field Hamilton Chris Merchant Fraser Sopik
54th November 24, 2018 Laval (10) 34-20 Western Stade Telus Quebec City Hugo Richard Adam Auclair
55th November 23, 2019 Calgary (5) 27-13 Montréal Stade Telus Quebec City Adam Sinagra Redha Kramdi
2020 game cancelled due to 2019 coronavirus pandemic
56th December 4, 2021 Western (8) 27-21 Saskatchewan Stade Telus Quebec City Evan Hillock Daniel Valente Jr
57th November 26, 2022 Laval (11) 30-24 Saskatchewan Western Alumni Stadium London Kevin Mital Charles-Alexandre Jacques
58th November 25, 2023 Richardson Memorial Stadium Kingston
59th November 23, 2024 Richardson Memorial Stadium Kingston


^ A. Bob McGregor, Ted Morris Trophy winner in 1971, played for the runner-up team.
^ B. In the 1972 game, the Vanier Cup Committee and Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union officials decided to crown co-winners from the same school.
^ C. Rob Schrauth, Bruce Coulter Award winner in 1993, played for the runner-up team.
^ D. Brent Schneider, Ted Morris Trophy winner in 1994, played for the runner-up team.

Appearances by team

Key
OUA Ontario University Athletics
RSEQ Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec
CanWest Canada West Universities Athletic Association
AUS Atlantic University Sport
OQIFC Ontario-Quebec Intercollegiate Football Conference 1980–2000
Appearances Team Hometown Conference Wins Losses Win % Most Recent Appearance
15 Western Mustangs London, Ontario OUA 8 7 .533 2021
13 Laval Rouge et Or Quebec City, Quebec RSEQ/OQIFC 11 2 .846 2022
11 Calgary Dinos Calgary, Alberta CanWest 5 6 .455 2019
11 Saskatchewan Huskies Saskatoon, Saskatchewan CanWest 3 8 .273 2022
9 Saint Mary's Huskies Halifax, Nova Scotia AUS 3 6 .333 2007
6 UBC Thunderbirds Vancouver, British Columbia CanWest 4 2 .667 2015
Alberta Golden Bears Edmonton, Alberta CanWest 3 3 .500 1981
5 Queen's Gaels Kingston, Ontario OUA/OQIFC 4 1 .800 2009
Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks[E] Waterloo, Ontario OUA 2 3 .400 2005
Ottawa Gee-Gees Ottawa, Ontario OUA/OQIFC 2 3 .400 2000
4 Manitoba Bisons Winnipeg, Manitoba CanWest 3 1 .750 2007
Acadia Axemen Wolfville, Nova Scotia AUS 2 2 .500 1981
McMaster Marauders Hamilton, Ontario OUA 1 3 .250 2014
3 Toronto Varsity Blues Toronto, Ontario OUA 2 1 .667 1993
McGill Redbirds Montreal, Quebec RSEQ/OQIFC 1 2 .333 1987
Montréal Carabins Montreal, Quebec RSEQ 1 2 .333 2019
2 St. Francis Xavier X-Men Antigonish, Nova Scotia AUS 1 1 .500 1996
Mount Allison Mounties Sackville, New Brunswick AUS 0 2 .000 1991
1 Guelph Gryphons Guelph, Ontario OUA 1 0 1.000 1984
Concordia Stingers Montreal, Quebec RSEQ/OQIFC 0 1 .000 1998
Regina Rams Regina, Saskatchewan CanWest 0 1 .000 2000

^ E. The Wilfrid Laurier record includes three games played as Waterloo Lutheran.

Six active teams have never played for the Vanier Cup: Bishop's Gaiters (AUS/RSEQ/OQIFC), Carleton Ravens (OUA), Sherbrooke Vert-et-Or (RSEQ), Waterloo Warriors (OUA), Windsor Lancers (OUA), and York Lions/Yeomen (OUA).

Awards

From left to right, The Ted Morris Trophy, Vanier Cup and Bruce Coulter Trophy at the 2009 Vanier Cup at PEPS Stadium in Quebec City.

The Vanier Cup's most valuable player is awarded the Ted Morris Memorial Trophy. It was first awarded at the first championship in 1965 and named in honour of Teddy Morris, who died the same year. Morris, a Hall of Fame former Toronto Argonauts player and coach, was an organizer of the first bowl and champion for developing Canadian players.

The Bruce Coulter Award was first awarded in 1992 and is dependent on what position the winner of the Ted Morris Trophy played. If the winner is from the offence, then the Bruce Coulter Award winner will be the most outstanding defensive player or vice versa. It was named after Bruce Coulter, long-time Head Coach of the Bishop's Gaiters and former offensive and defensive player with the Montreal Alouettes in the 1950s. Coulter was inducted as a builder in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1997.

Broadcasting

The 48th Vanier Cup was the most watched and highest attended Vanier Cup game.

The Vanier Cup final game is regularly broadcast nationally. From 1965 though 1976 it was broadcast on CBC Television, from 1977 through 1988 it was broadcast on the CTV Television Network. In 1989, TSN acquired rights to the game, lasting through to 2012 (besides a one-year stint on The Score in 2008).

In November 2010, the rights to the Vanier Cup were purchased by sports marketing company MRX. The 2011 game was held in Vancouver, on the same weekend as the 99th Grey Cup and for the first time it was fully integrated into the Grey Cup Festival as a festival event.

In 2012, the 48th Vanier Cup, played between Laval and McMaster at Rogers Centre in Toronto became both the most attended and most watched Vanier Cup ever. Held the same weekend and in the same city as the 100th Grey Cup, the game was attended by 37,098. The previous record was set in 1989 at the 25th Vanier Cup, when 32,847 watched the game between Western and Saskatchewan that was also played at SkyDome (now Rogers Centre). The game, broadcast on TSN and RDS was watched by 910,000.

In February 2013, the CIS terminated the option years on their agreement with MRX opting for an open bid process for the hosting of the game. Laval University, in Quebec City, was the only bidder for the game and won the right to host the 49th Vanier Cup. In May, CIS terminated its agreement with TSN, and entered into a six-year deal with Sportsnet to broadcast its championships, including the Vanier Cup.

The switch in venues, the decoupling of the Vanier Cup from Grey Cup week, and the change in broadcaster, led to a precipitous drop in attendance and viewership. A total of 301,000 viewers watched Laval defeat the Calgary Dinos 25-14 Saturday, November 23, 2013, which was a decline of 64 per cent from the previous year. A standing room crowd of 18,543 were on hand at the Telus Stadium which was a decline of 50 per cent from the previous year in Toronto (although a sellout in that venue). In 2019, after several more years of declines, the Vanier Cup returned to CBC.

See also


This page was last updated at 2023-10-28 04:25 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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