Vanier Cup

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 2025, 41 of the 61 Vanier Cups have been played in Toronto, eight in Quebec City, five in Hamilton, two in Kingston, one in Regina (November 22, 2025), one in Saskatoon, one in Vancouver, one in London, Ontario, 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 (governor general of Canada 1959–1967) 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

File:SaskVanier1990.jpg|alt=The Vanier Cup.|The Vanier Cup raised in 1990 by the Saskatchewan Huskies following their win over Saint Mary's. File:Laurier Golden Hawks - 2005 Vanier Cup champions.jpg|The Laurier Golden Hawks won the 2005 Vanier Cup, defeating Saskatchewan 24–23. File:47th Vanier Cup.jpg|The Laval Rouge et Or vs. the McMaster Marauders in the 47th Vanier Cup. File:52nd Vanier Cup.jpg|The Laval Rouge et Or vs. the Calgary Dinos in the 52nd Vanier Cup. File:55th Vanier Cup ULaval 19.jpg|The Calgary Dinos hoist the Vanier Cup trophy following their win over the Montreal Carabins in 2019.

;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.

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

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

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 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.

References

;General

;Specific

References

1. (2007). "Uteck Bowl". vaniercup.ca.
2. (2007). "Mitchell Bowl". vaniercup.ca.
3. McGuire, Brendan. (November 21, 2025). "Montreal Carabins defeat Saskatchewan Huskies to win 2nd Vanier Cup in 3 years". The Canadian Press.
4. (2007). "Past Vanier Cups". vaniercup.ca.
5. (February 27, 2019). "CFL, USports working to realign Grey Cup and Vanier Cup". 3DownNation.
6. (2020-06-08). "Vanier Cup among national U Sports championships cancelled because of COVID-19 pandemic".
7. (2010-11-22). "2011 Vanier and Grey Cup games to be on same weekend". [[Toronto Star]].
8. (2012-04-18). "Schedule released: 2012 Canada West football gets underway Labour Day weekend". [[Canadian Interuniversity Sport]].
9. (2013-02-07). "Laval University to host 2013 Vanier Cup". [[Canadian Interuniversity Sport]].
10. [https://presto-en.usports.ca/sports/fball/championship/2014/releases/final 50th Telus Vanier Cup: Hometown Carabins capture first national title] from [[Canadian Interuniversity Sport]], 29 November 2014, retrieved 29 November 2014
11. [https://presto-en.usports.ca/sports/fball/championship/2015/releases/host Laval to host 2015 Vanier Cup in Quebec City] from [[Canadian Interuniversity Sport]], 8 December 2014, retrieved 9 December 2014
12. (November 28, 2015). "UBC Thunderbirds beat Montreal Carabins for Vanier Cup". cfl.ca.
13. [https://presto-en.usports.ca/sports/fball/2015-16/releases/vc16 Hamilton to host Vanier Cup in 2016 and 2017] {{Webarchive. link. (2018-10-12 from [[Canadian Interuniversity Sport]], January 18, 2016, retrieved July 11, 2016)
14. (June 23, 2022). "U Sports awards 2022 Vanier Cup to Western, City of London". [[U Sports]].
15. (March 30, 2023). "Queen's University to host the 2023 and 2024 Vanier Cup". [[U Sports]].
16. (March 30, 2023). "Queen's University to host the 2023 and 2024 Vanier Cup". [[U Sports]].
17. (November 25, 2023). "Regina, Laval to host 2025 and 2026 Vanier Cups". [[U Sports]].
18. "Championship Calendar". [[U Sports]].
19. "Championship All-Stars". Canadian Interuniversity Sport.
20. "Teddy Morris". Canadian Football Hall of Fame and Museum.
21. "Bruce Coulter". Canadian Football Hall of Fame and Museum.
22. Naylor, Dave. (2010-11-21). "'11 Vanier Cup to join Grey Cup week in Vancouver". The Sports Network.
23. (2012-11-24). "Laval defeats McMaster to win the 48th Vanier Cup". The Sports Network.
24. (2012-11-26). "Record audience watches Vanier Cup on TSN, RDS". The Sports Network.
25. (2013-02-07). "Laval to host 2013 Vanier Cup". Bell Media.
26. (2013-05-08). "CIS and Sportsnet agree to six-year deal". CIS.
27. (2013-11-26). "The Great Canadian Ratinggs Report". Yahoo!Canada,Zelkovich,Chris.
28. (2019-11-02). "CBC to broadcast 2019 Vanier Cup". 3downnation.com.