The Vanier Cup () is the trophy awarded annually to the champion

Canadian football Canadian football, or simply football, is a Sports in Canada, sport in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete on a field long and wide, attempting to advance a Ball (gridiron football), pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposi ...

team in

U Sports U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body for universities in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country and four regional conferences: Ontario University Athletics (OUA), Résea ...

, the governing body for university sports in Canada. The U Sports football champion is determined in a one-game playoff (the Vanier Cup game), played by the winners of the Uteck Bowl and the Mitchell Bowl. In turn, the participating teams are determined by the winners of four bowl games: the Loney Bowl ( AUS), Hardy Cup (

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report ...

Dunsmore Cup The Dunsmore Cup () is a Canadian sports trophy, presented annually to the winner of the university-level football competition conducted by Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ), the governing body for all student sports in the province of ...

( RSEQ), and Yates Cup ( OUA). The Vanier Cup game is played at a neutral site that changes every year; the hosting university is determined months or years in advance. The Laval Rouge et Or have won the most Vanier Cups (12), while the

Western Mustangs The Western Mustangs are the athletic teams that represent University of Western Ontario, Western University in London, Ontario, Canada. The school's athletic program supports 46 Varsity team, varsity teams. Their mascot is a Mustang named J.W. a ...

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 59th Vanier Cup, was played on November 23, 2024, at

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

. In this game, the Laval Rouge et Or defeated the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 22–17 to win their twelfth 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

, with a playoff system determining the two participants. The Vanier Cup was played in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, 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 2023, 41 of the 61 Vanier Cups have been played in Toronto, eight in Quebec City, five in Hamilton, one in Regina, one in Saskatoon, one in Vancouver, one in London, Ontario, one in Montreal, and one in Kingston. 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 The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

: 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 The governor general of Canada () is the federal representative of the . The monarch of Canada is also sovereign and head of state of 14 other Commonwealth realms and resides in the United Kingdom. The monarch, on the Advice (constitutional la ...

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 The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

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 Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

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 The Montréal Carabins () are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent the Université de Montréal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Teams play at the CEPSUM Stadium and at Winter Stadium (Montreal), l'aréna du CEPSUM, located at the Uni ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

. ;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 The Bishop's Gaiters is the men's and women's athletic teams that represent Bishop's University in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. The name Gaiters#In the Anglican church, Gaiter is a nickname used to refer to garments worn over the shoe and lower pa ...

(AUS/RSEQ/OQIFC), Carleton Ravens (OUA), Sherbrooke Vert-et-Or (RSEQ), Waterloo Warriors (OUA), Windsor Lancers (OUA), and York Lions/Yeomen (OUA).

Awards

The Vanier Cup's

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

is awarded the Ted Morris Memorial Trophy. It was first awarded at the first championship in 1965 and named in honour of

Teddy Morris Allan Byron (Teddy) Morris (March 1910 – September 5, 1965) was a Canadian Football Hall of Fame player and coach for the Toronto Argonauts. Morris began playing Canadian football with Toronto playground teams and moved on to the Winnipeg Nativ ...

, who died the same year. Morris, a Hall of Fame former

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

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

and former offensive and defensive player with the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

in the 1950s. Coulter was inducted as a builder in the

Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about the CFL, ...

in 1997.

Broadcasting

The Vanier Cup final game is regularly broadcast nationally. From 1965 though 1976 it was broadcast on

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

, from 1977 through 1988 it was broadcast on the

CTV Television Network The CTV Television Network, commonly known as CTV, is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. Launched in 1961 and acquired by BCE Inc. in 2000, CTV is Canada's largest privately owned List of Canadian ...

. In 1989, TSN acquired rights to the game, lasting through to 2012 (besides a one-year stint on

The Score The Score may refer to: Films and television * The Score (1978 film), ''The Score'' (1978 film), a 1978 Swedish film, released in Sweden as ''Lyftet'' * The Score (2001 film), ''The Score'' (2001 film), a 2001 crime drama film starring Robert De Ni ...

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 Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, 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

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 Sportsnet is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language Discretionary service, discretionary sports broadcasting, sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture betw ...

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

External links

Official Vanier Cup website

2009 Vanier Cup Media Kit
{{Featured list Recurring sporting events established in 1965 1965 establishments in Canada U Sports football trophies and awards