The Ottawa Gee-Gees are the athletic teams that represent the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottaw ...

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the c ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. The Gee-Gees won the national football championship, the

Vanier Cup The Vanier Cup (french: Coupe Vanier) is the championship of Canadian university football. It is organized by U Sports football and is currently played between the winners of the Uteck Bowl and the Mitchell Bowl. It is named after Georges Vanier ...

, in 1975 and 2000, while also appearing in the game in the 1970, 1980, and 1997 seasons. The Gee-Gees women's rugby team won the national championship in 2017, and the women's soccer team were national champions in 1996 and 2018. The men's cross country team won three national titles, in 1986, 1987, and 1990.

Name

The name is a result of a progressive evolution. Similar to many older institutions, their teams were long referred to by the school's colours as the Garnet and Grey (french: Grenat et Gris). Eventually, members of the media began to refer to the teams simply as the ‘GGs’, providing a nickname in both English and French for the bilingual school's teams. The nickname stuck and would eventually be combined with a

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

term (where a gee-gee is the first horse out of the starting gate) to create the current ''Gee-Gees'' team name.

Conference affiliations

Varsity teams

Ottawa Gee-Gees teams compete in: Men's athletic teams *

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

* Cross country *

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

Ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

* Swimming *

Track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

( indoor and outdoor) Women's athletic teams * Basketball * Cross country * Ice hockey *

Soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

* Swimming * Track and field (indoor and outdoor) *

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

Competitive clubs

Badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

(men's) *

Cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

* Dance *

Equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...

* Fastball (women's) *

Fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, ...

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

(men's and women's) *

Lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

(men's) *

Nordic skiing Nordic skiing encompasses the various types of skiing in which the toe of the ski boot is fixed to the binding in a manner that allows the heel to rise off the ski, unlike alpine skiing, where the boot is attached to the ski from toe to heel. ...

(men's and women's) * Ringette (women's) *

Rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...

* Rugby (men's hybrid of varsity and club) * Soccer (men's) *

Synchronized swimming Synchronized swimming (in British English, synchronised swimming) or artistic swimming is a sport where swimmers perform a synchronized choreographed routine, accompanied by music. The sport is governed internationally by FINA (the ''Fédérati ...

Ultimate Frisbee Ultimate, originally known as ultimate Frisbee, is a non-contact team sport played with a frisbee Flying disc sports, flung by hand. Ultimate was developed in 1968 by AJ Gator in Maplewood, New Jersey. Although ultimate resembles many traditiona ...

(men's and women's) * Volleyball (men) *

Water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with th ...

(men's and women's)

Athletic facilities

Gee-Gees football

Men's basketball

2010–2012

In July 2010, the University of Ottawa appointed James Derouin, an alumnus and former player, as their new head coach after the departure of Coach Dave DeAveiro, who left for McGill University. Derouin was an assistant coach for the UBC Thunderbirds for the previous two years and was captain of the Gee-Gees men's basketball team for both the 2000–01 and 2001–02 seasons. In his final year, he also played under DeAveiro. The 11-win 2010–11 season was successful despite falling just short of an entrance to the Final 8, losing to the

McMaster Marauders The McMaster Marauders are the athletic teams that represent McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Athletics at McMaster is currently managed by the university's student affairs, under their athletics & recreation department. The unive ...

in the OUA Final 4. The 2011–12 regular season was more successful than the previous year. The Gee-Gees entered the OUA playoffs with a 13–9 record but were ousted by rival

Ryerson Rams TMU Bold (known as the Ryerson Rams prior to August 2022) are the varsity athletic teams that represent Toronto Metropolitan University (previously known as Ryerson University) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Toronto Metropolitan University opera ...

by 3 points in the semifinals. The Gee-Gees had a playoff-experienced mix of veteran and young players going into the 2012–13 season.

2012–2014

The Gee-Gees came into the 2012–13 season with the last chance to make a deep run with star Warren Ward and the rest of their graduating players. Highly ranked nationally all season, the Gee-Gees posted a 15–5 regular-season record and were dead-set on making an appearance in the CIS tournament. The team lost to bitter cross-city rivals Carleton Ravens by 3 points in the OUA Wilson Cup final, still qualifying for the CIS Final 8 Tournament being held in Ottawa. The team lost to the Lakehead Thunderwolves in the national championship semifinals but defeated the

Acadia Axemen The Acadia Axemen and Axewomen are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada. The on-campus sports facilities used by Axemen teams include Raymond Field for various field sports and A ...

to earn their first national medal in school history with a bronze. The 2013–14 season was one of the best in school history with the play of star senior

Johnny Berhanemeskel Johnny Berhanemeskel (born October 30, 1992) is a Canadian professional basketball player for BC Budivelnyk of the European North Basketball League and the Champions League. Berhanemeskel plays at the shooting guard position, and has previously ...

and star transfer Terry Thomas the Gee-Gees were ranked at #2 in the nation almost all season and posted a school-best 20–2 regular-season record with their two losses coming against nation's #1 Carleton. The Gee-Gees went into the OUA playoffs as the second seed and narrowly beat the

to advance to the final four in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

. In the semifinals, Ottawa easily beat McMaster and advanced to the gold medal game against Carleton the following day. In the final, the Gee-Gees edged Carleton by a score of 78–77 to win their first

Wilson Cup (basketball) The Wilson Cup is the championship and trophy awarded annually to the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) men's basketball champion. The championship is played at the home of the highest remaining playoff seed from either the East or West Division, ...

in 21 years. The loss was Carleton's first against Canadian competition in 49 straight games. Sitting on seed 1 for the Final 8 in the

W. P. McGee Trophy The W. P. McGee Trophy is a national collegiate sports award, presented annually to the winner of the U Sports championship in men's basketball. The trophy is named after W. P. McGee, who served as a teacher and coach at Assumption College, wit ...

, the Gee-Gees advanced to the final game, beating the

Saskatchewan Huskies The University of Saskatchewan began in 1907 and has operated teams that compete with others since 1911. The term Huskie Athletics is defined as those student athletes from the University of Saskatchewan that compete in elite interuniversity ...

and the Victoria Vikes. The second time this season facing Carleton, in the National Championship final game, the Gee-Gees lost this time, 79–67.

Notable alumni

Ali Mahmoud Ali Mahmoud ( ar, علي محمود) is Lebanese-Canadian basketball player. Career Mahmoud was born on May 28, 1983, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, to Toufic and Gina Mahmoud, who had immigrated to Canada. He played with St. Patrick's High Sch ...

* St. Patrick's High School (Ottawa) * University of Ottawa Gee-Gees (2002, 2003) * Lebanon National Basketball Program * Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut (2004–present) * 2006, 2010 FIBA World Championships Alex McLeod * University of Ottawa Gee-Gees (2002–2006) * Over 1,207 career points * OUA East Rookie Team (2002) * OUA East All-Star (2004, 2005, 2006) * Certified Canadian Lawyer Joshua Gibson-Bascombe * University of Ottawa Gee-Gees (2005–2010) * OUA East Rookie of the Year (2005–2006) * OUA East All-Star (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009) * NH Ostrava of the Czech Republic * Team Canada Men's Development Team * FISU (2007 Thailand, 2009 Serbia) Warren Ward * University of Ottawa Gee-Gees (2008–2013) * OUA East All-Rookie Team (2008-2009) * OUA East All-Star (2009, 2010, 2012) * Plays professionally for

TBB Trier Gladiators Treves, for sponsorship reasons known as Römerstrom Gladiators Trier, is a professional basketball club based in Trier, Germany. The club plays in the ProA. Their home arena is Trier Arena, which has a capacity of 5,495 people. From 1 ...

* FISU (2011 China) Terry Thomas * University of Ottawa Gee-Gees (2013–2014) * CIS All-Canadian Second Team (2012) * CIS National Championship All-Tournament Team (2014) * All OUA East Second Team (2014) * CIS National Championship All-Tournament Team (2012) * All-Atlantic Division First Team (2012) * Atlantic Division All-Rookie Team (2011) * Played professionally for the Hamburg Towers in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

and in the NBL

Lester B. Pearson Catholic High School Lester B. Pearson Catholic High School (LBP) is an Ottawa Catholic School Board high school. It is located in the neighbourhood of Beacon Hill in the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Academic program LBP offers a variety in their academic progr ...

(

Gloucester, Ontario Gloucester ( ) is a former municipality and now geographic area of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Located east of Ottawa's inner core, it was an independent city until amalgamated with the Regional Municipality of Ottawa–Carleton in 2001 to become ...

) * University of Ottawa Gee-Gees (2010–2015) * Played professionally for the Ottawa Blackjacks (2020-2021) * Played for Team Canada Senior Men's National Basketball Team * CIS Outstanding Player (2015) * First Team All-Canadian (2015) * OUA Player of the Year (2015) * Gee-Gees all-time leading scorer with 2000 points * Gee-Gees all-time leader in three-point field-goals made (299) * Gee-Gees all-time leader in playoff scoring (357 points) and playoff three-pointers made (53) * Embarked on a professional career after graduation

Women's soccer

The Gee-Gees

women's soccer Women's association football, more commonly known simply as women's football or women's soccer, is a team sport of association football when played by women only. It is played at the professional level in multiple countries and 176 national te ...

program was founded in 1994 by current head coach Steven Johnson. The team went on to become national champions in 1996, in just their third season of play, after which Johnson was recognized as CIAU coach of the year (an honour he would again receive in 2005). The team has also won CIS silver medals in 1997, 2000, 2003, and 2005 and CIS bronze medals in 2001 and 2006. They went on to win the OUA gold in 2014, and CIS bronze following in 2014 along with receiving the Ottawa Sports Award. They won OUA bronze in 2015. The University of Ottawa women's soccer team became national champions on November 11, 2018, with a 2–1 victory over the

Trinity Western Spartans The Trinity Western Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Trinity Western University in Langley, British Columbia. The university's teams are members of U Sports, and compete in the Canada West Universities Athletics Association, and ...

in front of a home crowd. Miranda Smith scored the game-winning goal to bring the university its first national soccer title since 1996. This was their first finals appearance since 2005, led by long-time head coach Steve Johnson. The Gee-Gees finished atop the OUA East with a 14-1-1 record.

Women's rugby

As head coach since 2013, Jen Boyd has led the University of Ottawa's Women's rugby team with great success, and became the first full-time head coach in women's rugby. The team would feel disappointment finishing third in 2015 and second in 2016. The Gee-Gees Rugby team finally won their first national championship in 2017 after defeating the Laval Rouge et Or by a score of 20–10. The following year the Gee-Gees would fall short, finishing third in the tournament by defeating Laval 20–19, after a perfect 7–0 season to claim the RSEQ championship.

Men's hockey

The men's hockey program was formed in 1889. The team played in the Ottawa City Hockey League. The team was first known as "Garnet and Grey", as well as the other varsity athletic programs within the University of Ottawa. In the 1940s, all the varsity athletic programs became known as the "Gee-Gees", which was nicknamed by the media. The Gee-Gees had tremendous success in the 1980s. Despite, that the Gee-Gees have yet to win the University Cup. Ottawa's most memorable run took place in 2004, as the Gee-Gees ousted their rival

UQTR Patriotes The UQTR Patriotes are the athletic teams that represent the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada. The university features teams in swimming, golf, hockey, soccer, cross-country, volleyball and cheerleadin ...

2–1 in the OUA playoffs, and then advanced to the

Queen's Cup The Queen's Cup was an annual football cup competition in Thailand, run by the Football Association of Thailand. The competition was named after Queen Sirikit. It was first contested in 1970, with Bangkok Bank and Royal Thai Air Force "Ro ...

, hosted by the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thames R ...

. The Gee-Gees lost the OUA final to

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, but they still earned a spot in the University Cup, held in

Fredericton, New Brunswick Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...

, where the power-house UNB Varsity Reds played host to the tournament. However, the Gee-Gees failed to record a win and went home 0–2. Notably, it was the first time since 1985 that the Gee-Gees played in the University Cup. The Gee-Gees are well known for their successful coaches like

Mickey Goulet Mickey Goulet (born September 13, 1947) was the head coach for the Italian Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic ...

, who is the former head coach of the Italian National Men's Hockey Team, which participated in the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second ...

in Torino, Italy. Coaches like Michel Boucher, Tony Zappia, and Dave Leger. The Gee-Gees played in several rinks before the current Minto Sports Complex, which was built on the site of the Minto Arena, the former

Minto Skating Club The Minto Skating Club is a competitive figure skating club in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, founded in 1904. The Club is a member of the Skate Canada figure skating organization in Canada, and was a founder of the predecessor organization to Skate Cana ...

facility, which was demolished in 2000. Ottawa has held games at the Sandy Hill Arena and the

Robert Guertin Arena The Robert Guertin Centre (formerly Robert Guertin Arena and Hull Arena) is a multi-purpose arena in the Hull sector of Gatineau, Quebec, with a capacity of 4,000 capacity (3,196 seated). It was built in 1957. The original tenant hockey team wa ...

in Hull. The first rink was known as "College Yard", which was an outdoor rink in front of Tabaret Hall. The second venue for the Gee-Gees was the indoor

Rideau Skating Rink The Rideau Skating Rink was an indoor skating and curling facility located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Consisting of a curling rink and a skating rink, it was one of the first indoor rinks in Canada. The Rideau Rink was scheduled to open on Janu ...

, which was flooded during winter for the ice surface. The site on the corner of Waller Street and Laurier Avenue is now the Arts building at the University of Ottawa.

2014–2016 suspension

On March 3, 2014, the University of Ottawa men's varsity hockey team was suspended from any activity due to "severe misconduct". In a press conference, the university stated that they alerted the police due to the severity of the allegations. It was later discovered that some of the players on the hockey team were allegedly involved in a gang sexual assault on the weekend of February 1 while in

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its populati ...

playing Lakehead University. University of Ottawa officials were made aware of the situation by a third party on February 24, 2014. University officials gave information to Thunder Bay police, who confirmed they were in the initial stages of an investigation regarding a sexual assault. The University of Ottawa conducted its own review which called for the initial suspension while the investigation was ongoing. The university also contacted Ottawa police about the allegations, who in turn, cooperated with Thunder Bay police to complete the investigation. During a press conference on March 3, 2014, the president of the university, Allan Rock, stated that the university was going to announce the suspension of the hockey program on February 28, 2014, but the Thunder Bay Police asked them to delay. Two former players ultimately faced charges related to the incident. In June 2014, Rock announced uOttawa would not ice a team in 2014–15. January 2015, Rock announced that uOttawa would sit out the 2015–16 season as well in order to give university officials more time to implement reforms. The two former players were found not guilty of sexual assault in a verdict from Ontario Court Justice Chantal M. Brochu on June 25, 2018. The team returned for the 2016–17 season.

Women's hockey

Awards and honors

Athletes of the Year

References

External links

* {{Navboxes , titlestyle = {{CollegePrimaryStyle, Ottawa Gee-Gees, color=white , list = {{Ontario Sports {{Ontario University Athletics {{RSEQ {{U Sports men's ice hockey {{U Sports soccer {{U Sports volleyball Quebec Rugby Football Union teams Ontario Rugby Football Union teams Sports teams in Ottawa