The 2002 CIS football season began on August 27, 2002, and concluded with the 38th Vanier Cup national championship on November 23 at the

SkyDome Rogers Centre (originally SkyDome) is a retractable roof stadium in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at the base of the CN Tower near the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989 on the former Railway Lands, it is home to ...

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 Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, with the

Saint Mary's Huskies The Saint Mary's Huskies are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Their primary home turf is Huskies Stadium, located in the centre of the university's campus. In Septemb ...

winning their second consecutive championship and third overall. Twenty-six

universities A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

across Canada competed in

CIS football 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 athlet ...

this season, the highest level of amateur play in

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 ...

, under the auspices of the

Canadian Interuniversity Sport 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 ...

(CIS).

Awards and records

Awards

Hec Crighton Trophy The Hec Crighton Trophy (sometimes referred to as the Hec Crighton Award) is awarded annually to the most outstanding Canadian football player in U Sports. The trophy is named after Hec Crighton who was a former teacher, coach, referee, and the ...

– Tommy Denison, Queen's *

Presidents' Trophy The Presidents' Trophy () is an award presented by the National Hockey League (NHL) to the team that finishes with the most points (i.e., best overall record) during the regular season. If two teams are tied for the most points, then the Trophy ...

– Adam MacDonald, St. Francis Xavier * Russ Jackson Award – Lincoln Blumell, Calgary Dinos * J. P. Metras Trophy –

Israel Idonije Israel Idonije (born November 17, 1980) is a Nigerian-Canadian former professional football defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) and actor. Idonije played CIS football at the University of Manitoba. A draft pick of the now defun ...

, Manitoba * Peter Gorman Trophy – Andy Fantuz, Western Ontario

All-Canadian team

First team

Offence

* QB Tommy Denison, Queen's * RB Kyle Pyear, McMaster * RB Dean Jones, St. Mary's * WR Andy Fantuz, Western * WR Andrew Noel, Acadia * IR Andrew Sharp, Manitoba * IR Brad Smith, Queen's * OT François Boulianne, Laval * OT Brock Flemming, Ottawa * OG Jim Merrick, McGill * OG Dave Forde, McMaster * C Chris Bochen, Manitoba

Defence

* DE Paul Brown, StFX * DE Stephen Young, McGill * DT

, Manitoba * DT Miguel Robede, Laval * LB Adam MacDonald, StFX * LB Javier Glatt, UBC * LB

Ray Mariuz Ray Mariuz (born December 25, 1980) is a former professional Canadian football linebacker He was drafted 28th overall by the Toronto Argonauts in the 2003 CFL Draft and won a Grey Cup championship in 92nd Grey Cup, 2004. In 2011, Mariuz retired fr ...

, McMaster * CB Richard Karikari, StFX * CB Boyd Barrett, Manitoba * DB Art Tolhurst, UBC * DB Matthieu Proulx, Laval * FS David Aiken, Concordia

Special teams

* K Jamie Boreham, Manitoba * P

Jon Ryan Jonathan Robert Ryan (born November 26, 1981) is a Canadian former professional football player who was a punter in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played university football for the Regina Rams, an ...

, Regina

Second Team

Offence

* QB Shane Munson, Manitoba * RB Neal Hughes, Regina * RB Nick Hoffmann, McGill * WR Jamie Elliott, Calgary * WR Jason Currie, St. Mary's * IR Dave Stala, St. Mary's * IR Blake Machan, Calgary * OT Steve Morley, St. Mary's * OT Fabio Filice, McMaster * OG Darren Presley, Calgary * OG Daniel Frame, Acadia * C Jonathon Landon, Queen's

Defence

* DE Warren Doepker, Manitoba * DE Jeet Rana, York * DT Nicholas Comly, Acadia * DT Tyler Lynem, Calgary * LB Mike Mahoney, McGill * LB Sebastien Roy, Mt Allison * LB Joey Mikawoz, Manitoba * CB Pascal Masson, Laval * CB Kwame Aidoo, McMaster * DB Dennis Mavrin, York * DB Brandon Little, McMaster * FS Sandy Beveridge, UBC

Special teams

* K Michel Ray, McMaster * P Anand Pillai, McGill

Results

Regular-season standings

''Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime Losses, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, Pts = Points'' ''Teams in bold have earned playoff berths.''

Top 10

Ranks in ''italics'' are teams not ranked in the top 10 poll but received votes.
NR = Not Ranked. Source:

Championships

The Vanier Cup was played between the champions of the

Mitchell Bowl The Mitchell Bowl is one of the two semifinal bowls of U Sports football, Canada's national competition for university teams that play Canadian football. It is held in the more westerly location of the two semifinal venues. The winner of this g ...

and the Churchill Bowl, the national semi-final games. In 2002, the Mitchell Bowl replaced the long-standing Atlantic Bowl that had traditionally seen

Huskies Stadium Huskies Stadium is a Canadian football stadium at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, home to the Saint Mary's Huskies. It had a promoted capacity of 9,000 to 11,000 that is achievable via temporary seating, but the actual perm ...

in Halifax host the annual game. This was done to increase competitive fairness in the CIAU. The Ontario conference's

Yates Cup The Yates Cup () is a Canadian sports trophy, presented annually to the winner of the Ontario University Athletics football conference of U Sports. It is the oldest still-existing football trophy in North America, dating back to 1898 and surpassi ...

championship team hosted the winners of the Atlantic conference Loney Bowl championship for the Churchill Bowl. The winners of the Canada West conference

Hardy Trophy The Hardy Trophy is a Canadian sport trophy, presented annually to the winner of the Canada West Universities Athletic Association Canadian football, Football Conference of U Sports, the country's governing body for university athletics. It is na ...

visited the

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 ...

Quebec champion for the Mitchell Bowl.

Vanier Cup

References

{{CIS football CIS U Sports football seasons