The 2002 CIS football season began on August 27, 2002, and concluded with the

38th Vanier Cup The 38th Vanier Cup was played on November 23, 2002, at SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, and decided the CIAU football champion for the 2002 season. The Saint Mary's Huskies won their second consecutive championship by defeating the Saskatchewan Husk ...

national championship on November 23 at the

SkyDome Rogers Centre (originally SkyDome) is a multi-purpose 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 ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

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 C ...

, 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 September 2 ...

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

universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

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 (formerly Canadian Interuniversity Sport). Twenty-seven teams from Canadian universities are divided into four athletic conf ...

this season, the highest level of amateur play in

Canadian football Canadian football () is a sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's scoring area ( ...

, under the auspices of the

Canadian Interuniversity Sport U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body of university sport in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country. Its equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is the C ...

(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 the late Hec Crighton - teacher, coach, referee, and author of ...

– Tommy Denison, Queen's *

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

– Adam MacDonald, St. Francis Xavier *

Russ Jackson Award The Russ Jackson Award is presented to the U Sports Football player best exemplifying the attributes of academic achievement, football skill, and citizenship and is named in honour of Canadian Football League Hall of Famer and former Ottawa Rough R ...

– Lincoln Blumell, Calgary Dinos * J. P. Metras Trophy –

Israel Idonije Israel Idonije (born November 17, 1980) is a retired Nigerian-Canadian defensive end in the National Football League and actor. Idonije was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Cleveland Browns out of the University of Manitoba. A draft pi ...

, 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, McMaster * CB

Richard Karikari Richard Karikari (born July 23, 1979, in Accra, Ghana) is a professional Canadian football safety who last played for the Calgary Stampeders. He was drafted by the Montreal Alouettes in the second round of the 2003 CFL Draft. He played CIS footba ...

, StFX * CB Boyd Barrett, Manitoba * DB Art Tolhurst, UBC * DB

Matthieu Proulx Matthieu Proulx (born April 16, 1981) is a former safety with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League. Early years Proulx was born in Plaster Rock, New Brunswick, but his family relocated to Gatineau. He began Canadian football as ...

, Laval * FS David Aiken, Concordia

Special teams

* K

Jamie Boreham Jamie Boreham (born March 29, 1978 in Vancouver, British Columbia) is a former professional Canadian football punter and placekicker and is the head coach of the Prince George Kodiaks of the Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL). He played for e ...

, Manitoba * P

Jon Ryan Jonathan Robert Ryan (born November 26, 1981) is a retired Canadian professional football punter. He played college football for the University of Regina Rams, and began his professional career with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (CFL) after bei ...

, 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 Steven Joseph Morley (born August 18, 1981) is a former offensive lineman for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League. He was drafted with the first overall pick in the 2003 CFL Draft by the Calgary Stampeders. He played CIS Foo ...

, 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 game ...

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 perma ...

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 (french: La Coupe Yates) 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 ...

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 Football Conference of U Sports, the country's governing body for university athletics. It is named for Evan Hardy ...

visited the

Dunsmore Cup The Dunsmore Cup (french: Coupe Dunsmore) 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 spor ...

Quebec champion for the Mitchell Bowl.

Vanier Cup

Notes

{{CIS football U Sports football seasons CIS football season