The Atlantic Bowl was one of the two national semifinal men's

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

games of

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 ...

(now known as U Sports). The winner of the Atlantic Bowl would meet the winner of the Churchill Bowl for the

Vanier Cup The Vanier Cup () is the trophy awarded annually to the champion Canadian football team in U Sports, the governing body for university sports in Canada. The U Sports football champion is determined in a one-game playoff (the Vanier Cup game), pl ...

. It was replaced by the

Uteck Bowl The Uteck 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 easternmost of the two semifinal venues. The Uteck Bowl champion moves on to ...

in 2001 following the death of

Larry Uteck Larry Uteck (October 9, 1952 – December 25, 2002) was a Canadian professional football athlete, university sports administrator, football coach, and municipal politician. Early life Born in Thornhill, Ontario of Ukrainian descent, Larry Ut ...

, a former athletic director at Saint Mary's University.

History

The Atlantic Bowl was traditionally a match between the champions of

Atlantic University Sport Atlantic University Sport (AUS; ) is a regional membership association for universities in Atlantic Canada which assists in co-ordinating competition between their university level athletic programs and providing contact information, schedules, re ...

(and its various predecessors) and a conference-winning team from central Canada. It had been hosted in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

annually since 1956, often at

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 ...

, home to 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 ...

. There were exceptions to Halifax as the host city. In 1976, 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 ...

hosted the game at

Raymond Field Raymond Field is a multi-purpose stadium in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. It is the home of the Acadia University Axemen football and soccer teams as well as the Acadia Axewomen soccer and rugby teams. It can seat 3,000 (5,000 with standing room), a ...

. The second was in 1983 when the game was scheduled to be hosted by the

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 ...

champion. The AUAA withdrew from national competition and participation in the game due to the relocation from Halifax. As a result, the Calgary Dinos advanced to the

by virtue of their

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 ...

win over UBC. The Atlantic Bowl champions would receive the Robert L. Stanfield trophy, a trophy named after the former leader of Her Majesty's

Official Opposition Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''t ...

. Traditionally, the winners of Atlantic University Sport would face one of the other three conference champions, with the other two meeting in the Churchill Bowl.

List of Atlantic Bowl Championships

Team Win/Loss records

References

{{U Sports football Sport in Halifax, Nova Scotia U Sports football trophies and awards Sport in Atlantic Canada 1956 establishments in Nova Scotia 2001 disestablishments in Nova Scotia Recurring sporting events established in 1956 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2001