The Manitoba Bisons football team represents the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

in the sport of

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 ...

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 program was the first of four

U Sports 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 athleti ...

teams to have won back-to-back

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 ...

championships, having won in

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

and

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

. In total, the Bisons have won three Vanier Cup national championships and 11

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 ...

conference championships.

Notable history

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, the Bisons' football team won the Vanier Cup as the national champions in Canadian Interuniversity football, the first for the school in 37 years. Pat Gill, the manager then, was the manager for 40 years and was with the team during the 1969 and 1970 Vanier Cup teams. A big factor in the 2007 Vanier Cup was the injury to

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

Matt Henry, who suffered a broken

femur The femur (; : femurs or femora ), or thigh bone is the only long bone, bone in the thigh — the region of the lower limb between the hip and the knee. In many quadrupeds, four-legged animals the femur is the upper bone of the hindleg. The Femo ...

in three places and severe muscle damage. However, in the end, kicker and punter Scott Dixon converted on all but one of his field goals and pinned 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 ...

deep several times. Dixon, in his rookie year, was tied for second all-time for most field goals in a game. Maya Turner became the first woman to play in any

regular season football game, on September 23, 2023, as a Manitoba Bisons kicker. She kicked the game winning field goal in overtime for the Bisons in their game against the

Regina Rams The Regina Rams represent the University of Regina, located in Regina, Saskatchewan, in the sport of Canadian football in U Sports. The Rams joined U Sports in 1999 and have competed in the Canada West Conference since then. The program has wo ...

. The Bisons were led by

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

, Brian Dobie, who served as the team's

from 1996 to 2024. Stan Pierre, who served as the team's

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...

since 1999, was named head coach on January 16, 2025.

Recent season results

A. Manitoba forfeited two wins for using an ineligible player. Simon Fraser also used an ineligible player in a Manitoba loss, so the game was declared "no contest".

Head coaches

National award winners

* J. P. Metras Trophy: Bart Evans (1974), Jason Rauhaus (1991), Israel Idonije (2002), David Onyemata (2015), Giordano Vaccaro (2024) *

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 ...

: Joey Mikawoz (2000), D. J. Lalama (2016) * Peter Gorman Trophy: Domenic Zagari (1991) * Russ Jackson Award: Thomas Hall (2009, 2010), Cameron Teschuk (2016), Mark Rauhaus (2023) * Frank Tindall Trophy:

Henry Janzen Henry F. Janzen (June 7, 1940 – July 20, 2022) was a Canadian professional football defensive back and kick returner who played in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers from 1959 to 1965. A native of Winnipeg, Ja ...

(1969), Brian Dobie (2001) *Gino Fracas Award: Richard Urbanovich (2005), Vaughan Mitchell (2023)

Manitoba Bisons in professional football

As of the end of the 2024 CFL season, four former Bisons players are on CFL teams' rosters: * Gavin Cobb,

Edmonton Elks The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division (CFL), West Division and plays their home games at Commonw ...

* Nic Demski,

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

* Brock Gowanlock,

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 ...

* Landon Rice,

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 ...

* Zack Williams,

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...

In the

2016 NFL draft The 2016 NFL draft was the 81st annual draft of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

, David Onyemata became the first Bison to be drafted into the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

, being selected in the 4th round, 120th overall by the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

. As of the start of the

2024 NFL season The 2024 NFL season was the 105th season of the National Football League (NFL). The season began on September 5, 2024, with reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City defeating Baltimore in the NFL Kickoff Game. The regular season concluded on ...

, he is on the active roster of the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

References

External links

* {{U Sports football U Sports football teams Canadian football teams in Winnipeg 1920 establishments in Manitoba Sports clubs and teams established in 1920