Vanier Cup
| Vanier Cup | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Winning the U Sports football championship |
| Country | Canada |
| First awarded | 1965 |
| Currently held by | Laval Rouge et Or |
| Official website | vaniercup |
The Vanier Cup (French: Coupe Vanier) is the championship of U Sports football and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is currently played between the winners of the Uteck Bowl and the Mitchell Bowl. It is named after Georges Vanier, the former Governor General of Canada and was first awarded in 1965 to the winner of an invitational event contested between two teams that were selected by a panel. In 1967, the trophy was declared the official "CIAU National Football Championship" and a playoff system was instituted. From its creation until 1982, it was known as the Canadian College Bowl. The game typically occurs in late November, although it is occasionally played in December.
The Laval Rouge et Or have won the most Vanier Cups (9), while the Western Ontario Mustangs have the most appearances (12). Seventeen teams have won the Vanier Cup, while three others have played for the championship but never won. There are seven active teams that have never appeared in the championship game. The 52nd Vanier Cup was played on November 26, 2016 at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton. The Laval Rouge et Or defeated the Calgary Dinos 31–26 to win their ninth championship.
The Vanier Cup was created in 1965 as the championship trophy of the Canadian College Bowl. For the first two years of competition, the Canadian College Bowl was an invitational event, with a national panel selecting two teams to play, similar to other U.S. collegiate bowl games. In 1967, the Canadian College Bowl was declared the national football championship of the Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union, later Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) and now U Sports, with a playoff system determining the two participants.
The Vanier Cup was played in Toronto, Ontario, from its inception in 1965 through 2003. However, after the CIS opened the game to host conference bids in 2001, the possibility arose to have games held outside Toronto. As of 2016, 41 of the 52 Vanier Cups have been played in Toronto, four in Hamilton, four in Québec City, one in Saskatoon, one in Vancouver and one in Montréal. No games have been staged in the Atlantic region. Four times, the game has been played in the same city and during the same weekend as the Grey Cup: 1973, 2007 and 2012 in Toronto and in 2011 in Vancouver at BC Place Stadium.
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