Canada West

Football History

Hardy Cup & Bowl History Intercollegiate Football in Western Canada

The Western Intercollegiate Rugby Football Union (WIRFU) 1927-1963 - 1920 - the Western Canada Intercollegiate Athletic Association (WCIAA) was formed with the Universities of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta as charter members

- 1922 - inter-university exhibition football play began; the Hardy Trophy, donated by Professor Evan Hardy of the University of Saskatchewan (known as “the father of western inter-collegiate football”), was awarded to the winner of the annual series between Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta

- 1923 - the University of British Columbia (UBC) joined the WCIAA

- 1927 - the WIRFU consisting of three of the four WCIAA universities and featuring regular scheduled league play was established with the Hardy Trophy awarded to the league champion, UBC joined the league in 1928

- all four universities fielded Canadian rugby football teams before 1927, certainly in the early 1920s if not before--Alberta first established a varsity football program in 1910, Saskatchewan in 1914, UBC in 1924, while Manitoba is known to have won the Hardy Trophy in 1923 and 1924 and had fielded a varsity team in 1920

- the WIRFU was not strictly an intercollegiate league until the mid-1960s; because of the economics of travel, the teams competed against intermediate, senior and professional teams within their respective provinces or aligned themselves with leagues south of the border (e.g., UBC) as well as playing against each other

- there was no competition for the Hardy Trophy in 1925, 1932, 1940, 1942-1943 and during the period 1949 to 1958

- UBC did not participate in WIRFU play during the years 1935, 1941 and from 1946 to 1948

- each of the four western provinces had their own autonomous Rugby Football Unions, the WIRFU teams were required to compete against other (e.g., city) teams in their respective provincial Unions in the quest for the provincial championship, the right to move on to the Western Canadian championship and subsequently, to challenge for the Grey Cup

- unfortunately, no WIRFU member was ever successful in the quest to represent the West in the Grey Cup game; they did come close however, for example, in 1926 Alberta narrowly lost to the Regina Roughriders in the Western Canadian championship game; in 1927, UBC lost a two-game, total points series against Regina for the championship; in 1934, Alberta lost in the semifinals of the Western championship

- several times over the period between 1920 and 1952, the western universities (UBC in particular) challenged the CIRFU/SIFL of central Canada to a national intercollegiate championship game but were rebuffed by the latter ostensibly due to the lateness of the season and the pressure of studies

- 1930 - UBC participated in the first Canadian football game ever played at night under lights when they traveled to Hamilton to play a pre-season game against the Hamilton Tigers of the Ontario Rugby Football Union (ORFU), UBC lost the game 38-1

- 1949 to 1958 - Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba disbanded their football program during this time period, UBC maintained its football program playing a schedule featuring American schools

- 1949 - an interesting piece of trivia concerns the ceasing of football operations by Alberta coinciding with the re-establishment of the professional Edmonton Eskimos football franchise--the university donated their football jerseys to the Eskimos thus establishing the tradition of wearing green and gold colours by the professional club

- 1953 - the first inter-conference game between a western Canadian university team and a CIRFU/SIFL representative took place; it was an invitational pre-season match between McGill and UBC for the newly established Churchill Bowl and was played at McGill’s Molson Stadium, McGill won the game 22-4

The Western Intercollegiate Football League (WIFL) 1964-1988 - 1959 - Alberta and Saskatchewan re-instated football as a varsity sport for the 1959 season

- 1960s - the league was variously called the Western Canada Intercollegiate Athletic Association (WCIAA) football conference and the Western Intercollegiate Football League (WIFL)

- 1962 - Manitoba re-instated football as a varsity sport

- early-to-mid-1960s - UBC played half of their schedule against the three other WIFL teams with American college competition making up the other half

- 1964 - the WIFL welcomed the University of Alberta at Calgary (UAC) as a league member; the school later became the University of Calgary (1967)

- in the 1964, 1965, 1968 and 1969 seasons, UBC withdrew from participation in WIFL league play, the program continued to compete against American college teams during that time and did play some exhibitions games against Canadian university opponents

- 1970 - UBC rejoined the WIFL for the 1970 season and has participated fully in league play every season since - 1972 - the WCIAA split into two intercollegiate athletic associations organized along geographic lines: the Canada West Universities Athletic Association (CWUAA) and the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC)

Canada West (CWUAA) 1989 to present

- all schools of the WIFL except Manitoba were members of the CWUAA, this latter institution was immediately granted playing privileges in the CWUAA football conference

Hardy Cup & Bowl History - the league remained a stable five-team organization until 1998

- 1999 - the CWUAA and the GPAC re-integrated into one athletic association now called Canada West Athletics (CWUAA) - the league had remained a stable five-team organization from 1970 until the 1999 season at which time it was joined by the University of Regina Rams (enabling the playing of a balanced schedule for the first time in its modern history)

- 2002 - the league expanded to a seven teams with the addition of the Simon Fraser University (SFU) Clan; the Clan had previously (1965 to 2001) played American four-down football in a college football conference south of the border - 2010 - Simon Fraser withdraws from all Canada West sports at the end of the 2009-10 season to join the NCAA

Canada West Football: Alberta, UBC, Calgary, Manitoba, Regina, Saskatchewan

Hardy Cup Titles Total Last Saskatchewan 18 2006 Alberta 16 1981 Calgary 15 2013 UBC 14 1997 Manitoba 10 2007 Regina 1 2000

Not included in totals: UBC & AB shared in 1962; AB, Sask. & MB shared in 1966

Vanier Cup Titles Total Last Calgary 4 1995 Alberta 3 1980 UBC 3 1997 Saskatchewan 3 1999 Manitoba 3 2007 Regina 0 -

Canada West Conference Hardy Cup Finals *no game played Year Champion Finalist Location 1922 (1st) Alberta No playoff 1923 (2) Manitoba No playoff 1924 (3) Manitoba No playoff 1925* 1926 (4) Alberta No playoff 1927 (5) Manitoba 1928 (6) Alberta No playoff 1929 (7) UBC No playoff 1930 (8) Saskatchewan No playoff 1931 (9) UBC No playoff 1932* 1933 (10) UBC No playoff 1934 (11) Saskatchewan No playoff 1935 (12) Saskatchewan No playoff 1936 (13) Saskatchewan No playoff 1937 (14) Saskatchewan No playoff 1938 (15) UBC No playoff 1939 (16) UBC No playoff 1940* 1941 (17) Saskatchewan No playoff 1942-43* 1944 (18) Alberta No playoff 1945 (19) UBC No playoff 1946 (20) Alberta No playoff 1947 (21) Alberta No playoff Hardy Cup & Bowl History 1948 (22) Alberta No playoff 1949-58* 1959 (23) UBC No playoff 1960 (24) Alberta No playoff 1961 (25) UBC No playoff 1962 (26) UBC & Alberta No playoff 1963 (27) Alberta No playoff 1964 (28) Alberta No playoff 1965 (29) Manitoba No playoff 1966 (30) SK/AB/MB No playoff 1967 (31) Alberta No playoff 1968 (32) Manitoba 10 Alberta 7 Alberta 1969 (33) Manitoba No playoff 1970 (34) Manitoba No playoff 1971 (35) Alberta No playoff 1972 (36) Alberta No playoff 1973 (37) Manitoba No playoff 1974 (38) Saskatchewan No playoff 1975 (39) Calgary No playoff 1976 (40) UBC 36 Saskatchewan 10 UBC 1977 (41) Calgary 13 UBC 12 Calgary 1978 (42) UBC 26 Calgary 8 UBC 1979 (43) Alberta 28 UBC 17 Alberta 1980 (44) Alberta 22 Calgary 14 Alberta 1981 (45) Alberta 11 UBC 8 UBC 1982 (46) UBC 57 Manitoba 3 UBC 1983 (47) Calgary 21 UBC 12 Calgary 1984 (48) Calgary 33 Alberta 16 Alberta 1985 (49) Calgary 52 Manitoba 13 Calgary 1986 (50) UBC 49 Calgary 3 UBC 1987 (51) UBC 26 Calgary 8 UBC 1988 (52) Calgary 46 Saskatchewan 33 (OT) Calgary 1989 (53) Saskatchewan 22 UBC 18 Saskatchewan 1990 (54) Saskatchewan 24 UBC 9 Saskatchewan 1991 (55) Saskatchewan 23 Manitoba 11 Manitoba 1992 (56) Calgary 26 UBC 24 (OT) UBC 1993 (57) Calgary 32 Alberta 12 Calgary 1994 (58) Saskatchewan 34 Calgary 17 Saskatchewan 1995 (59) Calgary 32 Saskatchewan 30 (OT) Calgary 1996 (60) Saskatchewan 37 UBC 16 Saskatchewan 1997 (61) UBC 39 Calgary 21 UBC 1998 (62) Saskatchewan 31 UBC 28 Saskatchewan 1999 (63) Saskatchewan 31 UBC 24 UBC 2000 (64) Regina 25 Manitoba 22 Manitoba 2001 (65) Manitoba 23 Regina 16 Manitoba 2002 (66) Saskatchewan 44 Regina 28 Regina 2003 (67) Simon Fraser 28 Alberta 18 Simon Fraser 2004 (68) Saskatchewan 21 Alberta 20 Alberta 2005 (69) Saskatchewan 30 Alberta 17 Saskatchewan 2006 (70) Saskatchewan 32 Manitoba 15 Manitoba 2007 (71) Manitoba 48 Regina 5 Manitoba 2008 (72) Calgary 44 Simon Fraser 21 Calgary 2009 (73) Calgary 39 Saskatchewan 38 Saskatchewan 2010 (74) Calgary 56 Alberta 3 Calgary 2011 (75) Calgary 62 UBC 13 Calgary 2012 (76th) Calgary 38 Regina 14 Calgary 2013 (77th) Calgary 43 Manitoba 28 Calgary

NOTE: Calgary sets record for consecutive Hardy Cup titles (six) 2008-13

Hardy Cup & Bowl History FOOTBALLCHAMPIONS Vanier Cup Uteck/Churchill Mitchell/Atlantic Canada West *Easterly most semifinal *Westerly most semifinal 2013-14 Laval Laval Calgary Calgary 2012-13 Laval Laval McMaster Calgary 2011-12 McMaster McMaster Laval Calgary 2010-11 Laval Laval Calgary Calgary 2009-10 Queen’s Calgary Queen’s Calgary 2008-09 Laval Laval Western Ontario Calgary 2007-08 Manitoba Saint Mary’s Manitoba Manitoba 2006-07 Laval Laval Saskatchewan Saskatchewan 2005-06 Laurier Laurier Saskatchewan Saskatchewan 2004-05 Laval Laval Saskatchewan Saskatchewan 2003-04 Laval Saint Mary’s Laval Simon Fraser 2002-03 Saint Mary’s Saskatchewan Saint Mary’s Saskatchewan 2001-02 Saint Mary’s Manitoba Saint Mary’s Manitoba 2000-01 Ottawa Ottawa Regina Regina 1999-00 Laval Laval Saint Mary's Saskatchewan 1998-99 Saskatchewan Saskatchewan Concordia Saskatchewan 1997-98 UBC Waterloo UBC UBC 1996-97 Saskatchewan Saskatchewan St. FX Saskatchewan 1995-96 Calgary Calgary Western Calgary 1994-95 Western Western Saskatchewan Saskatchewan 1993-94 Toronto Toronto Calgary Calgary 1992-93 Queen’s Queen's Saint Mary’s Calgary 1991-92 Laurier Laurier Mt. Allison Saskatchewan 1990-91 Saskatchewan Saskatchewan Saint Mary’s Saskatchewan 1989-90 Western Saskatchewan Western Saskatchewan 1988-89 Calgary Calgary Saint Mary’s Calgary 1987-88 McGill UBC McGill UBC 1986-87 UBC UBC Western UBC 1985-86 Calgary Calgary Western Calgary 1984-85 Guelph Guelph Mt. Allison Calgary 1983-84 Calgary Queen's St. FX Calgary 1982-83 UBC Western UBC UBC 1981-82 Acadia Alberta Acadia Alberta 1980-81 Alberta Alberta Ottawa Alberta 1979-80 Acadia Western Acadia Alberta 1978-79 Queen's UBC Queen's UBC 1977-78 Western Western Acadia Calgary 1976-77 Western Western Acadia UBC 1975-76 Ottawa Ottawa Calgary Calgary 1974-75 Western Western Toronto Saskatchewan 1973-74 Saint Mary’s McGill Saint Mary’s Manitoba 1972-73 Alberta Alberta Waterloo Lutheran Alberta 1971-72 Western Alberta Western Alberta 1970-71 Manitoba Manitoba Ottawa Manitoba 1969-70 Manitoba Manitoba McGill Manitoba 1968-69 Queen’s Queen's Waterloo Lutheran Manitoba 1967-68 Alberta None McMaster Alberta 1966-67 St. FX None None Manitoba 1965-66 Toronto None None Alberta/Sask. 1964-65 QU v. AB (NP) Saint Mary’s Alberta 1963-64 Alberta St. FX Alberta 1962-63 *Invitational* None Toronto UBC/Alberta 1961-62 QU v. UBC (NP) St. FX UBC 1960-61 McGill St. FX Alberta 1959-60 Western St. FX UBC 1958-59 McGill St. FX None 1957-58 Shearwater Navy None 1956-57 Hamilton Jrs. None 1955-56 None 1954-55 None 1953-54 None Hardy Cup & Bowl History 1952-53 None 1951-52 None 1950-51 None 1949-50 None 1948-49 Alberta 1947-48 Alberta 1946-47 Alberta 1945-46 UBC 1944-45 Alberta 1943-44 None 1942-43 None 1941-42 Saskatchewan 1940-41 None 1939-40 UBC 1938-39 UBC 1937-38 Saskatchewan 1936-37 Saskatchewan 1935-36 Saskatchewan 1934-35 Saskatchewan 1933-34 UBC 1932-33 None 1931-32 UBC 1930-31 Saskatchewan 1929-30 UBC 1928-29 Alberta 1927-28 Manitoba 1926-27 Alberta 1925-26 None 1924-25 Manitoba 1923-24 Manitoba 1922-23 Alberta

Hardy Cup & Bowl History Vanier Cup Champion Records (perfect seasons in bold)

Champion Conference Overall 2013 Laval 8-0 12-0 2012 McMaster 8-0 12-0 2011 McMaster 7-1 10-1 2010 Laval 9-0 13-0 2009 Queen’s 8-1 11-1 2008 Laval 8-0 12-0 2007 Manitoba 8-0 12-0 2006 Laval 7-1 11-1 2005 Laurier 8-0 12-0 2004 Laval 7-1 11-1 2003 Laval 7-1 11-1 2002 Saint Mary's 6-2 9-2 2001 Saint Mary’s 8-0 11-0 2000 Ottawa 7-1 11-1 1999 Laval 6-2 10-2 1998 Saskatchewan 6-2 9-2 1997 UBC 5-2-1 8-2-1 1996 Saskatchewan 7-1 10-1 1995 Calgary 6-2 9-2 1994 Western 7-0 11-0 1993 Toronto 6-1 10-1 1992 Queen’s 6-1 10-1 1991 Laurier 5-2 9-2 1990 Saskatchewan 6-2 9-2 1989 Western 6-1 10-1 1988 Calgary 7-1 10-1 1987 McGill 5-2 9-2 1986 UBC 8-0 11-0 1985 Calgary 6-2 9-2 1984 Guelph 4-3 8-3 1983 Calgary 6-2 8-2 1982 UBC 8-0 11-0 1981 Acadia 7-0 11-0 1980 Alberta 6-2 9-2 1979 Acadia 6-1 9-1 1978 Queen’s 6-0 10-0 1977 Western 6-1 10-1 1976 Western 5-2 9-2 1975 Ottawa 7-0 11-0 1974 Western 5-1-1 9-1-1 1973 Saint Mary’s 5-1 8-1 1972 Alberta 7-1 9-1 1971 Western 5-3 9-3 1970 Manitoba 6-2 8-2 1969 Manitoba 6-0 8-0 1968 Queen’s 6-1 8-1 1967 Alberta 6-1 7-1 1966 St. FX 6-0 7-0 1965 Toronto 3-3 5-3

Hardy Cup & Bowl History