Vanier Cup

The Vanier Cup (in Coupe Vanier) is the name of the championship of Canadian Interuniversity Sport 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 (now CIS) 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 (7), 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 2012 Vanier Cup game was played at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. It was played between the Laval Rouge et Or and the McMaster Marauders in a rematch of the 2011 game. Laval won the game 37–14 and captured their seventh championship, setting a new record for most Vanier Cups won by one school.

History
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, much like the system employed by American college football today. In 1967, the Canadian College Bowl was declared the national football championship of the Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Union, now Canadian Interuniversity Sport, 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. The 2004, 2005 and 2008 games were hosted by the OUA at Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton, and the 2006 game was hosted by the University of Saskatchewan at Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon. 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.

Today, the Vanier Cup is played between the winners of the Uteck Bowl (formerly Atlantic Bowl) and the Mitchell Bowl (formerly the Churchill Bowl). The Uteck and Mitchell Bowls, in turn, are contested by the Loney Bowl (AUS), Hardy Cup (Canada West), Dunsmore Cup (RSEQ), and Yates Cup (OUA) champions.

The Vanier Cup's most valuable player is awarded the Ted Morris Memorial Trophy. It was first awarded at the first championship in 1965 and named in honour of Teddy Morris, who died the same year. Morris, a Hall of Fame former Toronto Argonauts player and coach, was an organizer of the first bowl and champion for developing Canadian players.

The Bruce Coulter Award was first awarded in 1992 and is dependent on what position the winner of the Ted Morris Trophy played. If the winner is from the offence, then the Bruce Coulter Award winner will be the most outstanding defensive player or vice-versa. It was named after Bruce Coulter, long-time Head Coach at Bishop's University and former offensive and defensive player with the Montreal Alouettes in the 1950s. Coulter was inducted as a builder in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1997.

The 2009 and 2010 games where held at Laval University in Quebec City, making it the first time the province of Quebec hosted the Vanier Cup. As of 2011, 40 of the 47 Vanier Cups have been played in Toronto, three elsewhere in Ontario, two in Quebec, one in Saskatchewan and one in British Columbia. No games have been staged in the Atlantic region. The game is regularly broadcast nationally and in 2008 was on the cable network The Score, before returning to TSN in 2009, where it has been since then.

In November 2010, the rights to the Vanier Cup were purchased by sports marketing company MRX. The 2011 game was held in Vancouver, on the same weekend as the 99th Grey Cup and for the first time it was fully integrated into the Grey Cup Festival as a festival event.

In 2012, the 48th Vanier Cup, played between Laval and McMaster at the Rogers Centre in Toronto became both the most attended and most watched Vanier Cup ever. Held the same weekend and in the same city as the 100th Grey Cup, the game was attended by 37,098. The previous record was set in 1989 at the 25th Vanier Cup, when 32,847 watched the game between Western and Saskatchewan that was also played at the Rogers Centre (then known as the SkyDome). The game, broadcast on TSN and RDS was watched by 910,000.

Championships
Note: All Ted Morris Trophy and Bruce Coulter Award winners played for the winning team, unless otherwise noted.
 * Key
 * (#) Number of times that team has won the Vanier Cup.

A. Bob McGregor, Ted Morris Trophy winner in 1971, played for the Alberta Golden Bears.

B. In the 1972 game, the Vanier Cup Committee and Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union officials decided to crown co-winners from the same school.

C. Rob Schrauth, Bruce Coulter Award winner in 1993, played for the Calgary Dinos.

D. Brent Schneider, Ted Morris Trophy winner in 1994, played for the Saskatchewan Huskies.

Vanier Cup appearances
E. The Wilfrid Laurier record includes three games played as Waterloo Lutheran.

Six active teams have never played for the Vanier Cup: Bishop's Gaiters (RSEQ/OQIFC), Montréal Carabins (RSEQ), Sherbrooke Vert-et-Or (RSEQ), Waterloo Warriors (OUA), Windsor Lancers (OUA) and York Lions/Yeomen (OUA)