CIS football
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| CIS football | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Sport | Canadian football |
| Country | Canada  |
| No. of teams | 27, in four conferences |
| Championship | Vanier Cup |
| Most recent champion | Manitoba Bisons |
| Official website | CIS football |
Twenty-seven universities across Canada compete in football under the auspices of Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS). The teams are divided into four conferences, drawing from the four regional associations of the CIS: Canada West Universities Athletic Association, Ontario University Athletics, Quebec Student Sports Federation, and Atlantic University Sport. At the end of every season, the champions of each conference advance to semifinal bowl games; the winners of these meet in the Vanier Cup national championship.
CIS football is the highest level of amateur play in Canadian football, and some of its teams have been in existence since the origins of the sport in the late 1800s. The Grey Cup, the championship trophy of the professional Canadian Football League since its founding in the 1950s, was originally contested by teams from the University of Toronto and Queen's University and other amateur teams in the early 1900s.
Many CIS players have gone on to professional careers in the Canadian Football League and elsewhere; a number are drafted annually in the Canadian College Draft. In 2007, there were a record 120 CIS alumni on Canadian Football League rosters. [1]
Contents |
[edit] Season structure
[edit] Regular season
The regular season is eight weeks long and opens on the Labour Day weekend. Regular season games are in-conference with the exception of limited interlocking play between the Quebec and Atlantic conferences. There are featured homecoming and rivalry games in most regions. The Hec Crighton Trophy is awarded annually to the MVP of the CIS.
[edit] Playoffs
After the regular season, single elimination playoff games are held between the top teams in each conference to determine conference champions. In the West, Quebec, and Atlantic conferences the top four teams qualify for the playoffs, while the top six qualify in Ontario. Each conference has its own championship trophy; the Hardy Trophy in the West, the Yates Cup in Ontario, the Dunsmore Cup in Quebec and the Jewett Trophy in the Atlantic conference. The conference champions proceed to national semifinal bowl games: the Mitchell Bowl and the Uteck Bowl. The participant conferences of each bowl are determined several years in advance on a rotating basis.
[edit] Vanier Cup
The winners of each bowl game meet in the Vanier Cup national championship, first established in 1965 and named in honour of Governor General Georges Vanier. The game was held in Toronto every year through 2003 when host conference bids were first accepted, yielding a move to Hamilton for 2004 and 2005, followed by Saskatoon in 2006. In 2007, the game returned to Toronto along with the Grey Cup which is to be hosted there for the first time since 1993.
