U Sports

U Sports
Formation 1961
Legal status Association
Headquarters Richmond Hill, Ontario
Region served
Canada
Membership
56 schools
CEO
 Graham Brown
Main organ
 Executive Committee
Website usports.ca
Formerly called
  • Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union (1961-1978)
  • Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Union (1978-2001)
  • Canadian Interuniversity Sport (2001–2016)

U Sports is the national governing body of university sport in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country. Its equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is The Canadian Colleges Athletic Association (CCAA). Some institutions are members of both bodies for different sports.

The name until October 20, 2016 was Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) and in French is Sport interuniversitaire canadien (SIC).[1]

The original Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union (CIAU) Central was founded in 1906 and existed until 1955, composed only of universities from Ontario and Quebec. With the collapse of the CIAU Central in the mid-1950s, calls for a new, national governing body for university sport accelerated. Once the Royal Military College of Canada became a degree granting institution, Major W.J. (Danny) McLeod, athletic director at the RMC directed the establishment of the Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union (CIAU) in 1961.[2][3] Major McLeod ran the CIAU from his office at RMC as the first CIAU Secretary-Treasurer. In the 1960s the CIAU functioned as a voluntary, autonomous, educational sport organization which represented by the various universities from coast to coast. In 1978, the CIAU changed its name to the Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Union.[2] It changed its name to Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) in June 2001 due to growing misconceptions about the name of the organization since the term "athletic" was associated with track and field and "union" with labour movements.

Sanctioned sports

Source:[4]

Men's Women's
Basketball
Cross-country running
Curling
Field hockey
Football
Ice hockey
Rugby union
Soccer
Swimming
Track & Field
Volleyball
Wrestling

Athletic funding

The U Sports member institutions offer athletic scholarships known as Athletic Financial Awards (AFA); subject to minimum academic requirements. The AFA's are capped and may not exceed the value of the tuition and compulsory fees for the student-athlete. Universities also may provide additional non-athletic awards including academic scholarships and needs-based grants for athletes in addition to this cap, provided the additional awards do not include athletic criteria. In 2008/2009 one in two U Sports athletes was receiving an athletic scholarship.[5]

Increasingly, U Sports schools are offering booster-support programs, where alumni, parents and/or corporations can donate money to a targeted fund especially designed to off-set a student-athlete's tuition and living costs. The University of Windsor has an Adopt-A-Lancer program,[6] for example. U Sports has no regulations regarding how much each school can provide to teams through private support. The Université Laval's Rouge et Or football team, winner of seven the last 12 Vanier Cups, is so successful with fund raising, the team trains in Florida during the spring.[7]

Canadian Hockey League teams offer financial support for their graduates – who attend school within two years of playing major junior – who choose to play for a U Sports school after graduating from major junior hockey. Hockey players who play in the CHL are ineligible for NCAA athletic scholarships, although many attend a CHL training camp. However, they can only stay a max of 48 hours and can not dress in any games.

Championships

Source:[8]

Fall Term

Week 1 is the 9th Saturday following Labour Day Monday

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Winter

Week 1 is the 25th Saturday following Labour Day Monday

Week 1

  • CIS men's swimming championship
  • CIS women's swimming championship

Week 2

  • CIS men's wrestling championship
  • CIS women's wrestling championship

Week 3

  • CIS men's volleyball championship
  • CIS women's volleyball championship
  • CIS men's track and field championship
  • CIS women's track and field championship

Week 4

Week 5

Members

There are 55 member Universities in U Sports.[9]

The 55 member universities of U Sports are currently organized into the four following regional associations. In some of these sports, these associations are sometimes referred to as conferences.

Institution Nickname City Province Founded Affiliation Enrollment Endowment Membership
University of British Columbia Thunderbirds Vancouver BC 1908 Public 43,579 $1.16B CWUAA
Trinity Western University Spartans Langley BC 1962 Private-Christian 2,700 --- CWUAA
University of Victoria Vikes Victoria BC 1903 Public 19,500 $348M CWUAA
University of the Fraser Valley Cascades Abbotsford BC 1974 Public 21,500 --- CWUAA
University of Northern British Columbia Timberwolves Prince George BC 1990 Public 4,183 --- CWUAA
Thompson Rivers University WolfPack Kamloops BC 1970 Public 13,072 --- CWUAA
University of British Columbia Okanagan Heat Kelowna BC 2005 Public 6,015 --- CWUAA
University of Alberta Golden Bears/Pandas Edmonton AB 1908 Public 36,435 $1.0B CWUAA
University of Calgary Dinos Calgary AB 1966 Public 28,196 $568M CWUAA
MacEwan University Griffins Edmonton AB 1971 Public 13,889 --- CWUAA
Mount Royal University Cougars Calgary AB 1910 Public 14,175 --- CWUAA
University of Saskatchewan Huskies Saskatoon SK 1907 Public 19,082 $247M CWUAA
University of Lethbridge Pronghorns Lethbridge AB 1907 Public 8,765 $24.5M CWUAA
Brandon University Bobcats Brandon MB 1890 Public 3383 --- CWUAA
University of Regina Rams, Cougars Regina SK 1911 Public 12,800 $25.9M CWUAA
University of Winnipeg Wesmen Winnipeg MB 1871 Public 9,219 --- CWUAA
University of Manitoba Bisons Winnipeg MB 1877 Public 27,599 $424M CWUAA
Carleton University Ravens Ottawa ON 1942 Public 25,262 $190M OUA
University of Ottawa Gee-Gees Ottawa ON 1848 Public 35,548 $201M OUA
University of Toronto Varsity Blues Toronto ON 1827 Public 56,383[10] $1.66B OUA
Ryerson University Rams Toronto ON 1948 Public 24,000 $106M OUA
Queen's University Golden Gaels Kingston ON 1841 Public 20,566 $722M OUA
York University Lions Toronto ON 1959 Public 42,400 $373M OUA
Laurentian University Voyageurs Sudbury ON 1960 Public 7758 $36M OUA
Algoma University Thunderbirds Sault Ste. Marie ON 1964 Public 1427 --- OUA
Royal Military College of Canada Paladins Kingston ON 1876 Public 900[11] * OUA
Trent University Excalibur Peterborough ON 1964 Public 7160 $43M OUA
Nipissing University Lakers North Bay ON 1909 Public 6300 $11M OUA
University of Ontario Institute of Technology Ridgebacks Oshawa ON 2003 Public 5000 --- OUA
University of Western Ontario Mustangs London ON 1878 Public 30,000 $685M OUA
University of Windsor Lancers Windsor ON 1857 Public 13,496 $70M OUA
McMaster University Marauders Hamilton ON 1887 Public 25,688 $553M OUA
University of Guelph Gryphons Guelph ON 1964 Public 19,408 $264M OUA
University of Waterloo Warriors Waterloo ON 1957 Public 27,978 $282M OUA
Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks Waterloo ON 1911 Public 12,394 --- OUA
Brock University Badgers St. Catharines ON 1964 Public 17,000[12] $74M OUA
Lakehead University Thunderwolves Thunder Bay ON 1946 Public 8050 $32.1M OUA
Concordia University Stingers Montreal QC 1896 Public 38,809 $54.4M RSEQ
Université Laval Rouge-et-Or Quebec City QC 1663 Public 37,591 $105.3M RSEQ
Université du Québec à Montréal Citadins Montreal QC 1969 Public 39,235 --- RSEQ
McGill University Redmen, Martlets Montreal QC 1821 Public 32,514 $1.32B RSEQ
Bishop's University Gaiters Sherbrooke QC 1843 Public 1817 --- RSEQ
Université de Montréal Carabins Montreal QC 1878 Public 55,540 $276M RSEQ
Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières Patriotes Trois-Rivières QC 1969 Public 10,000 --- RSEQ
Université de Sherbrooke Vert-et-Or Sherbrooke QC 1954 Public 35,000 --- RSEQ
Acadia University Axemen Wolfville NS 1838 Public 3000 $40M AUS
Cape Breton University Capers Sydney NS 2005 Public 3500 $6.1M AUS
Dalhousie University Tigers Halifax NS 1818 Public 15,520 $478M AUS
Memorial University of Newfoundland Sea-Hawks St. John's NL 1925 Public 17,000+ $69M AUS
Mount Allison University Mounties Sackville NB 1839 Public 2200 $82.8M AUS
Université de Moncton Aigles Bleu Moncton NB 1864 Public 4187 --- AUS
University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds Fredericton NB 1785 Public 9000 --- AUS
University of Prince Edward Island Panthers Charlottetown PEI 1969 Public 4000 --- AUS
Saint Mary's University Huskies Halifax NS 1802 Public 8800 $16.9M AUS
St. Francis Xavier University X-Men, X-Women Antigonish NS 1853 Public 4894 $59.4M AUS
St. Thomas University Tommies Fredericton NB 1910 Public 2633 --- AUS

(*) Not allowed under Federal Ethics Rules

Basketball

In sports with heavy university participation, like basketball, some of the conferences have divisions. CWUAA has two divisions: Pioneer and Explorer; while the OUA has four: North, East, Central, and West. 47 of the 55 member institutions have basketball teams.

The U Sports men's and women's basketball teams are organized in the following way:

Football

Main article: U Sports football

27 of the 55 member schools participated in the 2016 CIS football season.

The U Sports football teams are organized in the following way:

Men's ice hockey

35 of the 55 member schools participated in the 2014-15 Men's Ice Hockey season. The Ottawa Gee-Gees program was suspended for this season.

Women's ice hockey

33 of the 55 member schools participated in the 2014-15 Women's Ice Hockey season.

Men's soccer

Main article: U Sports men's soccer

49 of the 55 member schools participated in the 2014 Men's Soccer season. U Sports has been a stepping stone for some national team players like Pat Onstad.

Women's soccer

52 of the 55 member schools participated in the 2014 Women's Soccer season.

See also

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Introducing U Sports, October, 20, 2016.
  2. 1 2 Knowles 2000, p. 72.
  3. ↑ History of CIS
  4. ↑ CIS English. English.cis-sic.ca (2013-07-15). Retrieved on 2013-07-24.
  5. ↑ CIS English. English.cis-sic.ca. Retrieved on 2013-07-24.
  6. ↑ Lancer Sports News. University of Windsor (website). "Lancer Football Introduces Touchdown Club" accessed 9 April 2007
  7. ↑ CBC News. Laval's team was profiled during their training camp in Florida. Broadcast before Vanier Cup 2006.
  8. ↑ CIS 5-Year Championship Schedule
  9. ↑ CIS Membership list
  10. ↑ http://www.utoronto.ca/__shared/assets/UofT_2010_FactsFiguresReport4316.pdf
  11. ↑ Profile of Royal Military College of Canada – Ontario, Universities in Canada. Canadian-universities.net. Retrieved on 2013-07-24.
  12. ↑ http://www.brocku.ca/athletics/quickfacts.php
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