U Sports


U Sports is the national sport 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 Collegiate Athletic Association. Some institutions are members of both bodies for different sports.
Its name until October 20, 2016, was Canadian Interuniversity Sport. On that date, the organization rebranded as "U Sports" in both official languages.
The original Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union 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. McLeod, athletic director at the RMC directed the establishment of the Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union in 1961. 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 Canadian Women's Interuniversity Athletic Union, which had formed in 1970, merged with the CIAU; the expanded CIAU reinforced its university focus by adjusting its name to the Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Union. It changed its name to Canadian Interuniversity Sport 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.
According to the organization, the name change to "U Sports" came about in part due to a desire for a brand that was "instantly recognizable and identical in both French and English." The rebrand was accompanied by a new approach to presentation of Canadian University sports, its teams, and its players. The new, singular logo and name came with a new website to better present stories taking place throughout the athletics programs U Sports governs, bolstered by a new approach to social media.

Sanctioned sports

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2016 rebrand

On October 20, 2016, CIS announced that it would be changing its name to U Sports, accompanied by a new logo and approach to Canadian University sports. The name was chosen in part to better represent Canada as a bilingual nation with a united name as opposed to separate acronyms. The new name and look are also intended to increase the marketability of Canadian University sports through a more marketable presentation.
Signifying a major shift in the presentation of Canadian University sports, U Sports aims to better engage with Canadian sports fans and present the athletes it governs. To do so, U Sports aims to promote the stories of its key athletes through a new approach to social media as well as a new website in order to "create a massive change in the way Canadians see university sports in the digital era".

Athletic funding

The U Sports member institutions offer athletic scholarships known as Athletic Financial Awards ; 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.
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, 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.
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 maximum of 48 hours and can not dress in any games.

Championships

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Fall sports

Week 1 is the 9th Saturday following Labour Day Monday

Week 1

  • U Sports women's field hockey championship
  • U Sports women's rugby championship

    Week 2

  • U Sports men's soccer championship
  • U Sports women's soccer championship
  • U Sports men's cross country championship
  • U Sports women's cross country championship

    Week 3

  • U Sports men's football semi-final
  • U Sports men's football semi-final

    Week 4

  • U Sports men's football championship

Winter sports

Week 1 is the 25th Saturday following Labour Day Monday

Week 1

  • U Sports men's swimming championship
  • U Sports women's swimming championship
  • U Sports men's wrestling championship
  • U Sports women's wrestling championship

    Week 3

  • U Sports men's basketball championship
  • U Sports women's basketball championship
  • U Sports men's track and field championship
  • U Sports women's track and field championship

    Week 4

  • U Sports men's ice hockey championship
  • U Sports women's ice hockey championship
  • U Sports men's volleyball championship
  • U Sports women's volleyball championship

    Week 5

  • U Sports men's curling championship
  • U Sports women's curling championship

Members

There are 56 member universities in U Sports. These 56 member universities are currently organized into the four following regional associations. In some of these sports, these associations are sometimes referred to as conferences.
InstitutionNicknameCityProvinceFoundedAffiliationEnrollmentEndowmentMembership
Acadia UniversityAxemen, AxewomenWolfvilleNS1838Public4650$40MAUS
Cape Breton UniversityCapersSydneyNS2005Public3500$6.1MAUS
Dalhousie UniversityTigersHalifaxNS1818Public18,940$478MAUS
Memorial University of NewfoundlandSea-HawksSt. John'sNL1925Public18,172$93MAUS
Mount Allison UniversityMountiesSackvilleNB1839Public2260$82.8MAUS
Université de MonctonAigles BleuMonctonNB1864Public4187---AUS
University of New BrunswickRedsFrederictonNB1785Public9000---AUS
University of Prince Edward IslandPanthersCharlottetownPEI1969Public4000---AUS
Saint Mary's UniversityHuskiesHalifaxNS1802Public7040$16.9MAUS
St. Francis Xavier UniversityX-Men, X-WomenAntigonishNS1853Public5150$59.4MAUS
St. Thomas UniversityTommiesFrederictonNB1910Public2633---AUS
University of British ColumbiaThunderbirdsVancouverBC1908Public43,579$1.16BCW
Trinity Western UniversitySpartansLangleyBC1962Private-Christian2,700---CW
University of VictoriaVikesVictoriaBC1903Public19,500$348MCW
University of the Fraser ValleyCascadesAbbotsfordBC1974Public21,500---CW
University of Northern British ColumbiaTimberwolvesPrince GeorgeBC1990Public4,183---CW
Thompson Rivers UniversityWolfPackKamloopsBC1970Public13,072---CW
University of British Columbia OkanaganHeatKelownaBC2005Public6,015---CW
University of AlbertaGolden Bears/PandasEdmontonAB1908Public36,435$1.0BCW
University of CalgaryDinosCalgaryAB1966Public28,196$568MCW
MacEwan UniversityGriffinsEdmontonAB1971Public13,889---CW
Mount Royal UniversityCougarsCalgaryAB1910Public14,175---CW
University of SaskatchewanHuskiesSaskatoonSK1907Public19,082$247MCW
University of LethbridgePronghornsLethbridgeAB1967Public8,765$24.5MCW
Brandon UniversityBobcatsBrandonMB1890Public3383---CW
University of ReginaRams, CougarsReginaSK1911Public12,800$25.9MCW
University of WinnipegWesmenWinnipegMB1871Public9,219---CW
University of ManitobaBisonsWinnipegMB1877Public27,599$424MCW
Carleton UniversityRavensOttawaON1942Public25,262$190MOUA
University of OttawaGee-GeesOttawaON1848Public35,548$201MOUA
University of TorontoVarsity BluesTorontoON1827Public56,383$1.66BOUA
Ryerson UniversityRamsTorontoON1948Public24,000$118MOUA
Queen's UniversityGolden GaelsKingstonON1841Public20,566$722MOUA
York UniversityLionsTorontoON1959Public42,400$373MOUA
Laurentian UniversityVoyageursSudburyON1960Public7758$36MOUA
Algoma UniversityThunderbirdsSault Ste. MarieON1964Public1427---OUA
Royal Military College of CanadaPaladinsKingstonON1876Public900OUA
Trent UniversityExcaliburPeterboroughON1964Public7160$43MOUA
Nipissing UniversityLakersNorth BayON1909Public6300$11MOUA
Ontario Tech UniversityRidgebacksOshawaON2003Public10000---OUA
University of Western OntarioMustangsLondonON1878Public30,000$685MOUA
University of WindsorLancersWindsorON1857Public13,496$70MOUA
McMaster UniversityMaraudersHamiltonON1887Public25,688$553MOUA
University of GuelphGryphonsGuelphON1964Public19,408$264MOUA
University of WaterlooWarriorsWaterlooON1957Public27,978$282MOUA
Wilfrid Laurier UniversityGolden HawksWaterlooON1911Public12,394---OUA
Brock UniversityBadgersSt. CatharinesON1964Public17,000$74MOUA
Lakehead UniversityThunderwolvesThunder BayON1946Public8050$32.1MOUA
Concordia UniversityStingersMontrealQC1896Public38,809$54.4MRSEQ
Université LavalRouge-et-OrQuebec CityQC1663Public37,591$105.3MRSEQ
Université du Québec à MontréalCitadinsMontrealQC1969Public39,235---RSEQ
McGill UniversityMcGill, MartletsMontrealQC1821Public32,514$1.32BRSEQ
Bishop's UniversityGaitersLennoxvilleQC1843Public2800---RSEQ
Université de MontréalCarabinsMontrealQC1878Public55,540$276MRSEQ
Université du Québec à Trois-RivièresPatriotesTrois-RivièresQC1969Public10,000---RSEQ
Université de SherbrookeVert-et-OrSherbrookeQC1954Public35,000---RSEQ

;Notes

Basketball

As of the 2019–2020 U Sports season, 48 of the 56 member institutions have both men's and women's basketball teams. In sports with heavy university participation, like basketball, some of the conferences have had divisions. The OUA previously had four divisions from 2014–15 to 2016–17, but reduced them back to two for the 2017–18 season. With the addition of Ontario Tech for the 2019–20 season, OUA moved to three six-team divisions. Canada West had two divisions, but reverted to a one conference format for the 2016–17 season with 17 teams. The AUS conference has eight teams while the RSEQ conference has five.
The U Sports men's and women's basketball teams are organized in the following way:

Football

27 of the 56 member schools participated in the 2019 U Sports football season.
The U Sports football teams are organized in the following way:
As of the 2017–18 academic year, the two U Sports members in Sherbrooke compete in separate leagues in football only. Bishop's football moved from RSEQ to AUS, and Sherbrooke remains in RSEQ football.

Men's ice hockey

35 of the 56 member schools participated in the 2019–20 Men's Ice Hockey season.

Women's ice hockey

34 of the 56 member schools participated in the 2019–20 Women's Ice Hockey season. The Bishop's Gaiters will join the RSEQ and start play in 2020–21.

Men's soccer

48 of the 56 member schools participated in the 2019 Men's soccer season.

Women's soccer

53 of the 56 member schools participated in the 2019 Women's soccer season.

Men's volleyball

30 of the 56 member schools participated in the 2019–20 Men's volleyball season. After Memorial disbanded their team following the 2016–17 season, two teams competed in the AUS with three competing in the RSEQ, so those conferences played interlock games, as had been the case since 2004. Since the AUS requires a minimum of three teams competing in a sport, Dalhousie and UNB moved to the RSEQ conference for the 2018–19 season. 12 teams compete in Canada West and another 13 compete in the OUA, which is split between an East and a West division.

Women's volleyball

39 of the 56 member schools participated in the 2019–20 Women's volleyball season. Six teams compete in the AUS and six in the RSEQ. Another 14 compete in the OUA, split between an East and a West division. The Canada West conference is the only one to have matching women's and men's teams among its participating schools with 13 women's volleyball teams. St. Francis Xavier and Cape Breton previously had programs, but they were cut due to budgetary reasons in 2013 and 2015, respectively.