U Sports
![]() | |
Formation | 1961; 63 years ago (1961) |
---|---|
Legal status | Association |
Headquarters | Richmond Hill, Ontario |
Region served | Canada |
Membership | 58 schools |
CEO | Pierre Arsenault |
Main organ | Executive Committee |
Website | usports |
U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body for universities in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country and four regional conferences: Ontario University Athletics (OUA), Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ), Canada West (CW), and Atlantic University Sport (AUS). The equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). Some institutions are members of both bodies for different sports.
History
Formation, CIAU, CIS
The original Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union (CIAU) was founded in 1906 and existed until 1955, composed only of universities from Ontario and Quebec. The semi-national organization, CIAU Central, provided common rules and regulations.
A growth spurt between 1944–55 saw the CIAU Central grow into a large group of nineteen (19) member universities each of which had diverse enrollment, philosophy, and practices both academically and athletically. The result saw the collapse of CIAU Central as there was no forum to evaluate or research policy in order to adjudicate conflicts within the organization
At the same time women's programs were expanding and required organization. In 1923, the Women's Intercollegiate Athletic Union (WIAU) was founded to provide athletic competition for female students in Ontario and the Ontario-Quebec Women's Intercollegiate Athletics (O-QWICA) coordinated programs for female students in 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.[1]
With financial assistance from the federal government, universities committed themselves to excellence in their sports programs, increased their schedules, and assigned coaches to year round programs to assist the federal government in identifying talent, national training centers, provision of facilities, sport research, and testing, all with an eye on developing international competitors.
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 (CWIAU), 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.
In June 2001, the membership of the CIAU voted to change the name and logo of the organization to Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS).
Rebrand and new approach
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 were also intended to increase the marketability of Canadian University sports.[2]
Athletic funding & eligibility
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 2008-09 one in two U Sports athletes was receiving an athletic scholarship.[3]
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,[4] 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 of the last 12 Vanier Cups, is so successful with fund raising that the team trains in Florida during the spring.[5]
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 based on a model where the league will give scholarships commensurate with the seasons they played in the CHL.
Beginning with the 2024–25 season, students will be able to receive athletic scholarships regardless of the grades they receive in their final year of high school or CEGEP. U Sports institutions will also be required to give a minimum of 45 per cent of their total athletic scholarship units to athletes on men's teams and a minimum of 45 per cent to athletes on women's teams.[6]
Sponsored sports
Sports sanctioned include the following: basketball, cross country, curling, field hockey (women), football (men), ice hockey, rugby union (women), soccer, swimming, track and field, volleyball, and wrestling.[7]
Men's team sports
No. | Sport | Founded | Teams | Season | Most Championships |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Basketball | 1962 | 48 | Fall | Carleton (17) |
2 | Curling | 2008 | N/A | Fall | Wilfrid Laurier (4) |
3 | Ice hockey | 1961 | 35 | Winter | Alberta (16) |
4 | Football | 1961 | 27 | Winter | Laval (11) |
5 | Soccer | 1972 | 48 | Fall | UBC (13) |
6 | Volleyball | 1966 | 31 | Spring | Manitoba, Winnipeg (10) |
Men's individual sports
No. | Sport | Founded | Teams | Season |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Cross country | 1963 | 10 | Fall |
2 | Swimming | 1965 | N/A | Winter |
3 | Track & field | 1981 | N/A | Spring |
4 | Wrestling | 1969 | N/A | Winter |
Women's team sports
No. | Sport | Founded | Teams | Season | Most Championships |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Basketball | 1977 | 48 | Fall | Victoria (9) |
2 | Curling | 2008 | N/A | Fall | Alberta (5) |
3 | Field hockey | 1975 | 10 | Fall | UBC (19) |
4 | Ice hockey | 1997 | 35 | Winter | Alberta (8) |
5 | Rugby union | 1998 | 26 | Fall | Alberta, St. Francis Xavier (6) |
6 | Soccer | 1987 | 53 | Fall | UBC (7) |
7 | Volleyball | 1969 | 43 | Spring | UBC (13) |
Women's individual sports
No. | Sport | Founded | Teams | Season |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Cross country | 1988 | 10 | Fall |
2 | Swimming | 1971 | N/A | Winter |
3 | Track & field | 1981 | N/A | Spring |
4 | Wrestling | 1999 | N/A | Winter |
National championships
U Sports hosts national championships for the following sports:[8]
Sport | Men | Women |
---|---|---|
Basketball | 1963– | 1987– |
Cross country | 1963– | 1988– |
Curling | 2008– | 2008– |
Field hockey | 1975– | |
Football | 1965– | |
Ice hockey | 1963– | 1998– |
Rugby union | 1998– | |
Soccer | 1972– | 1987– |
Swimming | 1965– | 1971– |
Track & field | 1981– | 1981– |
Volleyball (indoor) | 1967– | 1971– |
Wrestling | 1969– | 1999– |
Conferences and members
There are 58 member universities in U Sports. These 58 member universities are currently organized into the four following regional associations. In some of these sports, these associations are sometimes referred to as conferences. These conferences also organize regional championships.[9][10][11]
- Atlantic University Sport (AUS)
- Canada West Universities Athletic Association (CW)
- Ontario University Athletics (OUA)
- Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ)
- Notes
Sponsors
Source:[15]
- Sherrard Kuzz
- Fox 40
- Wilson
- Mikasa Canada
- Gilbert
- Vereburn
- Baron Rings
- Nike
- 88 Coaches Clinics
- OGP Enterprises
See also
- Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association
- National Collegiate Athletic Association
- International University Sports Federation
- List of colleges in Canada
- List of universities in Canada
- Universiade
Notes and references
- ^ History of CIS Archived January 30, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Campbell, Morgan (October 20, 2016). "CIS rebrands as U Sports in an attempt to lure sponsors". The Toronto Star. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
- ^ CIS English Archived September 28, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. English.cis-sic.ca. Retrieved on July 24, 2013.
- ^ Lancer Sports News. University of Windsor (website). "Lancer Football Introduces Touchdown Club" Archived February 12, 2006, at the Wayback Machine accessed April 9, 2007
- ^ CBC News. Laval's team was profiled during their training camp in Florida. Broadcast before Vanier Cup 2006.
- ^ "U Sports drops first-year grade requirements for participation, scholarships". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
- ^ CIS English Archived March 6, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. English.cis-sic.ca (July 15, 2013). Retrieved on July 24, 2013.
- ^ U Sports Championship Calendar
- ^ "Member Universities". U Sports. September 28, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
- ^ "UQAC becomes U Sports' 57th member university". U Sports. June 15, 2023. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
- ^ "ÉTS becomes U Sports' 58th member university". U Sports. June 14, 2024. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 2, 2012. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Profile of Royal Military College of Canada – Ontario, Universities in Canada Archived September 25, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Canadian-universities.net. Retrieved on July 24, 2013.
- ^ "Brock University Athletics - Official Athletics Website". Archived from the original on May 15, 2007. Retrieved April 24, 2009.
- ^ "Corporate Partners". U Sports.
- Knowles, Steve (2000), "Canadian University Hockey", in Diamond, Dan (ed.), Total Hockey (Second ed.), Total Sports Pub., pp. 69–78, ISBN 1-892129-85-X
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Official website
- v
- t
- e