The Sesquicentennial of Canadian University Football A historical perspective on the changing role of varsity football in Canadian universities since Confederation

Tom Fabian PhD student (Sociocultural Studies of Sport), Western University Dissertation focus – History of the Universiade MA (Sport History & Culture), De Montfort University, Leicester, England Thesis title – Alma Mater Wrapped in Pigskin: The role of varsity football in Canadian universities BSc (Kinesiology), McGill University Varsity volleyball player

What is the role of football in Canadian universities? Why football? What is the role of football in Canadian universities?

“It’s hard to rally around a math class” Paul “Bear” Bryant Football coach, University of Alabama, 1958-1982

A Brief History of Canadian University Football 30 October 1867 – First Canadian-style football game between U of T and Trinity College

Early Canadian rugby-football

A Brief History of Canadian University Football 30 October 1867 – First Canadian-style football game between U of T and Trinity College 1892 – Formation of the Canadian Rugby Union (CRU) 24 November 1897 – Canadian Intercollegiate Rugby Football Union (CIRFU) established McGill University Queen’s University University of Toronto “Big Three”

A Brief History of Canadian University Football 30 October 1867 – First Canadian-style football game between U of T and Trinity College 1892 – Formation of the Canadian Rugby Union (CRU) 24 November 1897 – Canadian Intercollegiate Rugby Football Union (CIRFU) established 1898 – Development of the Burnside Rules

JTM “Thrift” Burnside

A Brief History of Canadian University Football 30 October 1867 – First Canadian-style football game between U of T and Trinity College 1892 – Formation of the Canadian Rugby Union (CRU) 24 November 1897 – Canadian Intercollegiate Rugby Football Union (CIRFU) established 1898 – Development of the Burnside Rules 26 May 1906 – Founding of the Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union Central (CIAUC) McGill University Queen’s University University of Toronto “Big Three”

A Brief History of Canadian University Football 30 October 1867 – First Canadian-style football game between U of T and Trinity College 1892 – Formation of the Canadian Rugby Union (CRU) 24 November 1897 – Canadian Intercollegiate Rugby Football Union (CIRFU) established 1898 – Development of the Burnside Rules 26 May 1906 – Founding of the Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union Central (CIAUC) 4 December 1909 – First Grey Cup game 1931 – Adoption of the forward pass 15 October 1961 – Establishment of first truly national intercollegiate sport association (CIAU) 20 November 1965 – First Vanier Cup game

Why football? One of the earliest sports to become established on campuses Lacrosse Rugby Soccer Baseball Basketball Rowing Hockey Curling Cricket

Why football? One of the earliest sports to become established on campuses FOOTBALL Right timing A Canadian game High team component

Why football? One of the earliest sports to become established on campuses Early Grey Cup supremacy

Grey Cup Champions (until 1926) Year Winning Team Losing Team Score Location Attendance 1909 University of Toronto Toronto Parkdale Canoe Club 26-6 Rosedale Field, Toronto 3,807 1910 Hamilton Tigers 16-7 AAA Grounds, Hamilton 12,000 1911 Toronto Argonauts 14-7 Varsity Stadium, Toronto 13,687 1912* Hamilton Alerts 11-4 AAA Grounds 5,337 1913 44-2 2,100 1914 14-2 Varsity Stadium 10,500 1915 Toronto Rowing Association 13-7 2,808 1920 16-3 10,088 1921 Edmonton Eskimos 23-0 9,558 1922 Queen’s University Edmonton Elks 13-1 Richardson Stadium, Kingston 4,700 1923 Regina Rugby Club 54-0 8,629 1924 Toronto Balmy Beach 11-2 5,978 1925 Ottawa Senators Winnipeg Tammany Tigers 24-1 Lansdowne Park, Ottawa 6,900 1926 10-7 8,276

Why football? “Big Three” One of the earliest sports to become established on campuses Early Grey Cup supremacy The composition of the CIAUC Board of Reference McGill University Queen’s University University of Toronto “Big Three”

Why football? One of the earliest sports to become established on campuses Early Grey Cup supremacy The composition of the CIAUC Board of Reference Gate receipts and commoditization

Alan Metcalfe Renowned Canadian Sport Historian University of Windsor “A concrete recognition of the arrival of football as a money-making proposition.” Alan Metcalfe Renowned Canadian Sport Historian University of Windsor As renowned sport historian, Alan Metcalfe, wrote in his seminal work, Canada Learns to Play, “the most telling evidence of all was the decision taken by the Board of Governors of the University of Toronto in 1911 to build a 12,000-seat stadium, a concrete recognition of the arrival of football as a money-making proposition.”

Varsity Stadium ca. 1930

Why football? One of the earliest sports to become established on campuses Early Grey Cup supremacy The composition of the CIAUC Board of Reference Gate receipts and commoditization Transfer of university recognition from the classroom to the sports field

“Fielding a football team is a quicker way of building a library” Sherwood Fox President, University of Western Ontario, 1927-1947

Why football? One of the earliest sports to become established on campuses Early Grey Cup supremacy The composition of the CIAUC Board of Reference Gate receipts and commoditization Transfer of university recognition from the classroom to the sports field Gridiron wars between World Wars

Case Studies Old Cut Never New

Old School Universities with Long-Standing Football Programs University of Toronto – 1867 McGill University – 1874 University of Ottawa – 1881 Queen’s University – 1882 Bishop's University – 1884 McMaster University – 1901 University of Alberta – 1910* University of Saskatchewan – 1914* University of Manitoba – 1920* University of British Columbia – 1924 University of Western Ontario – 1929 St. Mary’s University – 1946 University of Guelph – 1950 St. Francis Xavier University – 1953 Mount Allison University – 1955 Acadia University – 1957 University of Waterloo – 1957 Wilfrid Laurier University – 1961 University of Calgary – 1964 University of Windsor – 1968 York University – 1969 Concordia University – 1974 * Football program was discontinued at a certain point, but has since been revived.

UWO’s First Game in Senior Football, 1929 former Varsity captain UWO’s First Game in Senior Football, 1929

Cut Universities with Discontinued Football Programs Université de Moncton (1949-1957)? Ryerson University (1949-1964) St. Thomas University (1949-1969) Laurentian University (1966-1971) Brandon University (1950-1972) Université de Québec à Montréal (1970-1972) Dalhousie University (1947-1976) University of Prince Edward Island (1957- 1979) Université de Québec à Trois-Rivières (1970- 1979) University of New Brunswick (1948-1980) Royal Military College (1883-1983) Cape Breton University (1990 only) ? – Discontinuation date has not been confirmed (no response from the university and internet searches have been unsuccessful), although Moncton was no longer a member of the Maritime Intercollegiate Football League in 1958.

Takeaways from the Discontinued Justifying expensive budgets Unequal system yields philosophical debate Negative branding of losing teams

Colin Howell Canadian Sports Historian St. Mary’s University “Sport involves a commitment to excellence, and the inability to be competitive, not only embarrasses alumni, students, and the university, but brings up the question of the role of sport” Colin Howell Canadian Sports Historian St. Mary’s University

The Alternative Universities without Football Programs Memorial University of Newfoundland – 1959 Lakehead University – 1964 Brock University – 1967 University of Winnipeg – 1967 University of Lethbridge – 1969 University of Victoria – 1969 Trent University – 1977 Trinity Western University – 1986 Thompson Rivers University – 2005 University of Ontario Institute of Technology – 2005 University of the Fraser Valley – 2006 Algoma University – 2008 Nipissing University – 2009 UBC Okanagan – 2010 University of Northern British Columbia – 2012 Mount Royal University – 2012 MacEwan University – 2013

New School Universities with New Football Programs Université Laval – 1996 University of Regina – 1999 Université de Montréal – 2002* Université de Sherbrooke – 2003* Carleton University – 2013* * Football program was discontinued at a certain point, but has since been revived.

Telus Stadium, Université Laval

Conclusions Alma Mater Wrapped in Pigskin Canada’s preeminent college game; an early symbiotic relationship

Conclusions Alma Mater Wrapped in Pigskin Canada’s preeminent college game; an early symbiotic relationship Jelinek’s suggestion: From government to corporate involvement (1988) Risks of pursuing an NCAA model – the consequences of overemphasizing sport in an educational framework and the trend towards professionalization

“Many Canadian university leaders concluded that professionalism was starting to displace the traditional approach to college sports as a means to the end of forming the whole student.” James Cameron Author of For the People: A History of St. Francis Xavier University

“Produces a dependency relationship… and subverts the educational mission of the university.” Jay Coakley & Peter Donnelly Acclaimed Sport Sociologists Authors of Sports in Society: Issues and Controversies

Conclusions Alma Mater Wrapped in Pigskin Canada’s preeminent college game; an early symbiotic relationship Jelinek’s suggestion: From government to corporate involvement (1988) Risks of pursuing an NCAA model – the consequences of overemphasizing sport in an educational framework and the trend towards professionalization Three phases and outcomes of organizational development theory The organization will become absorbed by another, larger, organization The organization will dissolve and restart operations The organization will fragment into smaller organizations

Conclusions Alma Mater Wrapped in Pigskin Canada’s preeminent college game; an early symbiotic relationship Jelinek’s suggestion: From government to corporate involvement (1988) Risks of pursuing an NCAA model – the consequences of overemphasizing sport in an educational framework and the trend towards professionalization Three phases and outcomes of organizational development theory Educational value in competition against opponents with radically different skill levels In the end, football is the marker for the changing state of Canadian university sport