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

2. 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

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

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

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

6. Early Canadian rugby-football

7. 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”

8. 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

9. JTM “Thrift” Burnside

10. 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”

11. 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

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

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

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

16. 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

17. 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”

18. 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

19. 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.”

20. Varsity Stadium ca. 1930

21. 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

22. “Fielding a football team is a quicker way of building a library”
Sherwood Fox
President, University of Western Ontario,

23. 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

24. Case Studies
Old
Cut
Never
New

25. 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.

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

27. Cut Universities with Discontinued Football Programs
Université de Moncton ( )?
Ryerson University ( )
St. Thomas University ( )
Laurentian University ( )
Brandon University ( )
Université de Québec à Montréal ( )
Dalhousie University ( ) University of Prince Edward Island ( ) Université de Québec à Trois-Rivières ( ) University of New Brunswick ( ) Royal Military College ( ) 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.

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

29. 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

30. 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

31. 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.

32. Telus Stadium, Université Laval

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

34. 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

35. “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

36. “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

37. 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

38. 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