The 1997 CIAU football season began on August 27, 1997, and concluded with the 34th Vanier Cup national championship on November 22, 1997, at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, with the UBC Thunderbirds winning the third Vanier Cup championship in program history. Twenty-four universities across Canada competed in CIAU football this season, the highest level of amateur play in Canadian football, under the auspices of the Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Union (CIAU).
| 1997 CIAU football season | |
|---|---|
| Duration | August 27, 1997 – November 1, 1997 |
| Hardy Cup champions | UBC Thunderbirds |
| Yates Cup champions | Waterloo Warriors |
| Dunsmore Cup champions | Ottawa Gee-Gees |
| Loney Bowl champions | Mount Allison Mounties |
| Atlantic Bowl champions | Ottawa Gee-Gees |
| Churchill Bowl champions | Saskatchewan Huskies |
| Vanier Cup | |
| Date | November 22, 1997 |
| Venue | SkyDome, Toronto |
| Champions | UBC Thunderbirds |
Regular season
editStandings
editNote: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, Pts = Points
| Atlantic | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | GP | W | L | PF | PA | Pts | |
| StFX | 8 | 7 | 1 | 190 | 120 | 14 | |
| Mount Allison | 8 | 5 | 3 | 190 | 136 | 10 | |
| Acadia | 8 | 3 | 5 | 211 | 213 | 6 | |
| Saint Mary's | 8 | 1 | 7 | 121 | 243 | 2 | |
| Ontario-Quebec | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | GP | W | L | PF | PA | Pts |
| Queen's | 8 | 6 | 2 | 183 | 106 | 12 |
| Ottawa | 8 | 6 | 2 | 163 | 157 | 12 |
| Concordia | 8 | 5 | 3 | 202 | 171 | 10 |
| McGill | 8 | 4 | 4 | 125 | 143 | 8 |
| Bishop's | 8 | 3 | 5 | 136 | 114 | 6 |
| Laval | 8 | 3 | 5 | 130 | 190 | 6 |
| Carleton | 8 | 1 | 7 | 106 | 174 | 2 |
| Ontario | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | GP | W | L | T | PF | PA | Pts |
| Western | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 250 | 146 | 13 |
| Waterloo | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 231 | 91 | 12 |
| York | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 209 | 129 | 12 |
| Guelph | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 207 | 117 | 12 |
| Laurier | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 181 | 212 | 6 |
| McMaster | 8 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 151 | 256 | 5 |
| Toronto | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 112 | 220 | 0 |
| Windsor | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 100 | 270 | 0 |
| Canada West | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | GP | W | L | T | PF | PA | Pts |
| UBC | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 195 | 130 | 11 |
| Calgary | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 273 | 220 | 11 |
| Saskatchewan | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 183 | 156 | 10 |
| Manitoba | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 163 | 246 | 6 |
| Alberta | 8 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 136 | 198 | 2 |
Teams in bold earned playoff berths.[1]
- Bishop's forfeited wins over Laval, McGill, and Concordia.
Post-season awards
editAward-winners
edit- Hec Crighton Trophy – Mark Nohra, British Columbia
- Presidents' Trophy – Jason Van Geel, Waterloo
- Russ Jackson Award – Sam Stetsko, Alberta
- J. P. Metras Trophy – Mike Kushnir, St. Francis Xavier
- Peter Gorman Trophy – Paul Carty, St. Francis Xavier
- Frank Tindall Trophy – John Stevens, St. Francis Xavier
All-Canadian team
edit| First Team | Second Team | |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterback | Darryl Leason (Calgary) | Nathan Body (Guelph) |
| Running Back | Mark Nohra (British Columbia) Jarrett Smith (Waterloo) | Craig Carr (Manitoba) Jeff Johnson (York) |
| Inside Receiver | Ousmane Tounkara (Ottawa) Ryan Carruthers (Calgary) | Andre Arlain (St. Francis Xavier) Scott Miller (Windsor) |
| Outside Receiver | Aubrey Cummings (Acadia) Andre Batson (York) | Brad Coutts (British Columbia) Ryan Janzen (McMaster) |
| Centre | Jim Cooper (British Columbia) | Jim Weeks (Carleton) |
| Guard | Samir Chahine (McGill) Sam Stetsko (Alberta) | Stephen Szimanski (Waterloo) Kip Zavitz (Guelph) |
| Tackle | Bob Beveridge (British Columbia) Paul Blenkhorn (Western Ontario) | Scott Flory (Saskatchewan) Dan Sendecki (Waterloo) |
| First Team | Second Team | |
|---|---|---|
| Defensive Tackle | Mike Kushnir (St. Francis Xavier) Jeff Anderson (Concordia) | Rob McMurren (Waterloo) Craig Alloway (Alberta) |
| Defensive End | Josh Thomas (Acadia) Roger Dunbrack (Western Ontario) | Mike Milo (Saskatchewan) George Psofimis (York) |
| Linebacker | Jason van Geel (Waterloo) Robert Smith (Bishop's) Warren Muzika (Saskatchewan) | Francis Bellefroid (Bishop's) Derek Krete (Western Ontario) Kevin Pressburger (Waterloo) |
| Free Safety | William Loftus (Manitoba) | Jason Kralt (Carleton) |
| Defensive Halfback | Bernard Gravel (Laval) Mike Crumb (Saskatchewan) | N/A |
| Cornerback | Jason Hutchins (Alberta) Mark Raphael (Ottawa) | Todd MacKay (Western Ontario) Philippe Girard (Mount Allison) |
| First Team | Second Team | |
|---|---|---|
| Kicker | Arek Bigos (Waterloo) | Matt Kellett (Saskatchewan) |
| Punter | Dave Miller-Johnston (Concordia) | Matt Kellett (Saskatchewan) |
Post-season
editPlayoff bracket
edit| Conference Semi-finals | Conference Championships | National Semi-finals | 33rd Vanier Cup | ||||||||||||||||
| Calgary Dinos | 21 | ||||||||||||||||||
| UBC Thunderbirds | 39 | ||||||||||||||||||
| UBC Thunderbirds | 34 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Mount Allison Mounties | 29 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Mount Allison Mounties | 20 | ||||||||||||||||||
| St. Francis Xavier X-Men | 17 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ottawa Gee-Gees | 23 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Concordia Stingers | 20 | UBC Thunderbirds | 39 | ||||||||||||||||
| Ottawa Gee-Gees | 25 | Queen's Gaels | 7 | ||||||||||||||||
| McGill Redmen | 7 | Ottawa Gee-Gees | 24 | ||||||||||||||||
| Queen's Gaels | 10 | Waterloo Warriors | 37 | ||||||||||||||||
| York Yeomen | 0 | Ottawa Gee-Gees | 44 | ||||||||||||||||
| Waterloo Warriors | 17 | Waterloo Warriors | 30 | ||||||||||||||||
| Guelph Gryphons | 10 | Western Ontario Mustangs | 10 | ||||||||||||||||
| Western Ontario Mustangs | 25 | ||||||||||||||||||
Championships
editThe Vanier Cup was played between the champions of the Atlantic Bowl and the Churchill Bowl, the national semi-final games. This year, the Canada West Hardy Trophy champion UBC Thunderbirds defeated the Loney Bowl champion Mount Allison Mounties in the Atlantic Bowl in Halifax, Nova Scotia by a score of 34–29.[4] The Dunsmore Cup Ontario-Quebec champion Ottawa Gee-Gees were the host team for the Churchill Bowl and they defeated the Ontario conference's Yates Cup championship team, Waterloo Warriors 44–37.[4] In the 33rd Vanier Cup game, the Thunderbirds were led by Hec Crighton Trophy winner Mark Nohra, who had 30 carries for 178 yards and one touchdown as UBC defeated Ottawa 39–23 at the SkyDome in Toronto.[5]
References
edit- ↑ "CIS Football 1997". Bob Adams CIS Sports Page. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
- ↑ "Past CIS Award Winners". U Sports. Archived from the original on 2015-11-17. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
- ↑ "CIS All-Canadian Teams" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-11-02. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
- 1 2 "All-Time U Sports Bowl Results (since start of U Sports national semifinals in 1967)". U Sports. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
- ↑ "1997 Vanier Cup Game Recap". U Sports. Retrieved December 26, 2025.