Sport Ice hockey No. of teams 36 Most recent
champion(s) UNB Varsity Reds | Founded 1961 Country Canada | |
 | ||
Formerly CIAU men's ice hockey, CIS men's ice hockey | ||
U Sports men's ice hockey is the highest level of play at the university level under the auspices of U Sports, Canada's governing body for university sports. As these players compete at the university level, they are obligated to follow the rule of standard eligibility of five years.
Contents
- History
- Atlantic University Sport
- Canada West Universities Athletic Association
- Ontario University Athletics
- Annual awards
- References
University hockey teams in Canada compete in leagues as part of U Sports, the national governing body for Canadian university athletics (in Canadian English, the term "college" is reserved for schools that would be called "junior", "community", or "technical" colleges in the U.S.). U Sports sponsors both men's and women's hockey. Like in the United States, teams compete in athletic conferences based on geographical locations of the schools. Unlike the NCAA the U Sports does not award players with athletic scholarships, resulting in a lack of divisional separation such as found between NCAA divisions. Individual conferences hold postseason tournaments, followed by the round-robin U Sports Championship tournament in late March.
History
The Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union was established in 1961 by Major W.J. McLeod, Athletic Director of the Royal Military College of Canada. By the 1962-63 season, the CIAU had created a National Championship for their ice hockey playoffs: the University Cup.
The first ever University Cup was competed for in Kingston, Ontario between the UBC Thunderbirds and the McMaster Marlins. The Marlins would win the game 3-2.
The CIAU had competition in Canadian post-secondary varsity hockey at a national level. but rivalries only existed on an exhibition basis. The Canadian Colleges Athletic Association now Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association held national championships between 1975 and 2001. At one time, seven conferences in the CCAA sanctioned hockey, but only two do today — the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference and the Quebec Student Sport Federation (now known by its French initialism of RSEQ).
In 1978, the governing body of the league changed its name to the Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Union. The body's name was changed in 2001 to Canadian Interuniversity Sport, and most recently in 2016 to the current U Sports.
The most successful team in U Sports history is the Alberta Golden Bears with 15 University Cup titles. This is followed by the Toronto Varsity Blues with 10 and the UNB Varsity Reds with 6. The reigning champions are the UNB Varsity Reds, who defeated the St. Francis Xavier X-Men in Halifax in March 2016.
On August 12, 2016, Kori Cheverie was announced as an assistant coach for the Ryerson Rams men’s ice hockey team, making her the first female full-time assistant coach in U Sports men’s hockey history.
Atlantic University Sport
Canada West Universities Athletic Association
Ontario University Athletics
East
West
Annual awards
The following are annual U Sports trophies and awards: