First awarded 1908 Official website [1] | Currently held by Ryerson Rams | |
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Awarded for OUA men's basketball championship Presented by Ontario University Athletics | ||
The Wilson Cup is the championship and trophy awarded annually to the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) men's basketball champion. The two-day championship consists of four teams who have advanced to the finals of the OUA men's basketball playoffs. The championship is played at the highest remaining playoff seed in the OUA, as determined by the regular season Ratings Percentage Index (RPI).
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History
The Wilson Cup was first awarded for the 1908-09 season by Harold Wilson of Toronto. The Cup was originally the championship trophy of the first Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union which existed until 1955 and despite its name, was composed only of Ontario and Quebec universities. The Cup was then inherited by the original CIAU's successor, the Ontario-Quebec Athletic Association which eventually became the OUA. Since the 1962-63 season the Wilson Cup winner has gone on to compete for the national championship W. P. McGee Trophy.
Current OUA Playoff Format
The 17 OUA teams are separated into four divisions: East, North, West and Central. Each division contains four teams, except for the central which contains five. At the conclusion of the regular season, the top three teams in each division qualify for the playoffs. All qualified teams, regardless of division, will be ranked from 1-12 using RPI, with the top four seeds receiving a bye for the first round. Teams 5-12 will play each other in the first round, with the highest seed hosting the lowest seed in a bracket style format. Winners of the first round will go on the road to face a team ranked 1-4, depending on their placement in the bracket.
Following the second round of playoffs, the highest remaining seed shall host the Wilson Cup. Semi-finals between the four remaining teams takes place on the Friday of the tournament. Winners of the semi-finals receive the OUA's berths in the CIS Final 8 as well as a place in the championship game on Saturday.
A bronze medal game is also played on the Saturday, in the game preceding the championship. In the event that one of the two finalists is also hosting the CIS Final 8, the winner of the bronze medal game receives the other OUA berth in the Final 8.
The highest seed in each semi-final game is deemed the "home" team.