Mitchell Bowl
The Mitchell Bowl is one of the two semifinal bowls of U Sports football, Canada's national competition for university teams that play Canadian football. It is held in the more westerly location of the two semifinal venues. The winner of this game goes on to play against the Uteck Bowl champions for the Vanier Cup. The home of the Mitchell Bowl, as well as the two conference champions, changes each year on a rotating basis. The Mitchell Bowl was named after Douglas H. Mitchell, a former Canadian Football League commissioner and member of the National Hockey League board of governors.
| Mitchell Bowl | |
|---|---|
| Sport | Canadian football |
| League | U Sports football |
| Given for | Winning the U Sports Semi Final Championship |
| Country | Canada |
| History | |
| First award | 2002 |
| Editions | 18 |
| First winner | Saskatchewan Huskies |
| Most wins | Saskatchewan Huskies (4) Calgary Dinos (4)[1] |
| Most recent | Calgary Dinos (2019) |
| Website | usports |
History
In 2001, U Sports, then known as CIS, voted to change the permanent site of the Atlantic Bowl in the interest of competitive fairness. In 2002, the Mitchell Bowl was first awarded, replacing the Atlantic Bowl. During 2002, the Mitchell Bowl played opposite to the Churchill Bowl. In 2003, the Uteck Bowl replaced the Churchill Bowl.
The 2020 game was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2]
List of Mitchell Bowl champions
| Date | Champion | Score | Runner Up | Location | Maury L. Van Vliet Trophy (MVP) Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 16, 2002 |  Saskatchewan |
22–0 |  McGill |
Percival-Molson Stadium, Montreal |
Sheldon Ball, Saskatchewan |
| Nov 15, 2003 | Laval |
36–32 |  McMaster |
Ivor Wynne Stadium, Hamilton |
Jeronimo Huerta-Flores, Laval |
| Nov 20, 2004 | Saskatchewan |
31–16 |  Saint Mary's |
Griffiths Stadium, Saskatoon |
Steve Bilan, Saskatchewan |
| Nov 19, 2005 | Saskatchewan |
29–27 | Laval |
Griffiths Stadium, Saskatoon |
David Stevens, Saskatchewan |
| Nov 18, 2006 | Saskatchewan |
35–28 | Ottawa |
Frank Clair Stadium, Ottawa |
Tyler O’Gorman, Saskatchewan[3] |
| Nov 17, 2007 |  Manitoba |
52–20 | Western |
Canad Inns Stadium, Winnipeg |
Mike Howard, Manitoba |
| Nov 16, 2008 | Western |
28–12 | Saint Mary's |
TD Waterhouse Stadium, London |
Craig Butler, Western[4] |
| Nov 21, 2009 | Queen's |
33–30 | Laval |
Richardson Memorial Stadium, Kingston |
Shomari Williams, Queen's |
| Nov 20, 2010 |  Calgary |
35–8 | Saint Mary's |
McMahon Stadium, Calgary |
Steven Lumbala, Calgary |
| Nov 18, 2011 | Laval |
41–10 | Calgary |
McMahon Stadium, Calgary |
Sébastien Lévesque, Laval |
| Nov 17, 2012 | McMaster |
45–6 | Calgary |
Ron Joyce Stadium, Hamilton |
Kyle Quinlan, McMaster |
| Nov 16, 2013 | Calgary |
44–3 | Western |
McMahon Stadium, Calgary |
Mercer Timmis, Calgary |
| Nov 22, 2014 | McMaster |
24–12 |  Mount Allison |
Ron Joyce Stadium, Hamilton |
Mark Mackie, McMaster[5] |
| Nov 21, 2015 | Montreal |
25–10 | Guelph |
Alumni Stadium, Guelph |
Junior Luke, Montreal |
| Nov 19, 2016 | Calgary |
50–24 | St. F.X. |
McMahon Stadium, Calgary |
Jimmy Underdahl, Calgary |
| Nov 18, 2017 | Laval |
35–23 | Calgary |
McMahon Stadium, Calgary |
Hugo Richard, Laval |
| Nov 17, 2018 | Western |
47–24 | Saskatchewan |
TD Stadium, London |
Chris Merchant, Western[6] |
| Nov 16, 2019 | Calgary |
30–17 | McMaster |
McMahon Stadium, Calgary |
Jalen Philpot, Calgary |
| Nov 21, 2020 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[2] | ||||
Future participants
The teams and host sites of the Mitchell Bowl and the Uteck Bowl rotate on a six-year cycle, so that in each cycle each of the four conferences hosts and visits every other conference once. With the 2020 game cancelled, the cycle was delayed by one year with the 2020 teams playing in 2021.[7]
The participants and sites for future Mitchell Bowl games are listed below:[8]
| Date/Year | Visiting conference | Host conference |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 20, 2021 | AUS | OUA |
| 2022 | RSEQ | OUA |
| 2023 | AUS | Canada West |
| 2024 | RSEQ | Canada West |
| 2025 | Canada West | OUA |
| 2026 | OUA | Canada West |
All Mitchell Bowl games have been played at the home field of the host conference's champion. As of 2019, home teams have a record of 12–6.
Team win/loss records
| Team | GP | W | L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manitoba Bisons | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Montreal Carabins | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Queen's Golden Gaels | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Saskatchewan Huskies | 5 | 4 | 1 | .800 |
| Laval Rouge et Or | 5 | 3 | 2 | .600 |
| Calgary Dinos | 7 | 4 | 3 | .571 |
| McMaster Marauders | 4 | 2 | 2 | .500 |
| Western Ontario Mustangs | 4 | 2 | 2 | .500 |
| Saint Mary's Huskies | 3 | 0 | 3 | .000 |
| Guelph Gryphons | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| McGill Redmen | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| Mount Allison Mounties | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| Ottawa Gee-Gees | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| St. Francis Xavier X-Men | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
References
- Past U Sports Champions
- "U Sports cancels 2020 fall championships due to COVID-19". U Sports. June 8, 2020.
- "2006 Season in Review" (PDF). Canadian Interuniversity Sport. 2007. p. 25. Retrieved 2008-11-14.
- "Mitchell Bowl: Western wins Mitchell Bowl, to face No. 1 Laval in Vanier Cup". Canadian Interuniversity Sport. 2008-11-16. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
- 'Off to Vanier: Marauders win Mitchell Bowl 24-12' from Marauders.ca, 21 November 2014, retrieved 24 November 2014
- "Merchant leads Western past Saskatchewan to win Mitchell Bowl". Sportsnet.ca. The Canadian Press. 17 November 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
- "U Sports announces 2021-23 fall championship hosts in soccer and rugby". usports.ca. July 3, 2020.
- "U Sports Championship Calendar". U Sports. July 3, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.