Vanier Cup
Arsenault, Déry and Kubongo named U SPORTS Football Players of the Week
RICHMOND HILL, Ont. – U SPORTS is pleased to announce the schedule and broadcast times of the Road to the 2023 Canada Life Vanier Cup that begins on Saturday, November 18, with the Uteck and Mitchell Bowls.
U SPORTS national semifinals – Saturday, November 18, 2023
- Uteck Bowl: Western Mustangs at Montréal Carabins, CEPSUM stadium, 12:07 p.m. Eastern
- Mitchell Bowl: STFX X-Men at UBC Thunderbirds, Thunderbird Stadium, 3:07 p.m. Eastern (12:07 p.m. Pacific)
Both games will be shown on CBC’s digital platforms in English, and TVA Sports in French
The pairings and sites of the two bowl games are determined via a six-year rotation, during which each conference hosts each other conference once and visits each other conference once.
2023 Uteck Bowl
Named in honour of Larry Uteck, former head coach (1983-97) and athletic director (1995-2002) of the Saint Mary’s Huskies, the Uteck Bowl is easternmost of the two bowl games. This year’s contest features the Montréal Carabins, champions of the RSEQ, hosting the Western Mustangs, who won the OUA. This will be the first matchup between the Carabins and Mustangs.
Montréal clinched their spot by defeating the Laval Rouge et Or 12-6 in the Dunsmore Cup final at CEPSUM Stadium. The Carabins have a 3-1 record in Bowl Games, including 2-1 in the Uteck Bowl. Montreal is 2-0 all-time against the OUA in national games, posting a 25-10 win over Guelph in the 2015 Mitchell Bowl and a 20-19 win in the 2014 Vanier Cup.
Western, for its part, outlasted the Laurier Golden Hawks 29-14 in the Yates Cup to earn their fifth bowl berth in six seasons. Western is making its 25th appearance in a national semifinal, with a record of 15-9 in previous Bowl games. The Mustangs are 4-4 all-time against the RSEQ and OQIFC in national play, most recently a 27-20 home loss to Laval in last year’s Mitchell Bowl.
2023 Mitchell Bowl
The Mitchell Bowl honours the late Doug Mitchell, former CFL Commissioner (1984-88), who played for the UBC Thunderbirds and the B.C. Lions. He also founded the U SPORTS Athletes of the Year Awards (Lois and Doug Mitchell Awards). This year’s Mitchell Bowl will be held in B.C. for the first time ever, as the UBC Thunderbirds, champions of Canada West will be the hosts. They will take on the STFX X-Men, who won their third straight AUS championship.
UBC advanced to their first Bowl game since 2015 by defeating the Alberta Golden Bears 28-27 with a touchdown on the last play of the Hardy Cup final. The Thunderbirds are 6-1 all-time in Bowl games, including a 3-0 record against the Atlantic conference. This will only be the third Bowl game ever played in B.C., following the 1987 Western Bowl (a 33-31 win over Laurier at Thunderbird Stadium) and the 1978 Western Bowl (a 25-16 win over Laurier at Empire Stadium).
Their opponents, the STFX X-Men, won their third straight Loney Bowl with a 34-23 win over the Bishop’s Gaiters. The X-Men are making their sixth bowl appearance since 2015 – the most of any team in that span. The X-Men are 1-8 all-time in national semifinals and dropped both previous meetings with UBC: 36-9 in the 2015 Uteck Bowl, and 54-1 in the 1982 Atlantic Bowl. This will be only their second trip to western Canada for STFX, following the 2016 Mitchell Bowl in Calgary.
Broadcast details, along with game previews, will be published on USPORTS.ca later this week.