The Alberta Golden Bears football team represents the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

in the sport of

Canadian football Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...

U Sports U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body of university sport in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country. Its equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is the Ca ...

. The Golden Bears have been in competition since 1910 and the team has won three

Vanier Cup The Vanier Cup (french: Coupe Vanier) is the championship of Canadian university football. It is organized by U Sports football and is currently played between the winners of the Uteck Bowl and the Mitchell Bowl. It is named after Georges Vanier, ...

national championships, in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

, and most recently in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

. The Golden Bears have also won 18 Hardy Cup conference titles, second only to the Saskatchewan Huskies who have won 19 of them. The Golden Bears have also had three players win the

Hec Crighton Trophy The Hec Crighton Trophy (sometimes referred to as the Hec Crighton Award) is awarded annually to the most outstanding Canadian football player in U Sports. The trophy is named after the late Hec Crighton - teacher, coach, referee, and author of th ...

, with Mel Smith winning in 1971,

Brian Fryer Brian Fryer (born July 16, 1953) is a retired football player who starred at wide receiver for the University of Alberta, and played professionally for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League and the Edmonton Eskimos and Ottawa Ro ...

winning in 1975, and most recently

Ed Ilnicki Edward Ilnicki (born July 1, 1995) is a former Canadian football running back who played U Sports football and is a Hec Crighton Trophy winner. University career Ilnicki played for the Alberta Golden Bears of U Sports football from 2013 to 2017. ...

winning the award in

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

Recent history

In the 2000s, the Golden Bears had seen mixed results as the team made the playoffs in five of ten seasons between 2001-2010. In four of those seasons, Alberta reached the Hardy Cup, but came away with losses each time. Despite playing in the Hardy Cup in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, the Golden Bears finished winless in 2011 following the resignation of longtime head coach Jerry Friesen.

UBC The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top three ...

defaulted two wins to Alberta that year, but the following season was once again winless as the Golden Bears finished at the bottom of the standings. The Golden Bears saw improvement in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

by posting a 3-5 record, but finished fifth and missed the playoffs for the fourth straight year. The program saw further regression in 2015 and 2016, posting just two and one win seasons, respectively. In 2017, the Golden Bears returned to the playoffs following a six-year absence by qualifying in the last week of the season by defeating the powerhouse

Calgary Dinos The Calgary Dinos are the athletic teams that represent the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. They were known as the "Dinosaurs" but usually referred to as the "Dinos" until 1999, when the name was officially shortened. Some of its venue ...

and finishing 3-5. Because

and

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

finished with 2-6 records, the Golden Bears finished in fourth place and in playoff position, led by the strong play of Hec Crighton Trophy winner, Ed Ilnicki. The team lost the Canada West Semi-Final to the same Dinos by a score of 39-22. In the following year, the team was once again out of the playoffs, finishing 2-6, which included a default win after the Regina Rams had to forfeit a victory due to the use of an ineligible player.

Recent season results

National award winners

: Mel Smith (1971),

(1975),

(2017) *

J. P. Metras Trophy The J. P. Metras Trophy is awarded annually to the most outstanding down lineman in U Sports football. The award was first initiated in 1974 and is named after John Pius Metras. Metras was a former coach of the Western Mustangs from 1939 to 1969 ...

: Gerry Inglis (1976), Dave Willox (1978), Garret Everson (1998) *

Presidents' Trophy The Presidents' Trophy (french: Trophée des présidents) is an award presented by the National Hockey League (NHL) to the team that finishes with the most points (i.e. best record) during the NHL regular season. If two teams are tied for the mo ...

: Mark Singer (1989), Josiah Schakel (2021) *

Peter Gorman Trophy The Peter Gorman Trophy is awarded to the Rookie of the Year in U Sports Football. The Trophy acknowledges the great contribution Peter Gorman has made to the development of Canadian University Football. As founder of the Canadian College Bowl, his ...

: Jeff Funtasz (1984) *

Russ Jackson Award The Russ Jackson Award is presented to the U Sports Football player best exemplifying the attributes of academic achievement, football skill, and citizenship and is named in honour of Canadian Football League Hall of Famer and former Ottawa Rough ...

: Sam Stetsko (1997), Carlo Panaro (1999, 2000) *

Frank Tindall Trophy The Frank Tindall Trophy is presented to the U Sports Football Coach of the Year. The award is dedicated in honour of the former U Sports head coach of the Queen's Golden Gaels (29 years, 106-74-2, 8 league and 1 national title). The Selection Commi ...

Jim Donlevy James Garvey Donlevy (April 16, 1937 – August 4, 2019) was a Canadian football coach. He coached the Alberta Golden Bears of the University of Alberta from 1971 to 1981 and 1984 to his resignation in 1990, amassing a record of 86–69–3 and wi ...

(1971),

Jerry Friesen Jerry Friesen is a former award-winning linebacker in the Canadian Football League and is the special teams coordinator for the Saskatchewan Huskies. University career A graduate of University of Saskatchewan, Friesen was 3-time all-star with the ...

(2004)

Golden Bears in the CFL

As of the end of the 2022 CFL season, seven former Golden Bears players were on CFL teams' rosters: * David Beard,

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

*Jayden Dalke,

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...

Mark Korte Mark Korte (born August 2, 1996) is a professional Canadian football offensive lineman for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). University career Korte played U Sports football for the Alberta Golden Bears from 2014 to 2017. ...

Edmonton Elks The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

Justin Lawrence Justin Ray Lawrence (born May 15, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional MMA competitor since 2010, Lawrence has also formerly competed for the UF ...

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

*Cole Nelson, Edmonton Elks *Shaydon Philip,

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) ( French: Le Rouge et Noir d'Ottawa) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Startin ...

*Josiah Schakel,

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...

References

External links

* {{U Sports football U Sports football teams 1910 establishments in Alberta Canadian football teams in Edmonton Sports clubs established in 1910