The St. Francis Xavier X-Men football team represents the
St. Francis Xavier University
St. Francis Xavier University is a public undergraduate liberal arts university located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a member of the Maple League, a group of primarily undergraduate universities in Eastern Canada.
History
St. Franc ...
in
Antigonish
, settlement_type = Town
, image_skyline = File:St Ninian's Cathedral Antigonish Spring.jpg
, image_caption = St. Ninian's Cathedral
, image_flag = Flag of Antigonish.pn ...
,
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
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 ...
in
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
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...
program has been competing at the
varsity level since 1954 and won the second ever
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 championship in
1966
Events January
* January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko.
* January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
. The team has played in two National Championship games overall when they were runners-up in
1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...
and have won 15
conference championships in total.
Championships
National championships
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, ...
* Champions: 1966
* Runner-Up: 1996
Semi-final championships
Atlantic Bowl
* Champions: 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1996
* Runner-Up: 1958, 1962, 1967, 1978, 1982, 1983
* In 1983 the AUAA was in a dispute with the CIS (formerly CIAU) over the Atlantic Bowl being played at Saint Mary's, in Halifax, on annual basis. Calgary received a bye to the CIAU Championship game.
Uteck Bowl
The Uteck 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 easternmost of the two semifinal venues. The Uteck Bowl champion moves on to f ...
* Runner-Up: 2015, 2018, 2022
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 ...
* Runner-Up: 2016, 2021
Conference championships
Jewett Trophy (Loney Bowl)
* Champions: 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1966, 1967, 1978, 1982, 1983, 1996, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2021, 2022
The X-Men have won the Atlantic Conference Championship 15 times and have been runners-up an additional 12 times.
Recent results
National award winners
*
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 ...
: Tony Grassa (1981), Mike Kushnir (1997)
*
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 ...
: Paul Frlan (1995), Adam MacDonald (2002),
Hénoc Muamba
Hénoc Muamba (born February 23, 1989) is a Congolese-Canadian football player who plays linebacker for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was selected first overall by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the 2011 CFL Draf ...
(2010)
*
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 ...
: Joey Tynes (1979), Andre Arlain (1994), Paul Carty (1997), Jeremy Steeves (2001)
*
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 ...
: John Stevens (1997),
Gary Waterman (2022)
X-Men in the CFL
In the
2011 CFL Draft
The 2011 CFL Draft took place on Sunday, May 8, 2011 at 12:30 PM ET on TSN. 47 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA. The Toronto Argonauts, ...
,
Hénoc Muamba
Hénoc Muamba (born February 23, 1989) is a Congolese-Canadian football player who plays linebacker for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was selected first overall by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the 2011 CFL Draf ...
became the first X-Men player to be selected
first overall in the
Canadian College Draft
The CFL Draft (also known as the CFL Canadian Draft, CFL College Draft or the Canadian College Draft) is an annual sports draft in which the teams of the Canadian Football League (CFL) select eligible Canadian/non-import players, typically from t ...
, having been drafted by the
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...
.
As of the end of the
2022 CFL season
The 2022 CFL season is scheduled to be the 68th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it will be the 64th season of the Canadian Football League. The regular season is scheduled to begin on June 9, 2022, and end on October 29, 2022, w ...
, seven former X-Men players are on CFL teams' rosters:
*
Keiran Burnham,
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 ...
*
Kaion Julien-Grant,
Montreal Alouettes
The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...
*
Gregor MacKellar,
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 ...
*
Hénoc Muamba
Hénoc Muamba (born February 23, 1989) is a Congolese-Canadian football player who plays linebacker for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was selected first overall by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the 2011 CFL Draf ...
, Toronto Argonauts
*
Kay Okafor,
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 ...
*
Gordon Whyte, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
*
Jonathan Zamora, Calgary Stampeders
References
External links
*
{{U Sports football
St. Francis Xavier University
U Sports football teams
St. Francis Xavier X-Men