The Saint Mary's Huskies football team represents Saint Mary's University in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

in the sport of

Canadian football Canadian football, or simply football, is a Sports in Canada, sport in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete on a field long and wide, attempting to advance a Ball (gridiron football), pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposi ...

U Sports U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body for universities in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country and four regional conferences: Ontario University Athletics (OUA), Résea ...

. The Huskies have been the most successful in the

Atlantic University Sport Atlantic University Sport (AUS; ) is a regional membership association for universities in Atlantic Canada which assists in co-ordinating competition between their university level athletic programs and providing contact information, schedules, re ...

(AUS) conference of

U Sports football U Sports football is the highest level of amateur play of Canadian football and operates under the auspices of U Sports, Canada's governing body for university sports. Twenty-seven teams from Canadian universities are divided into four athleti ...

, reaching the

Vanier Cup The Vanier Cup () is the trophy awarded annually to the champion Canadian football team in U Sports, the governing body for university sports in Canada. The U Sports football champion is determined in a one-game playoff (the Vanier Cup game), pl ...

championship game nine times and winning three times (

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

), both marks being the highest in the AUS. The program also has the most

Jewett Trophy The Jewett Trophy is a Canadian sports trophy, in honour of Dr. B. L. Jewett, presented annually to the winner of the Atlantic University Sport Football Conference of U Sports U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing ...

conference championships, winning 24 times in 33 appearances. The Huskies became the third university to win back-to-back championships (2001 & 2002) and the first of three universities to appear in at least three consecutive championship tournaments (2001–2003). The second being the

Saskatchewan Huskies The Saskatchewan Huskies are the athletics teams representing the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The university began their athletics program in 1907 and has competed with others since 1911. They currently compete in eli ...

(2004–2006) and the third being the

Laval Rouge et Or The Laval Rouge et Or (; , ''Red and Gold'') are the athletic teams that represent Université Laval, located in Quebec City, Quebec. Home games are all held in the PEPS indoor and outdoor sports facilities. Varsity teams Laval Rouge et Or team ...

(2010–2013). As of 2024, the Huskies are the last AUS team to have both appeared in a Vanier Cup (

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

) and to have won a Vanier Cup (2002). 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 Hec Crighton who was a former teacher, coach, referee, and the ...

was awarded four times to Saint Mary's Huskies players; three times to Chris Flynn (1988, 1989, 1990) and once to Erik Glavic in 2007. Flynn is the only player to have won the league MVP award three times and in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, he became the first player inducted into the

Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about the CFL, ...

based solely on a university career.

Recent coaching history

Steve Sumarah Steven Sumarah is the head coach of the Saint Mary's Huskies football, Saint Mary's Huskies of U Sports football. He has also been the head coach of the Canada National Junior Football Team since 2016. As the head coach, he led Football Canada, ...

was the head coach of the Huskies for six seasons from 2006 to 2011 and had his teams achieve four first-place finishes, along with one Vanier Cup appearance in

. He was fired on Dec. 5, 2011. Perry Marchese was hired as his replacement on February 17, 2012. Marchese had a record of 8-24 over four seasons and was replaced with James Colzie III in 2016. Colzie led the Huskies to an 17-20 record over five seasons and resigned from the Huskies in April 2022. Sumarah returned as head coach on June 8, 2022.

Season results since 1998

A. The September 24, 2022 Bishop's at Saint Mary's game was cancelled due to weather and the October 29, 2022 Saint Mary's at Bishop's game was worth four points with both teams playing seven games in 2022.

Head coaches

Championships

National Championships

Vanier Cup The Vanier Cup () is the trophy awarded annually to the champion Canadian football team in U Sports, the governing body for university sports in Canada. The U Sports football champion is determined in a one-game playoff (the Vanier Cup game), pl ...

* Champions:

* Runner-up:

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

Semi-final championships

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 ...

* Champions:

* Runner-up:

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

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 g ...

* Runner-up:

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Churchill Bowl

* Champions:

Atlantic Bowl

* Champions: 1964, 1973, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1999, 2001 * Runner-up: 1968, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1987, 1989, 1993, 1994, 2000

Conference Championships

Loney Bowl

The Huskies have also been victorious in the Loney Bowl Conference Championship a record 24 times with their last coming in the 2010 season.

National award winners

: Chris Flynn (1988, 1989, 1990), Erik Glavic (2007) * J. P. Metras Trophy: Mark Pothier (1975) *

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

: Alex Eliopoulos (1992),

Jonathan Langa Jonathan Langa (born November 15, 1990) is a Canadian former professional football defensive back who played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was selected by the Tiger-Cats in the 3rd round, with the 20th over ...

(2014) * Russ Jackson Award: David Sykes (1992, 1993), Ted MacLean (1995), Duncan Patterson (2022) * Frank Tindall Trophy: Larry Uteck (1988, 1993), Blake Nill (1999),

(2009)

Huskies in the CFL

As of the end of the 2024 CFL season, six former Huskies players are on CFL teams' rosters: * Aaron Crawford,

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

* Shedler Fervius,

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 disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

* Adrian Greene,

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

Aidan John Aidan John (born July 1, 2000) is a Canadian professional gridiron football, football defensive lineman for the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Early life John grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia and started playing high scho ...

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

* Brett Lauther,

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 19 ...

* Nigel Romick, Ottawa Redblacks

References

External links

* {{U Sports football Saint Mary's University (Halifax) U Sports football teams