U Sports men's volleyball is the highest level of amateur play of men's

indoor volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and operates under the auspices of

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 ...

(formerly Canadian Interuniversity Sport). Thirty-one teams from Canadian universities are divided into three

athletic conferences An athletic conference is a collection of sports teams which play competitively against each other in a sports league. In many cases conferences are subdivided into smaller divisions, with the best teams competing at successively higher levels. C ...

, drawing from the three of the four regional associations of U Sports:

Canada West Universities Athletic Association Canada West (formally the Canada West Universities Athletic Association or CWUAA) is a regional membership association for universities in Western Canada which assists in co-ordinating competition between their university level athletic programs ...

(CW),

Ontario University Athletics Ontario University Athletics (OUA; ) is a regional membership association for Canadian universities which assists in co-ordinating competition between their university level athletic programs and providing contact information, schedules, results, ...

(OUA), and

Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec The Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (), abbreviated RSEQ, is the governing body of primary and secondary school, collegiate, and university sport in Quebec. It also serves as a regional membership association for Canadian universities whi ...

(RSEQ). 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) formerly featured men's volleyball as a U Sports championship sport, but it was removed following the 2017–18 season. The 31 participating teams compete in a regular season and following intra-conference playoffs, eight teams are selected to play in a national tournament to compete for the

U Sports men's volleyball championship The U Sports Men's Volleyball Championship is a Canadian university volleyball tournament conducted by U Sports, and determines the men's national champion. The tournament involves the champions from each of Canada's four regional sports conferen ...

Brief history

Men's university volleyball can be traced back to the 1950s when teams like the

Alberta Golden Bears The Alberta Golden Bears and Pandas are the sports teams that represent the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Alberta athletics teams have won a total of 101 national championships, including 84 in U Sports sanctioned sports, ma ...

would play organized matches against other schools in the Western Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Association (WCIAA). The Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association (AIAA) first awarded a conference championship in men's volleyball in 1961 with the

Acadia Axemen The Acadia Axemen and Axewomen are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada. The on-campus sports facilities used by Axemen teams include Raymond Field for various field sports and ...

being the conference's first dominant presence. The Ontario-Quebec Athletic Association (O-QAA) first awarded a conference title to the

Toronto Varsity Blues The Toronto Varsity Blues are the intercollegiate sports program at the University of Toronto. Its 43 athletic teams regularly participate in competitions held by Ontario University Athletics and U Sports. The Varsity Blues trace their foundin ...

which came in the 1965–66 season. The CIAU organized the first national championship tournament which was held in

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

in 1967 and featured the

UBC Thunderbirds The UBC Thunderbirds are the athletic teams that represent the University of British Columbia. In Canadian intercollegiate competition, the Thunderbirds are the most successful athletic program both regionally in the Canada West Universities Athl ...

defeating the Mount Allison Mounties and then the

Sherbrooke Vert et Or The Sherbrooke Vert & Or (; ''"Sherbrooke Green & Gold"'') is the athletic teams that represent the Université de Sherbrooke in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. The team plays in Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec ( French for "Quebec Student Spor ...

in the championship match to be named the first national champions. In 1971,

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

universities made the decision to restrict conference competition to within their own province and the Quebec Universities Athletic Association was created, leaving the O-QAA to be renamed the Ontario Universities Athletic Association (OUAA). Teams were further sub-divided in 1972 in the WCIAA, with the

Manitoba Bisons The Manitoba Bisons are the athletic teams that represent the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The football team plays at Princess Auto Stadium, the soccer team plays at the outdoor soccer field on campus, track and field te ...

Winnipeg Wesmen The Winnipeg Wesmen are the athletic teams that represent the University of Winnipeg in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. As an undergraduate school, the Wesmen participate in the sports of basketball, volleyball, and soccer in both the men's and wom ...

, and

Regina Cougars The Regina Cougars are the athletic teams that represent the University of Regina in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. The Cougars compete in all sports except football; the university's football team is known as the Regina Rams. A number of the ...

playing in the separate Great Plains Athletic Association (later renamed Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC)) while the remaining teams from

and

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

played in the Canada West Universities Athletic Association (CWUAA). The GPAC and CWUAA combined back into one conference starting in the 2001–02 season. The members of the

(AUS) conference (formerly the MIAA) had seen a reduction over the years and would play regular season inter-conference games with the

(RSEQ, formerly QUAA). The

Memorial Sea-Hawks The Memorial Sea-Hawks are the athletic teams that represent Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. There are varsity teams in men's and women's basketball, cross-country, soccer, swimming, and volle ...

discontinued their men's volleyball program after the 2016–17 season, leaving the AUS with only two teams, which was below the three-team league minimum for a varsity sport. After a transition year, the

Dalhousie Tigers The Dalhousie Tigers are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The Tigers field 14 varsity teams with seven men's teams and seven women's teams that primarily compete in the Atla ...

and

UNB Reds The UNB REDS are the athletic teams that represent the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. The UNB REDS compete in a variety of sports, including men's and women's basketball, ice hockey, soccer, and volleyball. ...

joined the RSEQ, resulting in the AUS conference's exit from men's volleyball. The 2020 championship tournament and the entire 2020–21 season were cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Season structure

Exhibition season

To prepare for the season, teams will typically play a series of

exhibition game An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the playe ...

s against conference and non-conference opponents. These games are usually played in September and/or October before the regular season and in December and/or January during the holiday break. In 2019, the Can Am Volleyball Holiday Showcase was created which featured eight teams from across North America, including those competing in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

. The 2019 tournament featured four U Sports teams and four NCAA teams, including the defending U Sports national champion

Trinity Western Spartans The Trinity Western Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Trinity Western University in Langley, British Columbia. The university's teams are members of U Sports (previously CIS), and compete in the Canada West Universities Athletics A ...

and the NCAA national champion

Long Beach State Beach Long Beach State athletics, or simply Beach athletics (previously known as the 49ers), are the athletic teams that represent California State University, Long Beach. Teams compete in 19 sports at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCA ...

Regular season

As of the 2022-23 season, the RSEQ begin their season first, on the second Friday of October. The

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report ...

conference begins play one week later and the OUA conference begins their season on the first weekend of November. All regular season games are in-conference and the schedule ends in approximately mid-February. In the RSEQ conference, the five teams play against each opponent four times (twice home and twice away) for a total of 16 regular season games. In the OUA, the 13 teams play against ten different opponents twice, for a total of 20 games. The OUA previously had two divisions, but moved to singular conference play beginning with the 2022-23 season. Canada West has adopted the same format to the OUA, where 13 teams play against ten opponents twice, for a total of 20 games. Following the conclusion of the regular season, the best player in U Sports Men's volleyball is given the

Player of the Year Award Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year. In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is held on b ...

. An award is also given to the Rookie of the Year and the Dale Iwanoczko Award is given to the best well-rounded student (volleyball, academics and community involvement). An award was also given for the Libero of the Year, but it was discontinued after the 2014–15 season.

Playoffs

After the regular season,

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

games and series are held between the top teams in each conference to determine conference champions. In the RSEQ, the top four teams qualify for the playoffs and play a

best-of-three series There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the ''single elimination'', the ''best-of-'' series, the ''total points series'' more commonly kn ...

in the semi-finals and in the conference championship. In Canada West, the top eight teams qualify for the playoffs and play best-of-three series in playoff brackets in the quarterfinals. The winners of these series play in best-of-three semifinals until two teams remain where they play in a

single elimination A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

conference championship game. The OUA is the only conference that features a single elimination format in all playoff games. Teams are seeded one through eight and advance to the semi-finals in a bracket format with the higher-seeded team hosting each game. The highest-seeded remaining team hosts the conference championship, the Forsyth Cup.

National championship

The

was introduced for the 1966–67 season to determine a national champion for the CIAU. A predetermined host university stages the eight-team tournament over three days and finals games are played on the last day to award gold, silver, and bronze medals. The host team is automatically qualified for the tournament, as are each of the conference champions. Four other teams are entered based on the strength of their conferences and their post-season finishes. The

, and

have won the most championships with 10 gold medals won apiece, although the Bisons have won the most medals overall (25 for Manitoba, 22 for Alberta, and 15 for Winnipeg).

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

has hosted the most championships with 12 which were all hosted by

Université Laval (; English: ''Laval University)'' is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university traces its roots to the Séminaire de Québec, founded by François de Montmorency-Laval in 1663, making it the oldest institutio ...

(most recently in

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

). The national championship has historically been dominated by the

conference with those teams winning 50 of the 57 championship matches as of the 2024–25 season. The OUA and AUS have never had a national men's volleyball champion. The 2020 championship tournament and the 2020–21 season were cancelled due to the

Teams

Membership

The AUS conference had featured three teams following the exit of the

Moncton Aigles Bleus The Moncton Aigles Bleus and Bleues (; French for: ''Moncton Blue Eagles'') are the athletic teams that represent Université de Moncton in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. They play in U Sports, which encompasses university teams from across C ...

in 2006 and featured inter-conference matches with the RSEQ. The RSEQ had also been reduced to three teams in 2011 after

McGill McGill is a surname of Scottish and Irish origin, from which the names of many places and organizations are derived. It may refer to: People * McGill (surname) (including a list of individuals with the surname) * McGill family (Monrovia), a promin ...

disbanded their men's program. The

folded their program after the 2016–17 season, leaving the AUS with one team short of the three-team minimum for a varsity league. However, the AUS allowed Dalhousie and UNB to play a transitional season before joining the RSEQ as full members for the 2018–19 season. Conversely, the Canada West conference added teams with the UBCO Heat joining in 2011–12,

Mount Royal Cougars The Mount Royal Cougars are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The Cougars field eight varsity teams with four men's teams and four women's teams that compete in the Canada West ...

in 2012–13, and MacEwan Griffins in 2014–15. While the

program was cut following the 2017–18 season, the

Fraser Valley Cascades The UFV Cascades are the athletic teams that represent the University of the Fraser Valley in Abbotsford, British Columbia and currently compete in the Canada West conference of U Sports. The Cascades varsity teams include basketball, golf, socc ...

volleyball program was granted membership for the 2020–21 season which was deferred to the 2021–22 season. 31 teams competed in the 2024–25 season.

Canada West

*Note: Conference titles won by teams in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (1972–73 season to 2000–01 season) are not included in the above table due to lack of information on this conference.

Ontario University Athletics

Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec

*Note: The UNB Reds and Dalhousie Tigers moved from the AUS to the RSEQ starting with the 2018–19 season.

References

External links

* {{Volleyball in Canada National volleyball leagues Volleyball in Canada U Sports volleyball