For many years, the term football described the practice of kicking an object, usually a round ball, and directing it into a designated goal area. It was not until 1823, a traditional myth says, that William Webb Ellis, a student at the British public school of Rugby, picked up the ball and ran, contrary to the game's conventions. Others naturally took after him to bring him down. A code of rules evolved and the "Rugby game" was taken and played wherever the school's graduates were placed. Thus did RUGBY make its way to Canada, brought by the various immigrants, civil servants, clergy and military personnel who had a Rugby educational background.
By the 1870s a hybrid form of the Rugby game was being played in Montréal among the garrison personnel, citizens and McGill University. In 1874, McGill was invited to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to play a game of "football" with Harvard. It was only upon arrival that the McGill team found that Harvard played a version of the kicking (soccer) game. To solve the dilemma, 2 games were played, each under the other's rules, and thus was the McGill version introduced into the US. Harvard took immediately to the new game and sent to England for the current rugby rules. Within a year of their receipt, Harvard had persuaded other eastern US teams (known as the Ivy League) to adopt the game.
Although rugby featured spontaneity of play, the Americans soon made the style of play more organized and subject to planning and design. For example, where rugby called for the ball to be put into play by a scrum, with possession going to whoever won the ball from the scrum, the Americans introduced a "snap back" system and a certain number of attempts to gain a set amount of yardage or give up possession. The continual evolution and development of the American game served to influence the Canadian,
The AUS football conference has had many different names over the years. The league itself evolved from earlier Canadian-rules football leagues the first of which was begun in Halifax during the Second World War.
These forerunners include the Halifax City Canadian Football League (1947-1950), the Nova Scotia Canadian Football League (1951-1959), the Nova Scotia Junior Canadian Football League (1953-1959), the New Brunswick Intermediate Football League (circa 1949-1959), the Maritime (Junior) Intercollegiate Football League (1958-59) and the two-tiered Atlantic Football Conference (1960-1964).
These leagues typically consisted of university, military and community teams playing at the intermediate and junior levels of football. In 1965, the Bluenose Football Conference came into being with league membership restricted to university varsity teams located in the Maritime provinces which were members of the Maritime Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA). In 1966 the league was officially called the MIAA football conference, in 1969 it became the Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association (AIAA) football conference, in 1974, the Atlantic Univerisities Atheltic Association (AUAA) football conference and finally, in late 1999, Atlantic University Sport (AUS) football conference.
Throughout the years, however, the league has been popularly called by the media and others the Atlantic University Football Conference (AUFC). The Jewett Trophy is awarded to the conference champion each year.
Atlantic University Football Conference (AUFC)
Acadia University Axemen 1965-Present
University College of Cape Breton Capers 1990
Dalhousie University Tigers 1965-1976
Mount Allison University Mounties 1965-Present
University of New Brunswick Red Bombers 1965-1980
University of Prince Edward Island Panthers * 1965-1979
Saint Mary's University Huskies 1965-Present
St. Francis Xavier University X-Men 1965-Present
* Before 1970, the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) was known as St. Dunstan’s University. St Dunstan’s amalgamated with Prince of Wales College of Charlottetown to form UPEI.
Conference Membership - Ontario
Ontario University Athletics (OUA)
Much of the history of university football in Quebec is irrevocably intertwined with that of Ontario. For ease of organizational structure and because the majority of institutions with football programs in the early years were located in Ontario, the early years of Quebec varsity football are also included in this section.
The oldest interuniversity football league was the Canadian Intercollegiate Rugby Football Union (CIRFU) formed in late 1897 and commencing competition in 1898. The Yates Cup was donated by Dr. H. B. Yates of McGill University in 1898 to be awarded to the league champion each year.
Click the above ICONS to view Canadian Recruits committing to play at CIS or NCAA universities. Lists are updated regularly. CFC Prospect Videos are linked to recruits name.
