Its Official: Vanier Cup to be held jointly with Grey Cup in Vancouver 2011

OTTAWA (CIS / CFL) – Canadian Interuniversity sport, the Canadian Football League, MRX and Associates and the 2011 Grey Cup Festival proudly announced Monday a joint partnership agreement that will see the CIS football final, the Vanier Cup, held jointly with the Grey Cup in 2011 in Vancouver.

The 47th Vanier Cup will be played at BC Place on Friday, November 25, followed by the 99th Grey Cup on Sunday, November 27. It will mark the first time in history the CIS title match is held in the province of British Columbia.

Additional details as well as specifics of the larger partnership will be released by CIS, CFL, MRX and Grey Cup 2011 in the coming weeks including ticket packages, schedule of events and fan festivals.

The national finals were organized jointly with great success in 2007 in Toronto when 26,787 fans turned up at Rogers Centre to watch the University of Manitoba Bisons and Saint Mary’s University Huskies battle for CIS supremacy. It was the largest Vanier Cup crowd since 1995 and the seventh largest in history.

Prior to 2007, the two events had been held in the same city on the same weekend on only one occasion, back in 1973, also in Toronto.

“This is an important partnership for CIS and we look forward to being a part of what promises to be a tremendous celebration of Canadian football in Vancouver in 2011,” said CIS President, Clint Hamilton.

“Our league is delighted to have the CIS join us on the grandest stage in Canadian sport,” said Mark Cohon, Commissioner of the CFL. “It’s great for our game, fun for our fans and trains an even brighter spotlight on great Canadian athletes, at the university as well as professional level.”

“We’re extremely pleased to have the Vanier Cup in British Columbia for the first time and having it as part of our “Raise the Roof” Grey Cup festival,” said David Braley, owner of the 99th Grey Cup host BC Lions. “This provides a great opportunity to highlight the importance of the development of amateur football in the natural setting of the 99th Grey Cup weekend. It will be a true celebration of football Canadian style.”

The 2010 Vanier Cup between Calgary and Laval is set for Saturday at PEPS Stadium in Quebec City. The 98th Grey Cup between Montreal and Saskatchewan follows on Sunday at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton.

About Canadian Interuniversity Sport

Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Fifty-one universities, 10,000 student-athletes and 550 coaches vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. CIS also provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit [url]www.cis-sic.ca.

About the Canadian Football League

The Canadian Football League is our league. It’s built on a tradition as proud, staged on a field as broad, and played at a pace as exciting as the country we are proud to call home. Our championship game, the Grey Cup, is the biggest single annual sporting event in Canada. And the 98th edition will be played on November 28, 2010 in Edmonton, Alberta.