Western to host East-West Bowl May 8

Courtesy of Andy Watson, Western Ontario sports information

OTTAWA – The University of Western Ontario Mustangs football team will host the 2010 East-West Bowl, presented by Under Armour, Saturday, May 8, at 1 p.m. at TD Waterhouse Stadium in London, Ont.

The event will be held at Western for the second straight year.

A showcase for the best players in Canadian Interuniversity Sport football, the focus of the eighth annual East-West Bowl will be on student-athletes eligible for the 2011 Canadian Football League Draft.

Pat Sheahan, head coach of the reigning Vanier Cup champion Queen’s Gaels, will lead the East team, which will include players from the Quebec and Atlantic conferences, as well as from Queen’s, Ottawa and Toronto.

Blake Nill, whose Calgary Dinos reached the CIS final last fall, will serve as head coach of the West squad, which will be comprised of players from the Canada West conference as well as Western, Guelph, McMaster, Windsor, Wilfrid Laurier, Waterloo and York.

Rosters will be announced at a later date.

Western hosted the East-West Bowl for the first time last spring, when the West prevailed 16-7 for its sixth win in seven years.

Wilfrid Laurier hosted the first three editions of the event in Waterloo from 2003 to 2005. Laval took over in Quebec City the next two years, and McMaster organized the game in Hamilton in 2008.

“The East-West Bowl has become an annual highlight on the CIS football calendar, and we are excited to put our stamp on it and showcase it to the nation,” said Mustangs head coach Greg Marshall. “Once again, Western is proud and excited to host the East-West Bowl. This showcase of some of the best players in CIS provides them with exposure and recognition across the country.”

The East-West Bowl, organized with the help of the Canadian University Football Coaches Association (CUFCA) and in partnership with the CFL, brings together over 90 of the top CIS football players for a week of practices and evaluation, culminating with the annual all-star game.

A national committee of CIS head coaches selects the participants from a pool of players nominated by their respective universities. Every CIS football program is represented by a minimum of three and a maximum of four players, most of whom will be eligible for the CFL Draft the following year.

Past participants include Hec Crighton trophy winners Benoit Groulx of Laval, Daryl Stephenson of Windsor, Andy Fantuz of Western, Jesse Lumsden of McMaster and Tommy Denison of Queen’s.

Other notables include former Sherbrooke Vert & Or Samuel Giguère and Calgary graduate Dan Federkeil, both current members of the 2010 Super Bowl finalist Indianapolis Colts, as well as former Mustang Vaughn Martin, who just completed his first season with the San Diego Chargers after being selected in the fourth round in the 2009 NFL Collegiate Draft.

This year’s East-West Bowl week will include a game-day Play with the Pros Clinic where young fans will get a chance to participate in a session with former CIS players and current professionals including Martin and Fantuz, as well as ex-Western star quarterback Michael Faulds.

Other events include a Coaches Clinic on May 7-8 and the second Be The Best Lineman Camp from May 7 to 9. More details on the entire week will follow closer to the event.

Tickets for the 2010 East-West Bowl are NOW on sale at www.westernmustangs.ca- are $15 for adults and $10 for students, youth and seniors. To place a hold on tickets, please call (519) 661-4077.

For more information on the event, please visit: [URL]http://english.cis-sic.ca/eastwestbowl/2010

Previous East-West Bowl results:

2009 (at Western): West 16, East 7
2008 (at McMaster): East 25, West 12
2007 (at Laval): West 22, East 19 (OT)
2006 (at Laval): West 34, East 26 (OT)
2005 (at Laurier): West 34, East 16
2004 (at Laurier): West 21, East 12
2003 (at Laurier): West 10, East 5

-CIS-