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 game goes on to play against the Uteck Bowl champions for the Vanier Cup. The home of the Mitchell Bowl, as well as the two conference champions, changes each year on a rotating basis. The Mitchell Bowl was named after Douglas H. Mitchell, a former Canadian Football League commissioner and member of the National Hockey League board of governors.
History In 2001, U Sports, then known as CIS, voted to change the permanent site of the Atlantic Bowl in the interest of competitive fairness. In 2002, the Mitchell Bowl was first awarded, replacing the Atlantic Bowl. During 2002, the Mitchell Bowl played opposite to the Churchill Bowl. In 2003, the Uteck Bowl replaced the Churchill Bowl.
The 2020 game was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
List of Mitchell Bowl champions DateChampionScoreRunner upLocationMVP Winner November 16, 2002Saskatchewan22–0McGillPercival-Molson Stadium, MontrealSheldon Ball, SaskatchewanNovember 15, 2003Laval36–32McMasterIvor Wynne Stadium, HamiltonJeronimo Huerta-Flores, LavalNovember 20, 2004Saskatchewan31–16Saint Mary'sGriffiths Stadium, SaskatoonSteve Bilan, SaskatchewanNovember 19, 2005Saskatchewan29–27LavalGriffiths Stadium, SaskatoonDavid Stevens, SaskatchewanNovember 18, 2006Saskatchewan35–28OttawaFrank Clair Stadium, OttawaTyler O’Gorman, SaskatchewanNovember 17, 2007Manitoba52–20WesternCanad Inns Stadium, WinnipegMike Howard, ManitobaNovember 16, 2008Western28–12Saint Mary'sTD Waterhouse Stadium, LondonCraig Butler, WesternNovember 21, 2009Queen's33–30LavalRichardson Memorial Stadium, KingstonShomari Williams, Queen'sNovember 20, 2010Calgary35–8Saint Mary'sMcMahon Stadium, CalgarySteven Lumbala, CalgaryNovember 18, 2011Laval41–10CalgaryMcMahon Stadium, CalgarySébastien Lévesque, LavalNovember 17, 2012McMaster45–6CalgaryRon Joyce Stadium, HamiltonKyle Quinlan, McMasterNovember 16, 2013Calgary44–3WesternMcMahon Stadium, CalgaryMercer Timmis, CalgaryNovember 22, 2014McMaster24–12Mount AllisonRon Joyce Stadium, HamiltonMark Mackie, McMaster'Off to Vanier: Marauders win Mitchell Bowl 24-12' from Marauders.ca, November 21, 2014, retrieved November 24, 2014November 21, 2015Montreal25–10GuelphAlumni Stadium, GuelphJunior Luke, MontrealNovember 19, 2016Calgary50–24St. Francis XavierMcMahon Stadium, CalgaryJimmy Underdahl, CalgaryNovember 18, 2017Laval35–23CalgaryMcMahon Stadium, CalgaryHugo Richard, LavalNovember 17, 2018Western47–24SaskatchewanTD Stadium, LondonChris Merchant, WesternNovember 16, 2019Calgary30–17McMasterMcMahon Stadium, CalgaryJalen Philpot, CalgaryNovember 21, 2020Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemicNovember 27, 2021Western61–6St. Francis XavierWestern Alumni Stadium, LondonOffence: Elliot Beamer, WesternDefence: Daniel Valente Jr., WesternNovember 19, 2022Laval27–20WesternWestern Alumni Stadium, LondonOffence: Kalenga Muganda, LavalDefence: Alec Poirier, LavalNovember 18, 2023UBC47–17St. Francis XavierThunderbird Stadium, VancouverOffence: Garrett Rooker, UBCDefence: Jaxon Ciraolo-Brown, UBCNovember 16, 2024Laval17–14ReginaMosaic Stadium, ReginaOffence: Olivier Cool, LavalDefence: Jordan Lessard, LavalNovember 15, 2025Saskatchewan22–11Queen'sGriffiths Stadium, SaskatoonOffence: Daniel Kubongo, SaskatchewanDefence: Seth Hundeby, Saskatchewan
Future participants The teams and host sites of the Mitchell Bowl and the Uteck Bowl rotate on a six-year cycle, so that in each cycle each of the four conferences hosts and visits every other conference once. With the 2020 game cancelled, the cycle was delayed by one year with the 2020 teams playing in 2021.
Future participants are:
DateVisiting conferenceHost conferenceNovember 21, 2026AUSOUANovember 20, 2027RSEQOUANovember 18, 2028RSEQCanada West
All Mitchell Bowl games have been played at the home field of the host conference's champion. As of 2025, home teams have a record of 15–9.
Team win–loss records
TeamWLWin %Laval Rouge et Or52.714Saskatchewan Huskies51.833Calgary Dinos43.571Western Mustangs33.500McMaster Marauders22.500Manitoba Bisons101.000Montreal Carabins101.000UBC Thunderbirds101.000Queen's Gaels110.500St. Francis Xavier X-Men03.000Saint Mary's Huskies03.000Guelph Gryphons01.000McGill Redbirds01.000Mount Allison Mounties01.000Ottawa Gee-Gees01.000Regina Rams01.000
References