The Laurier Golden Hawks football team represents Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario in the sport of Canadian football in the Ontario University Athletics conference of U Sports. The Golden Hawks football team has been in continuous operation since 1961 and has been playing U Sports football (since renamed) in every year since 1962. The team has appeared in five Vanier Cup championships, losing in 1966, 1968 and 1972, and winning the national title in 1991 and 2005. The team has also won nine Yates Cup conference championships, most recently in 2024. The Golden Hawks have had three Hec Crighton Trophy winners, Bill Kubas in 1994, Taylor Elgersma in 2024, and Ethan Jordan in 2025.
Recent history Gary Jeffries era
Following the resignation of Rick Zmich, Gary Jeffries was appointed the team's manager of football operations and head coach on April 25, 2003, after also serving parts of the 2002 season as the acting head coach. After a 1–7 record in 2002, Jeffries led the Golden Hawks to a 6–2 record and a Yates Cup loss to the McMaster Marauders in his first year as head coach in 2003 where he was awarded the Frank Tindall Trophy as CIS football's head coach of the year.
In 2004, the Golden Hawks finished with an undefeated 8–0 record, which was the first time that the team had a perfect regular season record since the 1966 squad went 7–0. That year notably featured Laurier defeating the McMaster Marauders in the regular season, ending that program's 39-game regular season unbeaten streak. The Golden Hawks won their sixth Yates Cup championship by defeating those same Marauders, but lost the Uteck Bowl to the Laval Rouge et Or.
The Golden Hawks followed up their strong 2004 campaign with another 8–0 season in 2005, which was the first time that Laurier had back-to-back perfect regular season records. The team defeated the Western Mustangs in the Yates Cup to win the program's seventh conference championship and also claimed victory over the Acadia Axemen in the Uteck Bowl to qualify for their fifth Vanier Cup appearance. In the 41st Vanier Cup, the Golden Hawks defeated the Saskatchewan Huskies 24–23 after placekicker Brian Devlin connected on a 32-yard field goal with 19 seconds remaining in the game. The Golden Hawks became the first team in program history and the 10th team in Canadian University history to finish a season with an undefeated record, going 12–0. The Vanier Cup win was the second and the most recent in program history.
Overall, under Jeffries, the program was one of the strongest in the OUA, as they had always finished in the top three in the ten-team conference from 2003 to 2009. The Golden Hawks had seven straight seasons of at least six wins between 2003 and 2009, but had back-to-back .500 seasons in 2010 and 2011. While the team had a four win season in 2010, they forfeited a game they won against the Toronto Varsity Blues for using an ineligible player. The Golden Hawks finished with a losing record in 2012 for the first time since Jeffries had taken over as head coach.
Jeffries announced his resignation as the manager of football operations and head coach on November 1, 2012, leaving the program with the second-most wins as football coach in school history. Overall, he had compiled a regular season record of 58 wins and 22 losses as well as an 11–9 record in the post-season.
Michael Faulds era Former Mustangs quarterback Michael Faulds was hired as the team's head coach, the sixth in program history, on January 8, 2013. In Faulds' first season in 2013, the Golden Hawks missed the playoffs for the first time since 2002, but rebounded with a sixth-place finish, a 4–4 record, and a playoff berth in both the 2014 and 2015 seasons.
In 2016, the Golden Hawks finished with a dominant 7–1 record, losing only to the Western Mustangs who also finished 7–1, which was their best record since 2007. That year, the team won the program's eighth Yates Cup by defeating the Mustangs 43–40 in the 109th Yates Cup game, which was also the largest fourth quarter comeback in Yates Cup history as the Golden Hawks trailed 40–19 early in the fourth quarter. While the team lost the Uteck Bowl to the Laval Rouge et Or, Faulds was named the U Sports Head Coach of the Year and four Golden Hawks were named U Sports All-Canadians.
Building on the success of the 2016 season, the Golden Hawks finished with a 6–2 record in 2017 and a second consecutive second-place finish in the regular season. While the team qualified for the Yates Cup again, the team was hammered by the eventual Vanier Cup champion Western Mustangs by a score of 75–32. In 2018, the team finished with a 4–4 record and a seventh-place finish after losing the tie-breaker with the Waterloo Warriors, whom they had lost to earlier in the season for the first time since 2002. The 2019 season ended much the same as the team finished with a 4–4 record, but lost the last game of the season and finished in seventh place due to tie-breakers with Waterloo and Carleton.
Faulds resigned from his position as head coach in January 2026 to become head coach for the rival Western Mustangs. Former Laurier receiver and offensive coordinator, Todd Galloway, was named head coach on January 15, 2026.
Recent season-by-season record The following is the record of the Laurier Golden Hawks football team since 1999: Season Games Won Lost Pct % PF PA Standing Playoffs19998 62 0.750 273 138 2nd in OUA Defeated McMaster Marauders in semi-final 42–27Lost to Waterloo Warriors in Yates Cup 32–2020008 71 0.875 274 143 2nd in OUA Defeated Western Mustangs in semi-final 30–6Lost to McMaster Marauders in Yates Cup 48–2320018 35 0.375 104 138 6th in OUA Lost to Queen's Gaels in quarter-final 29–2720028 17 0.125 150 137 9th in OUA Did not qualify20038 62 0.750 313 158 3rd in OUA Defeated Ottawa Gee-Gees in quarter-final 38–17Defeated Queen's Golden Gaels in semi-final 36–33Lost to McMaster Marauders in Yates Cup 41–1520048 80 1.000 343 142 1st in OUA Defeated Ottawa Gee-Gees in semi-final 46–7Defeated McMaster Marauders in Yates Cup 31–19Lost to Laval Rouge et Or in Uteck Bowl 30–1120058 80 1.000 330 114 1st in OUA Defeated McMaster Marauders in semi-final 43–21Defeated Western Mustangs in Yates Cup 29–11Defeated Acadia Axemen in Uteck Bowl 31–10Defeated Saskatchewan Huskies in 41st Vanier Cup 24–2320068 62 0.750 253 142 2nd in OUA Defeated Windsor Lancers in quarter-final 38–29Defeated Western Mustangs in semi-final 20–15Lost to Ottawa Gee-Gees in Yates Cup 32–1420078 71 0.875 278 124 2nd in OUA Lost to Guelph Gryphons in semi-final 38–3120088 62 0.750 235 191 3rd in OUA Defeated McMaster Marauders in quarter-final 29–0Lost to Western Mustangs in semi-final 36–2820098 62 0.750 210 136 2nd in OUA Lost to Western Mustangs in semi-final 26–1620108 44 0.500 250 172 4th in OUA Defeated Guelph Gryphons in quarter-final 42–10Lost to Ottawa Gee-Gees in semi-final 32–3120118 44 0.500 290 194 6th in OUA Lost to Queen's Gaels in quarter-final 14–1020128 35 0.375 109 229 6th in OUA Lost to Queen's Gaels in quarter-final 34–020138 17 0.125 176 230 9th in OUA Did not qualify20148 44 0.500 277 198 6th in OUA Lost to Western Mustangs in quarter-final 25–1020158 44 0.500 261 218 6th in OUA Defeated McMaster Marauders in quarter-final 29–15Lost to Western Mustangs in semi-final 32–1820168 71 0.875 341 126 2nd in OUA Defeated McMaster Marauders in semi-final 21–17Defeated Western Mustangs in Yates Cup 43–40Lost to Laval Rouge et Or in Uteck Bowl 36–620178 62 0.750 308 175 2nd in OUA Defeated McMaster Marauders in quarter-final 19–6Lost to Western Mustangs in semi-final 75–3220188 44 0.500 248 222 7th in OUA Did not qualify20198 44 0.500 260 203 7th in OUA Did not qualify2020Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic20216 33 0.500 127 1222nd in OUA West Lost to Guelph Gryphons in quarter-final 31–1820228 53 0.625 235 164 4th in OUA Defeated Carleton Ravens in quarter-final 41–13Lost to Western Mustangs in semi-final 45–920238 71 0.875 282 154 2nd in OUA Defeated Waterloo Warriors in quarter-final 69-0Defeated Windsor Lancers in semi-final 21–14Lost to Western Mustangs in Yates Cup 29–1420248 80 1.000 306 180 1st in OUA Defeated Queen's Gaels in semi-final 29–21Defeated Western Mustangs in Yates Cup 51–31Defeated Bishop's Gaiters in Uteck Bowl 48–24Lost to Laval Rouge et Or in 59th Vanier Cup 22–1720258 80 1.000 355 158 1st in OUA Defeated Guelph Gryphons in semi-final 37–30Lost to Queen's Gaels in Yates Cup 30–27
National postseason results +Vanier Cup Era (1965-current)YearGameOpponentResult1966Vanier CupSt. FXL 14-401968Atlantic Bowl Vanier CupSaint Mary's Queen'sW 37-7 L 14-421972Atlantic Bowl Vanier CupSaint Mary's AlbertaW 50-17 L 7-201973Atlantic BowlSaint Mary'sL 17-191978Churchill BowlUBCL 16-251987Churchill BowlUBCL 31-331991Churchill Bowl Vanier CupQueen's Mount AllisonW 42-22 W 25-182004Uteck BowlLavalL 11-302005Uteck Bowl Vanier CupAcadia SaskatchewanW 31-10 W 24-232016Uteck BowlLavalL 6-362024Uteck Bowl Vanier CupBishop's LavalW 48-24 L 17-22 Laurier is 5-5 in national semifinal games and 2-4 in the Vanier Cup.
Head coaches Name Years Notes Bob Celeri 1961–1965 Tuffy Knight 1966–1983 Rich Newbrough 1984–1993 Rick Zmich 1993–2001 Gary Jeffries 2002–2012 Michael Faulds 2013–2025 Todd Galloway 2026–present
National award winners Hec Crighton Trophy: Bill Kubas (1994), Taylor Elgersma (2024), Ethan Jordan (2025) J. P. Metras Trophy: Veron Stiliadis (1988), Scott Evans (2007) Presidents' Trophy: Rich Payne (1980) Peter Gorman Trophy: Jim Reid (1976), Paul Nastasiuk (1983), Bill Kubas (1990) Russ Jackson Award: Josh Alexander (2001), Dillon Heap (2011) Frank Tindall Trophy: David "Tuffy" Knight (1972, 1979), Rich Newbrough (1991), Rick Zmich (1995), Gary Jeffries (2003), Michael Faulds (2016, 2024, 2025)
Laurier Golden Hawks in the CFL
As of the start of the 2026 CFL season, 14 former Golden Hawks players were on CFL teams' rosters: Bryce Bell, Calgary Stampeders Luke Brubacher, Hamilton Tiger-Cats Tanner Cadwallader, Winnipeg Blue Bombers Josh Connors, Ottawa Redblacks Taylor Elgersma, Winnipeg Blue Bombers Kurleigh Gittens Jr., Hamilton Tiger-Cats Scott Hutter, Montreal Alouettes Ethan Jordan, Ottawa Redblacks Jason MacGougan, Calgary Stampeders Braydon Noll, Montreal Alouettes Jesulayomi Ojutalayo, Calgary Stampeders Godfrey Onyeka, Calgary Stampeders Sebastian Parsalidis, Toronto Argonauts Robbie Smith, Edmonton Elks
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