The 2026 U Sports football season began on August 29, with eight Ontario University Athletics (OUA) teams opening their schedules and two more OUA teams playing the following day. The RSEQ, Atlantic University Sport, and Canada West began play the following weekend, highlighted by the Bishop's Gaiters returning to the RSEQ conference after a nine-year stint in the AUS.
The conference championships will be played on the weekend of November 14, and the season will conclude on November 28 with the 61st Vanier Cup championship. The Vanier Cup game will be held at Telus Université Laval Stadium in Quebec City, Quebec. Twenty-seven university teams in Canada are scheduled to play U Sports football, the highest level of amateur Canadian football.
The defending champions are the Montreal Carabins.
Schedules On March 24, 2026, the RSEQ released their schedule, which notably featured the return of the Bishop's Gaiters after they had left following the 2016 season to join the AUS, in which they won one conference championship. With the RSEQ now holding an even number of teams, the schedule was reduced from ten weeks to nine, with all teams receiving a bye week over Thanksgiving weekend. The Jacques Dussault Cup game is scheduled to be played on November 14. The OUA next announced their schedule on March 27, which featured 11 teams playing over nine weeks from August 29 to October 24.
On April 8, 2026, the AUS announced their schedule with four teams playing eight regular season games over nine weeks with all teams taking a bye week over Thanksgiving weekend. With the AUS reverting to four teams, three of them will qualify for the playoffs with the first-place team receiving a bye. On May 13, Canada West released their schedule with six teams playing eight games over nine weeks from September 4 to October 31.
Regular season Standings
Post-season The Vanier Cup is played between the champions of the Mitchell Bowl and the Uteck Bowl, the national semi-final games. In 2026, according to the rotating schedule, the Canada West Hardy Trophy championship team will visit the winners of the Jacques Dussault Cup Quebec championship for the Uteck Bowl. The Atlantic conference's Loney Bowl championship team will visit the Ontario conference Yates Cup championship team for the Mitchell Bowl. These games are scheduled to be played on November 21, while the Vanier Cup is scheduled to be played on November 28.
Conference Championships Atlantic University Sport
Canada West
Ontario University Athletics
Réseau du Sport Étudiant du Québec
National championship
References
External links Official website