# Guelph Gryphons football

The Guelph Gryphons football team represents the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario in the sport of Canadian football in the Ontario University Athletics conference of U Sports. The Guelph Gryphons football team has been in continuous operation since 1950. The team has won one Vanier Cup national championship in 1984, which is also their only appearance in the title game. The Gryphons are the only program with a perfect record in Vanier Cup games. The team has also won four Yates Cup conference championships, in 1984, 1992, 1996 and 2015.

## History

The team can trace their roots back to 1950 when the team played in the Intercollegiate Intermediate Football Union. Through numerous league evolutions, the Gryphons were a founding member of the Ontario University Athletics in 1980 and continue to play there to this day. The team won their first Yates Cup championship in 1984 and also won their first and only Vanier Cup championship that year against the Mount Allison Mounties. While the team was competitive in the 1990s and won two more Yates Cup championships in 1992 and 1996, the 1984 Vanier Cup was the program's only appearance in the title game.
In the early 2000s, the program remained largely in the middle of the standings as the team had been at or within one game of .500 for six of those years and did not have a winning record at any point in the decade. However, led by then-head coach Kyle Walters, the upstart 4-4 Gryphons made a Yates Cup appearance in the 2007 OUA championship game, but lost to the Western Mustangs.
Stu Lang was named head coach for the 2010 season and the program established a dominant run. The team finished with a 7–1 record and a 2nd-place finish for four straight seasons from 2012 to 2015, culminating in the program's fourth Yates Cup win in 2015.
Lang resigned after the successful 2015 season and Kevin MacNeill was named interim head coach for 2016. In the fall of 2017, the football team officially opened the Football Pavilion, a state of the art locker room and complex for the football team, and its coaches, donated by Lang. The team continued to qualify for the playoffs and remain competitive under MacNeill, finishing 5–3 in 2017. However, the team was blown out in a 66-12 OUA semi-final loss to the Western Mustangs. After MacNeill left the program, Todd Galloway was named interim head coach for the 2018 season and led the team all the way to the Yates Cup where they were again soundly defeated by the Mustangs. Ryan Sheahan was named head coach on January 10, 2019 and led the team to a 6–2 record and third-place finish in his first season. The COVID-19 Pandemic cancelled the 2020 season. In the shortened 2021 season, the Gryphons dropped to 3-3, and fell even further during the 2022 season to 1-7 under Sheahan's hand.

## Recent season results

| Season | Games | Won | Lost | OL | Pct % | PF | PA | Standing | Playoffs |
| 2000 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0.375 | 165 | 210 | 5th in OUA | Did not qualify |
| 2001 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0.375 | 164 | 237 | 7th in OUA | Lost to Ottawa Gee-Gees in OUA quarter-finals 38-15 |
| 2002 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0.250 | 102 | 237 | 8th in OUA | Lost to McMaster Marauders in OUA quarter-finals 71-11 |
| 2003 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0.250 | 161 | 285 | 9th in OUA | Did not qualify |
| 2004 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0.500 | 169 | 238 | 5th in OUA | Lost to Ottawa Gee-Gees in OUA quarter-finals 33-9 |
| 2005 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0.375 | 208 | 242 | 6th in OUA | Lost to Ottawa Gee-Gees in OUA quarter-finals 35-21 |
| 2006 | 8 | 2 | 6 | - | 0.250 | 206 | 217 | 8th in OUA | Did not qualify |
| 2007 | 8 | 4 | 4 | - | 0.500 | 278 | 124 | 5th in OUA | Defeated McMaster Marauders in OUA quarter-finals 25-21 Defeated Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks in OUA semi-finals 38-31 Lost to Western Mustangs in Yates Cup 34-21 |
| 2008 | 8 | 4 | 4 | - | 0.500 | 255 | 173 | 4th in OUA | Lost to Ottawa Gee-Gees in OUA quarter-finals 42-37 |
| 2009 | 8 | 3 | 5 | - | 0.375 | 310 | 253 | 6th in OUA | Lost to Western Mustangs in OUA quarter-finals 37-18 |
| 2010 | 8 | 4 | 4 | - | 0.500 | 159 | 192 | 5th in OUA | Lost to Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks in OUA quarter-finals 42-10 |
| 2011 | 8 | 2 | 6 | - | 0.250 | 209 | 197 | 8th in OUA | Did not qualify |
| 2012 | 8 | 7 | 1 | - | 0.875 | 251 | 209 | 2nd in OUA | Defeated Queen's Golden Gaels in OUA semi-finals 42-39 Lost to McMaster Marauders in Yates Cup 30-13 |
| 2013 | 8 | 7 | 1 | - | 0.875 | 252 | 139 | 2nd in OUA | Lost to Queen's Golden Gaels in OUA semi-finals 34-17 |
| 2014 | 8 | 7 | 1 | - | 0.875 | 343 | 174 | 2nd in OUA | Defeated Western Mustangs in OUA semi-finals 51-26 Lost to McMaster Marauders in Yates Cup 20-15 |
| 2015 | 8 | 7 | 1 | - | 0.875 | 404 | 222 | 2nd in OUA | Defeated Carleton Ravens in OUA semi-finals 33-21 Defeated Western Mustangs in Yates Cup 23-17 Lost to Montreal Carabins in Mitchell Bowl 25-10 |
| 2016 | 8 | 3 | 5 | - | 0.375 | 244 | 227 | 6th in OUA | Lost to McMaster Marauders in OUA quarter-finals 17-11 |
| 2017 | 8 | 5 | 3 | - | 0.625 | 293 | 196 | 5th in OUA | Defeated Ottawa Gee-Gees in OUA quarter-finals 30-8 Lost to Western Mustangs in OUA semi-finals 66-12 |
| 2018 | 8 | 5 | 3 | - | 0.625 | 236 | 175 | 3rd in OUA | Defeated Waterloo Warriors in OUA quarter-finals 45-34 Defeated Ottawa Gee-Gees in OUA semi-finals 27-22 Lost to Western Mustangs in Yates Cup 63-14 |
| 2019 | 8 | 6 | 2 | - | 0.750 | 242 | 142 | 3rd in OUA | Defeated Carleton Ravens in OUA quarter-finals 22-17 Lost to McMaster Marauders in OUA semi-finals 19-9 |
| 2020 | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic |
| 2021 | 6 | 3 | 3 | - | 0.500 | 140 | 86 | 3rd in OUA West | Defeated Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks in OUA quarter-finals 31-18 Lost to Western Mustangs in OUA semi-finals 33–12 |
| 2022 | 8 | 1 | 7 | - | 0.125 | 158 | 319 | 9th in OUA | Did not qualify |
| 2023 | 8 | 3 | 5 | - | 0.375 | 248 | 214 | 8th in OUA | Did not qualify |
| 2024 | 8 | 6 | 2 | - | 0.750 | 276 | 200 | 3rd in OUA | Defeated Ottawa Gee-Gees in OUA quarter-finals 26-15 Lost to Western Mustangs in semi-finals 30-19 |

## National Postseason Results

Vanier Cup Era (1965-current) :
| Year | Game | Opponent | Result |
| 1984 | Churchill Bowl Vanier Cup | Calgary Mount Allison | W 12-7 W 22-13 |
| 1992 | Churchill Bowl | Queen's | L 16-23 |
| 1996 | Churchill Bowl | Saskatchewan | L 9-33 |
| 2015 | Mitchell Bowl | Montreal | L 10-25 |
Guelph is 1-3 in national semi-final games and 1-0 in the Vanier Cup.

## Head coaches

| Name | Years |
| Bill Mitchell | 1950–1953 |
| Jay Fry | 1954–1955 |
| Tom Mooney | 1956–1960 |
| Don Hayes | 1961–1962 |
| Bill Graham | 1963–1965 |
| Bill Mitchell | 1966–1969 |
| Dick Brown | 1970–1978 |
| Tom Dimitroff Sr. | 1979–1983 |
| John Musselman | 1984–1986 |
| Dan McNally | 1987–2000 |
| Tom Arnott | 2001–2005 |
| Kyle Walters | 2006–2009 |
| Stu Lang | 2010–2015 |
| Kevin MacNeill | 2016–2017 |
| Todd Galloway | 2018 |
| Ryan Sheahan | 2019–2023 |
| Mark Surya | 2024–present |

## National award winners

* J. P. Metras Trophy: Peter Langford (1982), Louie Godry (1986)
* Presidents' Trophy: John Rush (2015)
* Peter Gorman Trophy: John Lowe (1978)
* Russ Jackson Award: Zach Androschuk (2012)
* Frank Tindall Trophy: Dan McNally (1996)

## Guelph Gryphons in the CFL

As of the end of the 2024 CFL season, 11 former Gryphons players are on CFL teams' rosters:
* A. J. Allen, Saskatchewan Roughriders
* Johnny Augustine, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
* Siriman Bagayogo, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
* Clark Barnes, Calgary Stampeders
* Simon Chaves, Toronto Argonauts
* Royce Metchie, Toronto Argonauts
* Kosi Onyeka, Saskatchewan Roughriders
* Kian Schaffer-Baker, Saskatchewan Roughriders
* Kiondre Smith, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
* Eric Starczala, Ottawa Redblacks
* Coulter Woodmansey, Hamilton Tiger-Cats