# Saint Mary's Huskies football

The Saint Mary's Huskies football team represents Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia in the sport of Canadian football in U Sports. The Huskies have been the most successful in the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) conference of U Sports football, reaching the Vanier Cup championship game nine times and winning three times (1973, 2001, 2002), both marks being the highest in the AUS. The program also has the most Jewett Trophy conference championships, winning 24 times in 33 appearances.
The Huskies became the third university to win back-to-back championships (2001 & 2002) and the first of three universities to appear in at least three consecutive championship tournaments (2001–2003). The second being the Saskatchewan Huskies (2004–2006) and the third being the Laval Rouge et Or (2010–2013). As of 2024, the Huskies are the last AUS team to have both appeared in a Vanier Cup (2007) and to have won a Vanier Cup (2002).
The Hec Crighton Trophy was awarded four times to Saint Mary's Huskies players; three times to Chris Flynn (1988, 1989, 1990) and once to Erik Glavic in 2007. Flynn is the only player to have won the league MVP award three times and in 2011, he became the first player inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame based solely on a university career.

## Recent coaching history

Steve Sumarah was the head coach of the Huskies for six seasons from 2006 to 2011 and had his teams achieve four first-place finishes, along with one Vanier Cup appearance in 2007. He was fired on Dec. 5, 2011. Perry Marchese was hired as his replacement on February 17, 2012. Marchese had a record of 8-24 over four seasons and was replaced with James Colzie III in 2016. Colzie led the Huskies to an 17-20 record over five seasons and resigned from the Huskies in April 2022. Sumarah returned as head coach on June 8, 2022.

## Season results since 1998

| Season | Games | Won | Lost | OTL | PCT | PF | PA | Standing | Playoffs |
| 1998 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0.500 | 153 | 161 | 3rd in AUAA | Out of playoffs |
| 1999 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0.875 | 276 | 131 | 1st in AUS | Defeated Acadia Axemen in Loney Bowl 25-24 Defeated Waterloo Warriors in Atlantic Bowl 21-14 Lost to Laval Rouge et Or in 35th Vanier Cup 14-10 |
| 2000 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 324 | 66 | 1st in AUS | Defeated Acadia Axemen in Loney Bowl 38-18 Lost to Regina Rams in Atlantic Bowl 40-36 |
| 2001 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 480 | 35 | 1st in AUS | Defeated Acadia Axemen in Loney Bowl 38-7 Defeated Laval Rouge et Or in Atlantic Bowl 48-8 Defeated Manitoba Bisons in 37th Vanier Cup 42-16 |
| 2002 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0.750 | 313 | 110 | 1st in AUS | Defeated St. Francis Xavier X-Men in Loney Bowl 63-14 Defeated McMaster Marauders in Churchill Bowl 36-25 Defeated Saskatchewan Huskies in 38th Vanier Cup 33-21 |
| 2003 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0.875 | 338 | 128 | 1st in AUS | Defeated St. Francis Xavier X-Men in Loney Bowl 36-12 Defeated Simon Fraser Clan in Uteck Bowl 60-9 Lost to Laval Rouge et Or in 39th Vanier Cup 14-7 |
| 2004 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0.625 | 215 | 131 | 1st in AUS | Defeated Acadia Axemen in Loney Bowl 24-7 Lost to Saskatchewan Huskies in Mitchell Bowl 31-16 |
| 2005 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0.500 | 225 | 175 | 3rd in AUS | Lost to St. Francis Xavier X-Men in semi-final 47-29 |
| 2006 | 8 | 4 | 4 | – | 0.500 | 189 | 130 | 2nd in AUS | Defeated St. Francis Xavier X-Men in semi-final 24-6 Lost to Acadia Axemen in Loney Bowl 32-24 |
| 2007 | 8 | 7 | 1 | – | 0.875 | 352 | 171 | 1st in AUS | Defeated St. Francis Xavier X-Men in Loney Bowl 25-24 Defeated Laval Rouge et Or in Uteck Bowl 24-2 Lost to Manitoba Bisons in 43rd Vanier Cup |
| 2008 | 8 | 7 | 1 | – | 0.875 | 259 | 168 | 1st in AUS | Defeated St. Francis Xavier X-Men in Loney Bowl 29-27 Lost to Western Ontario Mustangs in Mitchell Bowl 28-12 |
| 2009 | 8 | 7 | 1 | – | 0.875 | 266 | 119 | 1st in AUS | Defeated St. Francis Xavier X-Men in Loney Bowl 31-22 Lost to Calgary Dinos in Uteck Bowl 38-14 |
| 2010 | 8 | 5 | 3 | – | 0.625 | 228 | 124 | 1st in AUS | Defeated Acadia Axemen in Loney Bowl 37-8 Lost to Calgary Dinos in Mitchell Bowl 35-8 |
| 2011 | 8 | 6 | 2 | – | 0.750 | 296 | 130 | 2nd in AUS | Defeated St. Francis Xavier X-Men in semi-final 25-2 Lost to Acadia Axemen in Loney Bowl 39-20 |
| 2012 | 8 | 3 | 5 | – | 0.375 | 189 | 126 | 2nd in AUS | Defeated Mount Allison Mounties in semi-final 49-11 Lost to Acadia Axemen in Loney Bowl 17-9 |
| 2013 | 8 | 5 | 3 | – | 0.625 | 128 | 134 | 2nd in AUS | Lost to Mount Allison Mounties in Loney Bowl 20-17 |
| 2014 | 8 | 0 | 8 | – | 0.000 | 59 | 282 | 4th in AUS | Out of playoffs |
| 2015 | 8 | 0 | 8 | – | 0.000 | 72 | 281 | 4th in AUS | Out of playoffs |
| 2016 | 8 | 2 | 6 | – | 0.250 | 126 | 239 | 4th in AUS | Out of playoffs |
| 2017 | 8 | 5 | 3 | – | 0.625 | 209 | 149 | 2nd in AUS | Defeated St. Francis Xavier X-Men in semi-final 16-15 Lost to Acadia Axemen in Loney Bowl 45-38 |
| 2018 | 8 | 7 | 1 | – | 0.875 | 188 | 141 | 1st in AUS | Lost to St. Francis Xavier X-Men in Loney Bowl 33-9 |
| 2019 | 8 | 3 | 5 | – | 0.375 | 159 | 190 | 4th in AUS | Out of playoffs |
| 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 | 1 | 5 | – | 0.167 | 58 | 131 | 5th in AUS | Out of playoffs |
| 2022 | 7 | 3 | 4 | – | 0.429 | 116 | 159 | 4th in AUS | Out of playoffs |
| 2023 | 8 | 2 | 6 | – | 0.250 | 115 | 252 | 4th in AUS | Lost to St. Francis Xavier X-Men in semi-final 36-20 |
| 2024 | 8 | 4 | 4 | – | 0.500 | 177 | 150 | 3rd in AUS | Defeated St. Francis Xavier X-Men in semi-final 21-17 Lost to Bishop's Gaiters in Loney Bowl 25-22 (3OT) |
^ A. The September 24, 2022 Bishop's at Saint Mary's game was cancelled due to weather and the October 29, 2022 Saint Mary's at Bishop's game was worth four points with both teams playing seven games in 2022.

## Head coaches

| Name | Years |
| Elmer MacGillivray | 1956 |
| No team | 1957 |
| Bob Hayes | 1958–1969 |
| Al Keith | 1970–1975 |
| Jim Clark | 1976–1978 |
| Al Keith | 1979–1982 |
| Larry Uteck | 1983–1997 |
| Blake Nill | 1998–2005 |
| Steve Sumarah | 2006–2011 |
| Perry Marchese | 2012–2015 |
| James Colzie III | 2016–2021 |
| Steve Sumarah | 2022–present |

## Championships
### National Championships
#### Vanier Cup

* Champions: 1973, 2001, 2002
* Runner-up: 1988, 1990, 1992, 1999, 2003, 2007

### Semi-final championships
#### Uteck Bowl

* Champions: 2003, 2007
* Runner-up: 2009

#### Mitchell Bowl

* Runner-up: 2004, 2008, 2010

#### Churchill Bowl

* Champions: 2002

#### Atlantic Bowl

* Champions: 1964, 1973, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1999, 2001
* Runner-up: 1968, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1987, 1989, 1993, 1994, 2000

### Conference Championships
#### Loney Bowl

The Huskies have also been victorious in the Loney Bowl Conference Championship a record 24 times with their last coming in the 2010 season.

## National award winners

* Hec Crighton Trophy: Chris Flynn (1988, 1989, 1990), Erik Glavic (2007)
* J. P. Metras Trophy: Mark Pothier (1975)
* Presidents' Trophy: Alex Eliopoulos (1992), Jonathan Langa (2014)
* Russ Jackson Award: David Sykes (1992, 1993), Ted MacLean (1995), Duncan Patterson (2022)
* Frank Tindall Trophy: Larry Uteck (1988, 1993), Blake Nill (1999), Steve Sumarah (2009)

## Huskies in the CFL

As of the end of the 2024 CFL season, six former Huskies players are on CFL teams' rosters:
* Aaron Crawford, Calgary Stampeders
* Shedler Fervius, Montreal Alouettes
* Adrian Greene, BC Lions
* Aidan John, Ottawa Redblacks
* Brett Lauther, Saskatchewan Roughriders
* Nigel Romick, Ottawa Redblacks