# St. Francis Xavier X-Men football

The St. Francis Xavier X-Men football team represents the St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, in the sport of Canadian football in U Sports. The X-Men program has been competing at the varsity level since 1954 and won the second ever Vanier Cup national championship in 1966. The team has played in two National Championship games overall when they were runners-up in 1996 and have won 16 conference championships in total.

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

* Champions: 1966
* Runner-Up: 1996

### Semi-final championships
#### Atlantic Bowl

* Champions: 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1996
* Runner-Up: 1958, 1962, 1967, 1978, 1982, 1983
* In 1983 the AUAA was in a dispute with the CIS (formerly CIAU) over the Atlantic Bowl being played at Saint Mary's, in Halifax, on annual basis. Calgary received a bye to the CIAU Championship game.

#### Uteck Bowl

* Runner-Up: 2015, 2018, 2022

#### Mitchell Bowl

* Runner-Up: 2016, 2021, 2023

### Conference championships
#### Jewett Trophy (Loney Bowl)

* Champions: 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1966, 1967, 1978, 1982, 1983, 1996, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023
The X-Men have won the Atlantic Conference Championship 16 times and have been runners-up an additional 12 times.

## Recent results

| Season | Games | Won | Lost | OTL | PCT | PF | PA | Standing | Playoffs |
| 1996 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0.750 | 227 | 147 | 1st in AUS | Defeated Mount Allison Mounties in Loney Bowl 30–22 Defeated Ottawa Gee-Gees in Atlantic Bowl 13–5 Lost to Saskatchewan Huskies in 32nd Vanier Cup 31–12 |
| 1997 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0.875 | 190 | 120 | 1st in AUS | Lost to Mount Allison Mounties in Loney Bowl 20–17 |
| 1998 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0.125 | 112 | 219 | 4th in AUS | Out of playoffs |
| 1999 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0.125 | 132 | 270 | 4th in AUS | Out of playoffs |
| 2000 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0.375 | 65 | 228 | 3rd in AUS | Out of playoffs |
| 2001 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0.375 | 106 | 202 | 3rd in AUS | Out of playoffs |
| 2002 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0.750 | 215 | 134 | 2nd in AUS | Defeated Acadia Axemen in semi-final 25–11 Lost to Saint Mary's Huskies in Loney Bowl 63–14 |
| 2003 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0.500 | 139 | 143 | 3rd in AUS | Defeated Acadia Axemen in semi-final 30–28 Lost to Saint Mary's Huskies in Loney Bowl 36–12 |
| 2004 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0.375 | 155 | 245 | 3rd in AUS | Lost to Acadia Axemen in semi-final 15–8 |
| 2005 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0.625 | 219 | 189 | 2nd in AUS | Defeated Saint Mary's Huskies in semi-final 47–29 Lost to Acadia Axemen in Loney Bowl 69–6 |
| 2006 | 7 | 2 | 5 | – | 0.286 | 80 | 176 | 3rd in AUS | Lost to Saint Mary's Huskies in semi-final 24–6 |
| 2007 | 8 | 3 | 5 | – | 0.375 | 158 | 284 | 2nd in AUS | Defeated Acadia Axemen in semi-final 38–17 Lost to Saint Mary's Huskies in Loney Bowl 25–24 |
| 2008 | 8 | 4 | 4 | – | 0.500 | 186 | 205 | 2nd in AUS | Defeated Mount Allison Mounties in semi-final 52–12 Lost to Saint Mary's Huskies in Loney Bowl 29–27 |
| 2009 | 8 | 6 | 2 | – | 0.750 | 201 | 166 | 2nd in AUS | Defeated Acadia Axemen in semi-final 33–30 Lost to Saint Mary's Huskies in Loney Bowl 31–22 |
| 2010 | 8 | 1 | 7 | – | 0.125 | 98 | 247 | 4th in AUS | Out of playoffs |
| 2011 | 8 | 2 | 6 | – | 0.250 | 148 | 300 | 3rd in AUS | Lost to Saint Mary's Huskies in semi-final 25–2 |
| 2012 | 8 | 2 | 6 | – | 0.250 | 137 | 239 | 4th in AUS | Out of playoffs |
| 2013 | 8 | 3 | 5 | – | 0.375 | 150 | 183 | 4th in AUS | Out of playoffs |
| 2014 | 8 | 4 | 4 | – | 0.500 | 181 | 180 | 2nd in AUS | Defeated Acadia Axemen in semi-final 18–17 Lost to Mount Allison Mounties in Loney Bowl 29–7 |
| 2015 | 8 | 5 | 3 | – | 0.625 | 172 | 179 | 2nd in AUS | Defeated Acadia Axemen in semi-final 26–4 Defeated Mount Allison Mounties in Loney Bowl 14–12 Lost to UBC Thunderbirds in Uteck Bowl 36–9 |
| 2016 | 8 | 7 | 1 | – | 0.875 | 299 | 129 | 1st in AUS | Defeated Mount Allison Mounties in Loney Bowl 29–8 Lost to Calgary Dinos in Mitchell Bowl 50–24 |
| 2017 | 8 | 4 | 4 | – | 0.500 | 179 | 168 | 3rd in AUS | Lost to Saint Mary's Huskies in semi-final 16–15 |
| 2018 | 8 | 6 | 2 | – | 0.750 | 224 | 156 | 2nd in AUS | Defeated Acadia Axemen in semi-final 33–10 Defeated Saint Mary's Huskies in Loney Bowl 33–9 Lost to Laval Rouge et Or in Uteck Bowl 63–0 |
| 2019 | 8 | 2 | 6 | – | 0.250 | 128 | 214 | 5th 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 | 6 | 0 | – | 1.000 | 193 | 99 | 1st in AUS | Defeated Acadia Axemen in semi-final 27–22 Defeated Bishop's Gaiters in Loney Bowl 25–17 Lost to Western Mustangs in Mitchell Bowl 61–6 |
| 2022 | 8 | 8 | 0 | – | 1.000 | 261 | 83 | 1st in AUS | Defeated Mount Allison Mounties in Loney Bowl 21–14 Lost to Saskatchewan Huskies in Uteck Bowl 36–19 |
| 2023 | 8 | 8 | 0 | – | 1.000 | 267 | 90 | 1st in AUS | Defeated St. Mary's Huskies in semi-final 36–20 Defeated Bishop's Gaiters in Loney Bowl 34–23 Lost to UBC Thunderbirds in Mitchell Bowl 47–17 |
| 2024 | 8 | 5 | 3 | – | 0.625 | 240 | 155 | 2nd in AUS | Lost to Saint Mary's Huskies in semi-final 21–17 |

## Head coaches

| Name | Years |
| Frank Germann | 1954–1956 |
| Don Loney | 1957–1973 |
| Cam Innes | 1974–1977 |
| John Musselman | 1978–1983 |
| Lance Bullock | 1984–1988 |
| Mark Heidebrecht | 1989–1992 |
| John Stevens | 1993–2001 |
| Dennis McPhee | 2002–2003 |
| John Bloomfield | 2004–2008 |
| Gary Waterman | 2009–present |

## National award winners

* J. P. Metras Trophy: Tony Grassa (1981), Mike Kushnir (1997)
* Presidents' Trophy: Paul Frlan (1995), Adam MacDonald (2002), Hénoc Muamba (2010)
* Peter Gorman Trophy: Joey Tynes (1979), Andre Arlain (1994), Paul Carty (1997), Jeremy Steeves (2001)
* Frank Tindall Trophy: John Stevens (1997), Gary Waterman (2022)

## X-Men in the CFL

In the 2011 CFL Draft, Hénoc Muamba became the first X-Men player to be selected first overall in the Canadian College Draft, having been drafted by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
As of the end of the 2024 CFL season, three former X-Men players are on CFL teams' rosters:
* Kaion Julien-Grant, Montreal Alouettes
* Gregor MacKellar, Toronto Argonauts
* Gordon Whyte, Hamilton Tiger-Cats