Ottawa Gee - Gees The Ottawa Gee - Gees is an athletic team that represents the University of Ottawa in Ottawa , Ontario in all of its sporting events . The term " Gee - Gee " is taken from horse racing where a Gee - Gee is the first horse out of the starting gate . The name GGs also describes the university colours , garnet and grey . For many years , the team was known as the Garnet and Grey ( ) ; the name Gee - Gees was chosen to appeal to both francophone and anglophone fans of this bilingual university . The Gee - Gees are best known in Canadian Interuniversity Sport for a perennially strong football team , winning the national championship , the Vanier Cup , in 1975 and 2000 and appearing in the championship game in 1970 , 1980 , and 1997 . Varsity teams . Ottawa Gee - Gees teams compete in : Gee - Gees football . The Ottawa Gee - Gees football team have appeared in five Vanier Cup championships , losing in 1970 , 1980 and 1997 , and winning the national title in 1975 and 2000 . The team practises on campus but play their home games at Frank Clair Stadium at Lansdowne Park where only the north stands are open to the public . The Gee - Gees have also won a total of eight conference championships , including four Yates Cup s and four Dunsmore Cup s as the team split time between the OUA and OQIFC . In recent years , the team has seen much success , having enjoyed eight consecutive seasons with non - losing records . In that time , the team has had three first place finishes with the last being achieved in 2010 . The team has also won one Yates Cup conference championship in that time , in 2006 , but lost to the Saskatchewan Huskies in the Mitchell Bowl soon after . The school hired Gary Etcheverry to be the team ' s head coach for the 2012 season , but after losing his first five games of the season , he was relieved of his duties . The Gee - Gees went on to finish with a 2 - 6 record and out of the playoffs for the first time since 1991 . Season - by - season record . The following is the record of the Ottawa Gee - Gees football team in the last ten seasons of play : Ottawa Gee - Gees in the CFL . As of the start of the 2012 CFL season , three former Gee - Gees players are on CFL teams ' rosters : 1975 Vanier Cup champions . The undefeated 1975 National Championship team ( 11 - 0 ) is considered to be one of the most dominant in Canadian college history . That team became the first to finish with a perfect record after winning a Vanier Cup . Even to this day , the 1975 team still holds several CIS and OUA team and individual records . Players from the 1975 team were selected to the CIS All - Canadian team 13 times during their college careers . During their CIS careers , players from the 1975 team were selected as OUAA an OQIFC All - Stars 42 times . The 1975 University of Ottawa Gee Gees CFL careers . A total of 21 players from the 1975 Vanier Cup Championship team were selected in the Canadian Football League draft , including nine players in the first round or higher including six CFL Territorial Protections ( from 1973 through 1982 each CFL team was allowed to pick and protect 2 players from their region before the 1rst round began ) . During their careers as professionals , players from the 1975 Vanier Cup Championship team appeared in 23 Grey Cup games and went on to collect a total of 12 Grey Cup Rings . The following is a brief list of the impact that these players have had in the Canadian Football League . Eric Upton - Guard - 10 Years CFL Edmonton Eskimos - 3 time Western All - Star , 6 Grey Cup Appearances , 5 time Grey Cup Champion Rocky DiPietro - Slotback - 14 Years CFL Hamilton Tiger - Cats , CFL All - Time Pass Reception Leader , Canadian Football Hall of Fame Inductee , 2 time CFL Outstanding Canadian , 3 time Lew Hayman Trophy Outstanding Canadian Eastern Division , 5 time Eastern All - Star , 4 Grey Cup Appearances , 1986 Grey Cup Champion Neil Lumsden - Fullback / Kicker - 10 Years CFL Toronto Argonauts / Hamilton Tiger - Cats / Edmonton Eskimos , Winner 1976 Frank M Gibson Trophy CFL Outstanding Rookie Eastern Division , 2 Time Eastern Division All - Star , 1981 Grey Cup Canadian MVP , 3 time Grey Cup Champion Miles Gorrell - Offensive Tackle - 19 Years CFL Calgary Stampeders / Hamilton Tiger - Cats / Montreal Alouettes / Winnipeg Blue Bombers , 5 time Eastern Division All - Star , 2 time Winner Leo Dandurand Trophy CFL Outstanding Lineman Eastern Division , 5 Grey Cup Appearances , 1 time Grey Cup Champion Jeff Avery - Wide Receiver - 6 Years CFL Ottawa Rough Riders , 1 time Eastern Division All - Star , 2 Grey Cup Appearances , 1976 Grey Cup Champion Al Moffat - Defensive Tackle - 6 Years CFL Hamilton Tiger - Cats , 1 time Eastern Division All - Star , 1 Grey Cup Appearance Mike Murphy - Fullback - 4 Years CFL , Winner 1977 Frank M . Gibson Trophy CFL Outstanding Rookie Eastern Division Doug Falconer - Defensive Back - 4 Years CFL Ottawa Rough Riders / Calgary Stampeders , 1976 Grey Cup Champion Tim Berryman - Linebacker - 7 Years CFL Edmonton Eskimos / Ottawa Rough Riders , 1 Grey Cup Appearance Bill Harrison - Halfback - 5 Years CFL Hamilton Tiger - Cats / Toronto Argonauts Ian Mac Pherson - Defensive Tackle - 3 Years CFL Hamilton Tiger - Cats Men ' s Basketball Program . The Gee - Gees men ' s basketball team has been ranked in the CIS Top Ten for most of the 2005 - 2006 season , sitting 2nd as of January 24 , 2006 . On January 18 , 2006 , the Gee Gees recorded their first win against the Carleton Ravens , their cross - town rivals . Previous to their 62 - 61 win , the Gee Gees had lost 18 straight games against the Ravens , dating back to 1999 . The win also broke the Ravens 56 - game winning streak at home . The Gee - Gees finished 6th at the 2005 CIS National Basketball Tournament in Halifax . 2010 - 2011 New Coach , Fresh Start . In July 2010 , the University of Ottawa appointed James Derouin , a former alumni and player , as their new head coach after the departure of Coach Dave DeAveiro who left for McGill University . Derouin was formerly an assistant coach for the UBC Thunderbirds for the past two years and was captain of the Gee - Gees Men ’ s Basketball Team for both the 2000 - 01 and 2001 - 02 seasons . In his final year , he also played under former Gee - Gees head coach Dave DeAveiro . Derouin called this “ [ . . . ] a dream come true , really . I ’ ve been working towards this for a long time . It ’ s amazing . ” Derouin , a native of Ottawa , " [ looks forward ] to building on the current success of the Gee - Gees program , added Derouin . With the loss of two strong players [ Josh Gibson - Bascombe and Donnie Gibson ] , we will look to fill those holes as much as possible and continue to strive for excellence . ” 2010 - 2011 Regular Season & Playoff Summary . The Gee - Gees had a strong finish to the regular season that led themto qualify for the OUA Wilson Cup playoffs . It began with the Gee - Gees defeating Laurentian University in the OUA Quarter - Finals followed by a solid win over second - seed University of Toronto to qualify for the nationally televised ( The Score ) Wilson Cup Final Four in Hamilton . The playoff run unfortunately ended as the team was just two points short verses Lakehead to qualify for the CIS Nationals in Halifax . Graduating Gee - Gees , Louis Gauthier had one of his most solid seasons in his five - year career while Nemanja Baletic ended his CIS Career with yet another solid season while winning the CIS Kevin Shields Award and University of Ottawa President ’ s Award for outstanding commitment and achievement in the classroom , community , and athletics . 2011 - 2012 Exhibition and Season . The Gee - Gees kicked off their pre - season with their first exhibition game against NCAA La Salle Explorers with a 73 - 61 defeat . This game saw the debut of 4 of 5 recruits - Michael L ’ African , Serge Grenon , Vikas Gill , and Charles Rémillard . New recruits had a great debut with Vikas Gill going 6 for 10 from the three - point line to finish the night with 20 points and Michael L ’ African leading the team in assist with 4 . Second year forward , Gabriel Gonthier - Dubee , also had strong game finishing with 16 points . The Gee - Gees were without the services of University of Arkansas ( Pine Bluff ) Transfer , Shamus Ferguson and All - Star Warren Ward who is with Team Canada for the FISU Universiade 2011 in Shen Zhen , China . The Gee - Gees will welcome NCAA University of Albany , University of St . Louis , and UC Santa Barbara to wrap up their United States exhibition games . The CIS regular season begins November 11 , 2011 , for the Gee - Gees who will play at Brock University . Men ' s Basketball Program Alumni . Ali Mahmoud - St . Patrick ’ s High School ( Ottawa ) - University of Ottawa Gee - Gees ( 2002 , 2003 ) - Lebanon National Basketball Program - Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut ( 2004 – Present ) - 2006 , 2010 FIBA World Championships Alex McLeod - University of Ottawa Gee - Gees ( 2002 – 2006 ) - Gee - Gees All - Time 3 Point Scorer ( OUA Games ) - Over 1 , 207 career points - OUA East Rookie Team ( 2002 ) - OUA East All - Star ( 2004 , 2005 , 2006 ) - Certified Canadian Lawyer Joshua Gibson - Bascombe - University of Ottawa Gee - Gees ( 2005 – 2010 ) - OUA East Rookie of the Year ( 2005 - 2006 ) - OUA East All - Star ( 2006 , 2007 , 2008 , 2009 ) - All - Time Leading Scorer with 1571 points - NH Ostrava of the Czech Republic - Team Canada Men ’ s Development Team - FISU ( 2007 Thailand , 2009 Serbia ) Gee - Gees soccer . The Gee - Gees women ' s soccer team program was founded in 1994 by current head coach , Steven Johnson . The team went on to become national champions in 1996 , in just their third season of play , after which Johnson was recognized as CIS coach of the year ( an honour he would again receive in 2005 ) . The team has also won CIS silver medals in 2005 , 2003 , 2000 , 1997 and CIS bronze medals in 2001 , and 2006 . Gee Gees hockey . The men ' s hockey program was formed in 1889 . The team played in the Ottawa City Hockey League . The team was first known as " Garnet and Grey " , as well as the other varsity athletic programs within the University of Ottawa . In the 1940s , all the varsity athletic programs became known as the " Gee Gees " , which was nicknamed by the media . The Gee Gees had tremendous success in the 1980s . Despite , that the Gee Gees have yet to win the University Cup - CIS championship for men ' s hockey . Ottawa ' s most memorable run took place in 2004 , as the Gee Gees ousted rivals Universite de Québec à Trois - Rivières ( otherwise known as UQTR Patriotes ) 2 - 1 in the OUA playoffs , and then advanced to the Queen ' s Cup , hosted by the University of Western Ontario . The Gee Gees lost the OUA final to York , but they still earned a spot in the University Cup , held in Fredericton , New Brunswick , where power - house UNB ( University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds ) played host to the tournament . However , the Gee Gees failed to record a win and went home 0 - 2 . Notably , it was the first time since 1985 that the Gee Gees played in the University Cup . The Gee Gees are well known for their successful coaches like Mickey Goulet , who is currently head coach of the Italian National Men ' s Hockey Team , which participated in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino , Italy . Coaches like Michel Boucher , Tony Zappia , and current head coach Dave Leger , who has been at the helm since 2003 . The Gee Gees played in several rinks before the current Minto Sports Complex , which was built on the site of the Minto Arena , the former Minto Skating Club facility , which was demolished in 2000 . Ottawa has held games at the Sandy Hill Arena and the Robert Guertin Arena in Hull . The first rink , was known as " College Yard " , which was an outdoor rink in front of Tabaret Hall . The second venue for the Gee Gees was the indoor Rideau Skating Rink , which was flooded during winter for the ice surface . The site on the corner of Waller Street and Laurier Avenue is now the Arts building at the University of Ottawa .