McMaster Marauders football The McMaster Marauders football team represents McMaster University based in Hamilton , Ontario , Canada . The team plays Canadian Interuniversity Sport football in the Ontario University Athletics conference . The Marauders have been playing organized football since 1901 when they played their first exhibition game in the Canadian Intercollegiate Rugby Football Union . The team has appeared in two Vanier Cup games , winning one in 2011 . History . The earliest reference of the sport of football at McMaster was during a meeting on November 30 , 1898 , when the university ' s athletic association ' s debated about expanding into the sport of football . The association had reached a consensus two days later that the lateness of the season made it pointless to start the sport for that year . The university would form a football team in the following year . The McMaster Marauder ' s football team played their first football game in an exhibition game against the University of Toronto Faculty of Dentistry in 1901 , losing 1 - 0 . The Marauders would win their first game in an exhibition match against Royal Military College of Canada with a score of 17 - 5 . The Marauders would play their first regular season game in 1902 , losing their first game to the University of Toronto in a one game season . The Marauders would not win their first game in the regular season the next season , in which they would also make their first playoff appearance . The early football team at McMaster would not have a head coach until the end of World War I , with most of the coaching duties taken up by the team captains . The Yates Cup , which is awarded annually to the victorious team in the OUA football playoffs , has been awarded to the Marauders football team five times since they began playing . The Marauders have made twelve consecutive OUA post - season appearances , having not missed the playoffs since the 1998 playoffs . Despite this however , the Marauders have only made seven Vanier Cup semi - final appearances ( the Mitchell Bowl and Uteck Bowl ) since the Marauders football team first began to play . The Marauders football team has made an appearance at the Mitchell Bowl four times , in 2000 , 2001 , 2003 , and 2012 . The Marauders won the Mitchell Bowl in 2012 to advance to the Vanier Cup . As for the Uteck Bowl , the Marauders had made an appearance at the Uteck Bowl a total of five times , in 1961 , 1964 , 1967 , 2002 and 2011 . Of those five times however , the Marauders had only won twice , in 1967 and 2011 , advancing to the Vanier Cup championships . The Marauders would lose to the Alberta Golden Bears 10 - 9 in the 3rd Vanier Cup game on November 25 , 1967 . In their second Vanier Cup appearance , on November 25th , 2011 , the Marauders pulled off an overtime victory over the top ranked Laval Rouge et Or , winning the game 41 - 38 and leading McMaster to its first Vanier Cup championship . McMaster would lose a rematch to Laval in the 2012 Vanier Cup at the Rogers Centre . The Marauders football team had also been awarded a CCIFC championship in 1967 , as well as several OIFC championship , in 1957 , 1958 , 1962 , 1963 and 1964 . Season - by - season record . The following is the record of the McMaster Marauders football team in the last ten seasons of play : Records . The Marauders currently hold a number of Ontario University Athletics records , both in terms of the team , as well as individuals who had played for the Marauders . Current records held by the Marauders are : McMaster Marauders in the CFL . As of the start of the 2012 CFL season , seven former Marauders players are on CFL teams ' rosters : External links . McMaster Marauders Football