Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a Canadian Football League team based in Regina , Saskatchewan , founded in 1910 . They play their home games at 2940 - 10th Avenue in Regina , which has been the team ' s home base for its entire history , even prior to the construction of Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field . Originally known as the Regina Rugby Club from 1910 to 1923 , they changed their name to the Regina Roughriders in 1924 and finally to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 1948 . The team draws fans from across Saskatchewan and Canada who are affectionately known as the " Rider Nation " . They have won three Grey Cups over their 100 year history , despite playing in the championship game 18 times . The fans are known for their loyalty and " Rider Pride " , and it is not unusual to find a group of Rider fans following the team on their road games across the country . The Roughriders play in the CFL ' s West Division . The team has had 17 players inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame . Their rivalry with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers is arguably the most passionate and intense in the league , as games between the two are often sold out before the beginning of the season . Franchise history . The team was founded as the " Regina Rugby Club " on Tuesday , September 13 , 1910 , adopting the colours of old gold and purple . Regina played their first game against the Moose Jaw Tigers on October 1 , 1910 at the Moose Jaw Baseball Grounds where they were defeated 16 - 6 . For the 1911 season , the team changed their colours to blue and white and changed them again in 1912 to red and black . They changed their name to the " Regina Roughriders " in 1924 , then unofficially to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 1946 . Officially , they changed their team name to the Saskatchewan Roughriders on April 1 , 1950 while changing their team colours from red and black to green and white in 1948 . The formation of what became the CFL brought them into an 8 - team league which also included the Ottawa Rough Riders . Both teams were allowed to keep their established names , identically pronounced although different in spelling , and this situation continued until the Ottawa Rough Riders folded in 1996 . The Rough Riders were named for the log rollers of the region ' s rivers , while the Roughriders were named for an elite North - West Mounted Police corps of expert horsemen . Tragedy . The Roughriders ' darkest day came on December 9 , 1956 when four members of the team were killed in a plane crash while returning from the CFL All - Star game in Vancouver . Gordon Sturtridge , Mel Becket , Ray Syrnyk , and Mario DeMarco were killed when Flight 810 crashed into Slesse Mountain near Chilliwack , British Columbia . The team retired the numbers of the four players shortly after the tragedy . Grey Cup championships . The franchise has won three Grey Cup championships ; a 29 – 14 victory over the now - defunct Ottawa Rough Riders in 1966 , a 43 – 40 victory over the Hamilton Tiger - Cats in 1989 and also a 23 – 19 victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2007 . Four times , the Roughriders and ( Ottawa ) Rough Riders met in Grey Cup finals , prompting joking predictions from sportswriters that ' the Riders ' would win it all . Led by Hall of Fame quarterback Ron Lancaster , a string of 11 straight appearances in the Western finals 1966 – 76 remains a CFL record . The Roughriders also posted the best regular season record in all of pro football over that time period . 2007 season . In the 2007 season , the Riders jumped out to a 7 – 2 start , their best since 1976 . Notable was a last - minute victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the annual Labour Day Classic . The Riders wore retro uniforms for the occasion , with stylistic similarities to jerseys worn in the 1960s and 70s . The 2007 season brought along with it the Roughriders ' first home playoff game since 1988 , which was played at Mosaic Stadium on November 11 against the Calgary Stampeders . The Riders once again wore their retro uniforms and took a close victory 26 – 24 . This was also their first home playoff win since 1976 . The team followed up on November 18 with a 26 – 17 win at BC Place over the BC Lions in the West Division final to give the Roughriders a berth in their first Grey Cup final since 1997 . On November 25 , 2007 , the Riders played the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the 95th Grey Cup . This marked the first time that two Labour Day Classic opponents played each other in a Grey Cup game . Saskatchewan won 23 – 19 in a game where James Johnson recorded three interceptions , a Grey Cup record . He was named MVP of the 2007 Grey Cup , with Roughrider Andy Fantuz being named the Canadian MVP in the game . He had 70 yards receiving and the game - winning touchdown . 2008 season . A month and a half after capturing the 2007 Grey Cup , Kent Austin stepped down as head coach to become the offensive co - ordinator at Ole Miss . In accepting this position in the NCAA , Austin turned down a very lucrative contract that the Riders had offered . On February 6 , 2008 , Roughriders GM Eric Tillman announced that the new head coach would be Ken Miller . Miller was formerly an offensive coordinator under Austin . On April 5 , 2008 , a report was released saying that the Roughriders set a new record for earnings in a single season . In 2007 the Roughriders generated $ 22 , 950 , 489 in revenue , with a profit of $ 1 , 737 , 377 . These earnings were due in part to the championship season the Roughriders sported , which included 8 home game sellouts and their first home playoff game in 19 years . The 2008 season began with a 6 – 0 record with wins shared between three quarterbacks . This is the team ' s best record since 1934 when they were still known as the Regina Roughriders . This was despite suffering 6 broken legs and a total of 18 injuries . On August 24 , 2008 , the team ' s General Manager , Eric Tillman , announced the acquisition of Quarterback Michael Bishop ; the Toronto Argonauts backup quarterback at the time of the trade , he went 11 – 1 as a starter for the Argonauts in 2007 . As predicted , this was the end of Marcus Crandell ' s run with the Roughriders , who released him four days later . After the 6 - 0 start , the Riders would go on to finish the 2008 CFL Regular season with the same record they finished with in 2007 , at 12 - 6 . The Roughriders finished in second place in the CFL West Division and earned the right to host the CFL West Division Semi - Final for the second consecutive year . A devastating 33 – 12 loss to the BC Lions in the western semi - final game on November 8 , 2008 , caused the Roughriders to announce that Michael Bishop had played his last game for the franchise . . Mascots . The current official Rider mascot is Gainer the Gopher , who made his first appearance in 1977 . " Gainer " is an anagram of Regina and the gopher , or more properly , Richardson ' s Ground Squirrel ( not a Gopher ) is a common animal on the Canadian Prairies . Popularity . Fan support . Rider fans have been referred to as the best fans in the league and were ranked the rowdiest fans of any sports team in Canada by MSN Sports , ranking ahead of the Canada men ' s national junior ice hockey team and the Montreal Canadiens . The team is third behind the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs for merchandise sales of Canadian sports teams , and in 2009 the team played in 5 of the 6 most viewed games on television as well as breaking a ratings record for the West Final against the Calgary Stampeders and a Grey Cup ratings record of 43 % of the national population against the Montreal Alouettes . The Riders typically bring an upsurge in attendance at all or most of their various away venues , drawing crowds of their own fans , as well as home - town fans whose interest is heightened when the Roughriders come to town . The province of Saskatchewan went through tough economic times during the 1980s and 1990s and as a result thousands of Rider fans left the province for work , particularly to Alberta . In Edmonton and especially Calgary , Rider fans make up to half the crowd , and many violent clashes between fans have resulted in recent years between Roughrider and Stampeder fans . The Riders have led road attendance in the CFL every year this decade . and local support has skyrocketed in recent years due to the on - field success of the club , including the first sold - out season in 2008 . The Roughriders attendance record came in 1995 in a win over the Calgary Stampeders as 55 , 438 ( more than 25 % of Regina ' s population ) fans watched on . This crowd was attainable that year because of the increased capacity of Taylor Field in preparation of hosting the Grey Cup . Rider fans are also known for dressing up in unique and often bizarre Rider - themed costumes , the most popular being the watermelon helmet . University Section . The University Section is a notorious group of season ticket holders who occupy Section 28 in the East Side bleachers at Taylor Field . They are known for their strict allegiance to the Riders , standing through the entire game , and often being merciless to opposing fans who sit in the section and cheer for the road team . They enjoy taunting the opposing team ' s bench with a series of chanting and slandering . The University Section got its nickname from the section ' s main purpose in the 1980s and 1990s and was a discount section offered to university students in Saskatchewan . The section no longer serves as a university section but still retains the name because of the rowdy behaviour of the fans . Fight and theme songs . The Roughriders are unique among sports teams for the amount of songs written about them . The official Rider songs are played regularly at the stadium , and include " Green is the Colour " , " Rider Pride " , and " Paint the Whole World Green . " In addition , during every fourth quarter intermission , the P . A . system plays the cult hit " The Last Saskatchewan Pirate " by Captain Tractor , and the Riders Cheer Team leads the crowd in a fourth quarter stretch . There are many other songs that have been created over the years to tribute the team as well . Many of these songs have proved so popular in Western Canada that they have become popular culture phenomena . The music selection at Mosaic Stadium is mostly consisted of mainstream popular music . Radio and television . CKRM Radio launched in 1926 , and serves as the primary home of the Saskatchewan Roughriders during the football season , and the Regina Pats during the hockey season . Rod Pedersen is the play - by - play announcer , and game broadcasts are available throughout much of Saskatchewan via CKRM and worldwide on the internet through the station ' s website . Sirius Satellite Radio also enjoys an exclusive deal with the CFL , including the Saskatchewan Roughriders , and all games are available on Sirius . On television in Canada , all Roughrider games are broadcast nationally in English on TSN and select games are available in French on RDS . Outside of Canada , some of the team ' s games can be viewed in the United States on NFL Network and on the Internet via ESPN3 . Public company . The Roughriders are one of only a few publicly owned professional sports companies in North America , complete with a board of directors . The Roughriders ' public ownership model is similar to the Green Bay Packers where a limited number of shares have been sold to the public . It is not possible to resell these shares , no dividend payment is possible and no person may hold more than 20 voting shares . A recent public offering of Rider Shares — Series 1 — commenced in 2004 at an offering price of $ 250 per share In 2006 the " Ottawa Sun " reported that the Roughriders had sold around 3 , 000 at $ 250 each . The Series 1 offering closed in 2008 after all 6 , 000 shares were sold . A second public offering , Series 2 , was launched in 2010 in honour of the team ' s 100th anniversary . Recent regular season and playoff results . The 1990s . Legend : F = For , A = Against " * " For the 1995 Season , all 8 Canadian teams were featured in the Northern Division . The Danny Barrett era . " * " From 2000 to 2002 , the CFL awarded a single point to teams losing in overtime . The Riders had two such losses during the 2002 season .