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York Yeomen banner.1969-2000
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York University is located in the north end of Toronto and their football program known as the York Yeomen started in the 1969 season (York changed their name to the Lions before the 2003 season). During their time in collegiate football, York has not won any championships. York University along with the Montreal Carabins and Sherbrooke Vert et Or are the only schools who have not won a conference championship in their school history.York's first football season as started before was in 1969 in which they were part of the Central Canada Intercollegiate Football Conference (CCIFC) West division. In the Yeomen's division at that time were the University of Windsor, the University of Waterloo, University of Ottawa, and the University of Guelph just to name a few.
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During the 1970 season in which York was still part of the CCIFC, York University and the University of Toronto (U of T) decided to have a bowl game for dominance and bragging rights in the Greater Toronto Area. Known as the Red and Blue Bowl, the winner of this game gets bragging rights for that season in Toronto. In the first ever Red and Blue Bowl, the U of T won 36-0.After their time in the CCIFC, The Yeomen entered the Ontario University Athletic Association (OUAA), in which they were in that association from 1971 to 1973, and were part of the Northern division with Laurentian and the University of Ottawa.
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Roster from the 1971 Red and Blue bowl.29 September 1971
Varsity Stadium, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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After another short stint in the OUAA and the collapse of the QUAA (Quebec University Athletic Association) the Ontario-Quebec Intercollegiate Football Conference (OQIFC) was created. In the OQIFC, there were two divisions east and west, and York was part of the West division with Guelph, McMaster, Toronto, Waterloo, Western, Laurier, and Windsor.6
Roster from the York Yeomen.5 October 1974
George Richardson Memorial Stadium, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
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Lineup from the Red and Blue game.13 October 1977
Varsity Stadium, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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York ended the 20th century by entering the Ontario University Association (OUA), in which they were part of starting in the 1980 season. During their time, York was not one of the best football schools in the country. From the 1988 season to the 1995 season, the Yeomen have not won a game, in which they set a CIS record with 47 consecutive games. The second thing that happened during their OUA stint was that before the Yeomen went on that infamous streak, York only won a total of 22 games and lost 53 games in that time span. The third significant thing that happened during their time within the OUA, the Yeomen won their first Red and Blue bowl in 1984, when they finally defeated U of T 44-20 in which the Yeomen ended the streak of 14 straight by U of T. In fact with that win the Yeomen went on to win three straight Red and Blue Bowls after that. The next time in which the Yeomen went on to win a Red and Blue Bowl was in 1996. From 1996-2008, York went on to win 12 straight bowl games. The all-time series in the Red and Blue bowl is 24-15 Toronto. |
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