| 2022 U Sports football season | |
| Duration: | August 27, 2022 – October 29, 2022 |
| Conf1: | Hardy Cup |
| Conf1 Champ: | Saskatchewan |
| Conf2: | Yates Cup |
| Conf2 Champ: | Western |
| Conf3: | Dunsmore Cup |
| Conf3 Champ: | Laval |
| Conf4: | Loney Bowl |
| Conf4 Champ: | St. Francis |
| Conf5: | Mitchell Bowl |
| Conf5 Champ: | Laval |
| Conf6: | Uteck Bowl |
| Conf6 Champ: | Saskatchewan |
| Finals: | Vanier Cup |
| Finals Date: | November 26, 2022 |
| Finals Venue: | Western Alumni Stadium London, Ontario |
| Finals Champ: | Laval |
| Prevseason Year: | 2021 |
| Nextseason Year: | 2023 |
| Seasonslistnames: | U Sports football |
The 2022 U Sports football season began on August 27, 2022, with four Atlantic University Sport teams, four RSEQ teams, and ten Ontario University Athletics teams opening their schedules that day.[1] [2] [3] The six Canada West teams began their schedules one week later with two games on September 2 and one on September 3.[4]
The conference championships were played on the weekend of November 12, 2022, and the season concluded on November 26, 2022, with the 57th Vanier Cup championship, which returned to the pre-pandemic scheduling used in 2019.[5] The championship game was played at Western Alumni Stadium in London, Ontario for the first time in the game's history.[6] 27 university teams in Canada played U Sports football, the highest level of amateur Canadian football.[7]
On April 7, 2022, the OUA released their schedule which featured a return to an eight-game format and no divisions or geographical restrictions.[1] With the season starting in August and ending in October, this was more in line with the pre-pandemic 2019 U Sports football season as opposed to the truncated 2021 season. The 114th Yates Cup game was played on November 12, 2022.[1]
The AUS released their schedule on April 13, 2022, as the conference also returned to pre-pandemic scheduling with eight games played by each team and two bye weeks.[2] The Loney Bowl was played on November 12, 2022.[2] Canada West also returned to eight regular season games and the Hardy Cup was played on the weekend of November 12, 2022.[4] The RSEQ announced their schedule last which featured eight games over ten weeks and a Dunsmore Cup championship date of November 12, 2022.[3]
| Hec Crighton Trophy | Kevin Mital (Laval) | Keon Edwards (Western) | Malcolm Bussey (St. Francis Xavier) | Mason Nyhus (Saskatchewan) | Kevin Mital (Laval) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Presidents' Trophy | Nicky Farinaccio (Montreal) | Daniel Valente Jr. (Western) | Gabriel Royer (Bishop’s) | Ryder Varga (Regina) | Nicky Farinaccio (Montreal) | |
| J. P. Metras Trophy | Nathaniel Dumoulin-Duguay (Laval) | Silas Hubert (Queen’s) | Alex Fedchun (St. Francis Xavier) | Theo Benedet (UBC) | Theo Benedet (UBC) | |
| Peter Gorman Trophy | Eloa Latendresse-Regimbald (McGill) | Isaiah Smith (Guelph) | Zachary Houde (St. Francis Xavier) | Jack Warrack (Saskatchewan) | Eloa Latendresse-Regimbald (McGill) | |
| Russ Jackson Award | N/A | Alex Cheng (McMaster) | Duncan Patterson (Saint Mary’s) | Ryker Frank (Saskatchewan) | Duncan Patterson (Saint Mary’s) | |
| Frank Tindall Trophy | Glen Constantin (Laval) | Greg Marshall (Western) | Gary Waterman (St. Francis Xavier) | Mark McConkey (Regina) | Gary Waterman (St. Francis Xavier) | |
| Gino Fracas Award | Luc Sylvain (Sherbrooke) | Mike Circelli (Windsor) | Tyler Wilson (St. Francis Xavier) | Vaughan Mitchell (Manitoba) | Mike Circelli (Windsor) |
| Quarterback | Arnaud Desjardins (Laval) | Mason Nyhus (Saskatchewan) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Running Back | Keon Edwards (Western)Malcolm Bussey (St. Francis Xavier) | Isaiah Knight (UBC)J-P Cimankinda (Ottawa) | |
| Receiver | Kevin Mital (Laval)Jeremy Murphy (Concordia) Savaughn Magnaye-Jones (Western) Daniel Perry (Saskatchewan) | A. K. Gassama (Manitoba)Darius Simmons (McGill) Richard Burton (Queen’s) Ethan Jordan (Laurier) | |
| Centre | Elliot Beamer (Western) | Daniel Shin (Alberta) | |
| Guard | Nicolas Guay (Laval)Phillip Grohovac (Western) | Evan Floren (Queen's)Giovanni Manu (UBC) | |
| Tackle | Theo Benedet (UBC)Nathan Dumoulin-Duguay (Laval) | Zack Fry (Western)Anthony Vandal (Sherbrooke) |
| Defensive Tackle | Tanner Schmekel (Regina)Jean-William Rouleau (Laval) | Darien Newell (Queen's)Kyle Samson (UBC) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Defensive End | Anthony Bennett (Regina)Silas Hubert (Queen's) | Scott Murray (Guelph)Philippe Lemieux-Cardinal (Montréal) | |
| Linebacker | Nicky Farinaccio (Montréal)Ryder Varga (Regina) James Peter (Ottawa) | Emmanuel Aboagye-Gyan (Ottawa)Ryan Baker (UBC) Alec Poirier (Laval) | |
| Free Safety | Daniel Valente (Western) | Jaxon Ford (Regina) | |
| Defensive Halfback | Ashton Miller-Melancon (Queen's)Cristophe Beaulieu (Laval) | Charlie Ringland (Saskatchewan)Rob Panabaker (Western) | |
| Cornerback | Benjamin Labrosse (McGill)Siriman-Harrison Bagayogo (Guelph) | Kevin Victome (Ottawa)Kaylyn St-Cyr (Montréal) |
| Kicker | Tyler Mullan (Queen's) | David Solie (Saskatchewan) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Punter | Chris MacLean (Calgary) | Dawson Hodge (Wilfrid Laurier) | |
| Returner | Alfred Olay (York) | Santino Sparagna (Concordia) |
The Vanier Cup was played between the champions of the Mitchell Bowl and the Uteck Bowl, the national semi-final games. In 2022, according to the rotating schedule, the Québec conference Dunsmore Cup championship team visited the Yates Cup Ontario championship team for the Mitchell Bowl. The winners of the Canada West Hardy Trophy visited the Atlantic conference's Loney Bowl championship team for the Uteck Bowl.[5] These games were played on November 19, 2022, while the 57th Vanier Cup was played on November 26, 2022.[5]