Carleton Ravens Explained

Carleton Ravens
University:Carleton University
Association:U Sports
Conference:Ontario University Athletics
Director:Jennifer Brenning
Location:Ottawa, Ontario
Teams:15
Mascot:Rodney the Raven
Nickname:Ravens
Pageurl:http://www.goravens.ca/
Colour1:Black
Hex1:00000D
Colour2:White
Hex2:FFFFFF
Colour3:Red
Hex3:E31936

The Carleton Ravens are the athletic teams that represent Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario. The most notable sports team for Carleton is the men's basketball team. In men's basketball, the Ravens have won 16 of the last 19 national men's championships, which is more than any top division college in Canada or the United States.[1] The Ravens went on an 87-game winning streak from 2003 to 2006. They also had a 54-game home winning streak. The Ravens finished 2nd in the World University Basketball Championships in 2004.

Outside basketball, the Ravens won the silver medal at the 2015 Winter Universiade in Granada.[2] They are also the Men's Water Polo and Men's Fencing provincial champions. The Men's Hockey team also placed 3rd in the province and made an appearance at nationals. Carleton participates in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Conference for all varsity sports, except the Women's Hockey and Rugby teams who play in Quebec Student Sport Federation (RSEQ).

Rivalry with the Gee-Gees

See main article: Panda Game, Capital Hoops Classic and Colonel By Classic. Carleton's biggest rivals are the Gee-Gees of the University of Ottawa. An annual football game known as the Panda Game is played between the cross-town rivals. It is the most well known rivalry game in Canadian collegiate football . Since its inception in 1955, the Gee-Gees have won 33 to Carleton's 13. From 1998 to 2012, Carleton did not have a football program so the Panda Game was not held.

Today, the rivalry has extended to the schools' basketball teams, as both universities have men's and women's teams that finish near the top of the standings. On January 23, 2007, the two men's basketball teams faced off at Scotiabank Place, now known as Canadian Tire Centre, in front of nearly 9,720 spectators, which was a record crowd for a regular season U Sports basketball game. The Ottawa Gee-Gees won the inaugural event 64–62. The event, now known as the Capital Hoops Classic, has been expanded to include the women's teams as well, with the Classic featuring a doubleheader of both teams. The January 28, 2009 edition of the game broke the 2007 record with 10,523 fans attending the two games, with both of Carleton's teams posting victories over Ottawa.[3] In the 2013–14 season the teams faced each other both in the provincial and national finals, with uOttawa winning the OUA championship and Carleton winning the national title. In 2014-15, the two teams met again in the national championship game, with Carleton once again winning.

The rivalry also extends to Men's Rugby where the two teams play annually around Halloween for the Pumpkin Bowl Trophy. Started in 2015, the two teams have played this match almost every year since, taking turns hosting, but Carleton has never won this trophy.

Teams

Men's basketball

See main article: Carleton Ravens men's basketball. The Ravens have won 17 of the last 20 national championships (2003 to 2007, 2009, 2011 to 2017, 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2023). Below is their regular season record since 1996–97. Of note, they have captured the Wilson Cup 12 times.

SeasonWLPFPAFinish
1996–97 5 15 1360 1678 7th, OUA East
1997–98 7 13 1391 1542 6th, OUA East
1998–99 12 8 1392 1351 2nd, OUA East
1999-00 11 9 1321 1357 3rd, OUA East
2000–01 21 1 1777 1390 1st, OUA East
2001–02 19 3 1826 1443 1st, OUA East
2002–03 21 1 1842 1400 1st, OUA East
2003–04 22 0 1635 1270 1st, OUA East
2004–05 22 0 1615 1268 1st, OUA East
2005–06 20 2 1695 1266 1st, OUA East
2006–07 19 3 1693 1282 1st, OUA East
22 0 1869 1318 1st, OUA East
21 1 1960 1393 1st, OUA East
20 2 1901 1389 1st, OUA East
2010–11 22 0 2016 1341 1st, OUA East
2011–12 22 0 2087 1245 1st, OUA East
2012-13 19 1 1819 1232 1st, OUA East
2013-1422 0 2073 1368 1st, OUA East
2014-151721730 1072 2nd, OUA North
2015-161631641 1153 2nd, OUA North
2016-17 19 0 1748 1114 1st, OUA North
2017-18 23 0 2036 1389 1st, OUA East
2018-19 22 1 2101 1364 1st, OUA East
2019-20 21 1 2151 1398 1st, OUA East
2020-21Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021-22 18 1 1641 1206 1st, OUA East

Women's basketball

See main article: Carleton Ravens women's basketball.

Carleton's women's basketball program has become one of the most competitive in Canada, winning their first national championship in 2018.[5] They won a second national title in 2023.

SeasonWLPFPAFinish
2003–04 7 15 1198 1273 7th, OUA East
2004–05 5 17 1120 1281 7th, OUA East
2005–06 10 12 1268 1267 5th, OUA East
2006–07 5 17 1272 1477 6th, OUA East
2007–08 8 14 1280 1307 5th, OUA East
2008–09 14 8 1388 1184 3rd, OUA East
2009–10 18 4 1473 1119 1st, OUA East
2010–11 18 4 1430 1209 1st, OUA East
2011–12 17 5 1494 1157 2nd, OUA East
2012-13 15 5 1337 1048 2nd, OUA East
2013-14 16 6 1290 1172 1st, OUA East
2014-15 9 10 1113 1047 2nd, OUA North
2015-16[6] 14 5 1289 1061 2nd, OUA North
2016-17 18 1 1296 970 1st, OUA North
2017-18 23 0 1666 1055 1st, OUA East
2018-19 18 5 1532 1242 2nd, OUA East
2019-20 17 10 1805 1603 2nd, OUA East
2020-21Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021-22 11 5 1129 901 2nd, OUA East

Curling

Carleton won the national women's championship in 2014 and the national men's championship in 2019.

Women's field hockey

SeasonWLTPFPAPtsFinish
2002 2 9 1 14 32 7 3rd, OUA East
2003 1 12 1 3 66 4 7th, OUA
2004 3 8 3 12 38 12 7th, OUA
2005 5 8 1 9 23 16 6th, OUA
2006 2 10 2 18 42 8 7th, OUA
2007 3 10 1 6 55 10 6th, OUA
2008 2 9 3 4 49 9 7th, OUA
2009 0 14 0 7 57 0 8th, OUA
2010 0 14 0 6 82 0 8th, OUA

The women's field hockey team has not participated in U Sports since 2010.

Football

See main article: Carleton Ravens football.

The Carleton Ravens football team returned to the Ontario University Athletics football conference in 2013 after a 15-year absence.[7] Upon their return, the team was led by head coach Steve Sumarah from 2013 to 2021.[8] In 2013, Sumarah predicted his team would play in the semi-finals within four years, and in 2016 the team accomplished that goal.[9] After Sumarah was dismissed with a losing record over eight seasons, Corey Grant was hired as the team's head coach for the 2022 season.[10] The football team plays at Keith Harris Stadium.

Historically, the Ravens football team first began play just after the Second World War in 1945 and was in continuous operation until the program was dropped in 1998.[11] While the team had some success in the mid-1980s, poor performances and a plan by the Carleton Athletic department to invest more funds in other sports led to the sport being cut after the 1998 season.[12] [13] In their history, the Ravens won one Dunsmore Cup conference championship in 1985, but lost in the following Western Bowl to the Calgary Dinos 56 to 14.[14]

Men's ice hockey

The Carleton Ravens men's ice hockey team plays within the Ontario University Athletics conference of U Sports.[15]

Former NHL hockey player Shaun Van Allen has led Carleton as head coach since the fall of 2017, when he took the program over from previous head coach Marty Johnston. Under Van Allen, the Ravens program has continued to be a consistently-.500 team into a perennial threat in the OUA's Eastern Conference. Despite a plethora of regular-season success, the program has repeatedly been handed early playoff exits by the arch-rival UQTR Patriotes. The Ravens overcame the Patriotes in the 2019 playoffs en route to winning the OUA Bronze medal.

SeasonWLOTLGFGAPtsFinish
2007–08 12 13 3 88 110 27 4th, OUA Far East
2008–09 13 11 4 91 89 30 4th, OUA Far East
2009–10 15 10 3 101 87 33 4th, OUA East
2010–11 18 8 2 108 67 38 3rd, OUA East
2011–12 15 10 3 100 78 33 7th, OUA East
2012–13 19 7 2 101 75 40 2nd, OUA East
2013–14 22 5 1 128 67 45 1st, OUA East
2014–15 20 5 1 108 58 41 2nd, OUA East
2015–16[16] 20 7 1 116 62 41 3rd, OUA East
2016–17 16 9 3 98 62 35 5th, OUA East
2017–18 15 9 4 98 76 38 4th, OUA East
2018–19 17 8 5 99 75 41 2nd, OUA East
2019–20 24 3 1 102 62 49 1st, OUA East
2021–22 4 4 3 31 36 11 4th, OUA Far East

Women's ice hockey

See main article: Carleton Ravens women's ice hockey.

SeasonWLTOTLPFPAPtsFinish
2004–05 0 14 1 0 12 83 1 4th, QSSF
2005–06 0 14 0 1 13 61 1 4th, QSSF
2006–07 5 13 0 0 26 63 10 3rd, QSSF
2007–08 7 11 0 0 27 57 14 3rd, QSSF
2008–09 7 11 0 31 61 14 3rd, QSSF
2009–10 8 12 0 39 47 16 4th, Quebec
7 8 5 46 59 19 4th, RSEQ
9 8 3 53 75 21 3rd, RSEQ
2012–13 7 12 1 46 85 15 4th, RSEQ
2013–14 1 15 4 1 32 90 6 6th, RSEQ
2014–15 3 17 0 24 96 6 5th, RSEQ
2015–16[17] 5 15 0 23 65 10 5th, RSEQ

Men's soccer

Carleton also has a soccer team. In 2002, the team lost the finals 1–0 in OT to the Brock Badgers. They were OUA champions again in 2005, but lost in the quarter-finals of the national championships. In 2012, the Ravens men's soccer team advanced to CIS (now U Sports) Nationals and finished in 6th place at the CIS Championship Finals.

SeasonWLTPFPAPtsFinish
2002 10 0 2 33 8 32 1st, OUA South/East
2003 6 3 3 27 12 21 4th, OUA South/East
2004 8 2 0 30 11 19 1st, OUA East
2005 7 0 3 22 4 24 1st, OUA East
2006 9 1 4 31 7 24 2nd, OUA East
2007 13 0 1 40 7 33 1st, OUA East
2008 12 1 1 35 10 37 1st, OUA East
2009 9 5 2 26 17 29 2nd, OUA East
2010 9 3 2 16 5 29 2nd, OUA East
2011 11 3 0 41 14 33 1st, OUA East
2012 10 2 2 36 13 32 2nd, OUA East
2013 8 3 3 26 11 27 2nd, OUA East
2014 9 4 3 29 16 30 4th, OUA East
2015[18] 8 2 6 26 11 30 4th, OUA East

Women's soccer

Despite having successful regular seasons, the women's soccer team has had little success in the playoffs.

SeasonWLTPFPAPtsFinish
2002 5 3 2 7 4 17 3rd, OUA East
2003 4 2 4 15 6 16 3rd, OUA East
2004 6 4 2 24 12 20 3rd, OUA East
2005 7 2 3 27 9 24 3rd, OUA East
2006 11 2 3 30 10 36 2nd, OUA East
2007 9 5 2 29 15 29 4th, OUA East
2008 6 6 2 18 14 20 6th, OUA East
2009 6 8 2 15 17 20 5th, OUA East
2010 7 6 3 20 17 24 4th, OUA East
2011 8 6 2 28 19 26 4th, OUA East
2012 9 5 2 36 26 29 5th, OUA East
2013 9 3 4 44 14 31 3rd, OUA East
2014 7 5 4 29 19 25 5th, OUA East
2015[19] 7 6 3 27 13 24 6th, OUA East

Men's golf

Men's golf has had a long history at Carleton. Despite many strong individual performances, the Ravens have struggled to find team success at the OUA stage.

SeasonFinishLocationHost
2007 12th Royal Ottawa Golf Club University of Ottawa Gee-Gee's
2008 7th Crosswinds Golf Club McMaster University Marauders
2009 10th Angus Glen Golf Club - South University of Toronto Varsity Blues
2010 11th Angus Glen Golf Club - South University of Toronto Varsity Blues
2011 13th Cataraqui Golf and Country Club Queen's University Gaels
2012 13th Grey Silo Golf Club University of Waterloo Warriors
2013 14th Grey Silo Golf Club Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks

Notable athletes

Basketball

Curling

Football

Soccer

Athletes of the Year

This is an incomplete list

Year Female Athlete Sport Male Athlete Sport
2010-11[21] Alyson Bush BasketballTyson HinzBasketball
2011-12
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15[22] Natasha Smith Rugby Thomas ScrubbBasketball
2015-16 [23] Megan Evans Nordic Skiing Brett Welychka Men’s Hockey
2016-17 [24] Heather Lindsay Women’s Basketball Kaza Kajami-Keane Men’s basketball
2017-18[25] Elizabeth Leblanc Women's Basketball Gabriel Bitar Men's Soccer
2018-19 [26] Zöe Williams Nordic Skiing Eddie Ekiyor Basketball
2019-20[27] Zöe Williams Nordic Skiing Jack Cassar Football

See also

Notes and References

  1. Peter Gross, sports report, March 13, 2017, CFTR 680 News, Toronto
  2. Web site: Granada 2015. www.booked.net.
  3. https://presto-en.usports.ca/sports/mbkb/2010-11/releases/20110126-hoops Carleton hosts Ottawa in 5th Capital Hoops Classic
  4. Web site: Sport Clubs .
  5. News: Carleton beats Saskatchewan 69-48 to win U Sports women's basketball title. The Globe and Mail. March 12, 2018.
  6. Web site: 2015-16 CIS Women's Basketball Standings . U Sports.
  7. Web site: Carleton football veteran celebrates team's revival . July 7, 2011 . July 11, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110711051911/http://www.ottawacitizen.com/sports/Carleton+football+veteran+celebrates+team+revival/5060825/story.html . bot: unknown .
  8. News: Sumarah Gone: Carleton Ravens dismiss head football coach, begin 'national search' . Toronto Sun . January 12, 2022.
  9. Web site: Carleton Ravens Football Team Eyes Vanier Cup - Carleton University. Carleton Newsroom.
  10. Web site: FRavens Name Corey Grant as the New Head Coach . Carleton Ravens . March 18, 2022.
  11. Web site: Exhibits browse | Archives & Special Collections. asc.library.carleton.ca.
  12. Web site: Football - more than just a game - Fall 2002 - Carleton University Magazine . 2007-09-01 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070927200440/http://magazine.carleton.ca/2002_fall/814.htm . September 27, 2007 . mdy .
  13. Web site: Carleton Ravens . 2006-07-05 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20031010123016/http://www.magma.ca/~jhayman/ciau/22carleton.htm . October 10, 2003 . mdy-all .
  14. Web site: CIS Media Guide and Almanac 2007-2008 . 2007-09-01 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070927082314/http://www.universitysport.ca/e/football/2007_football.pdf . September 27, 2007 . mdy .
  15. Web site: Former Penguins draft pick to suit up for Ravens next season - Go Ravens . Goravens.ca . 2014-06-11 . 2022-08-25.
  16. Web site: 2015-16 CIS Men's Hockey Standings . U Sports.
  17. Web site: 2015-16 CIS Women's Hockey Standings . U Sports.
  18. Web site: 2015 CIS Men's Soccer Standings . U Sports.
  19. Web site: 2015 CIS Women's Soccer Standings . U Sports.
  20. Web site: Canada Basketball | OSVALDO JEANTY 2007 Senior Men's National Team . 2008-07-17 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081115112030/http://www.basketball.ca/en/hm/inside.php?sid=149 . November 15, 2008 . mdy .
  21. News: Ravens honoured at Varsity Awards Banquet. goravens.ca/. April 1, 2011. 2021-06-22. en. June 24, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210624204129/https://goravens.ca/news/go-ravens-news/2011/04/ravens-honoured-at-varsity-awards-banquet-2/. dead.
  22. News: Ravens honoured at Varsity Awards Banquet. goravens.ca/. March 19, 2015. June 21, 2021. en.
  23. News: Evans and Welychka named Carleton's 2015-16 Athletes of the Year. goravens.ca/. March 31, 2016. June 21, 2021. en.
  24. News: Carleton Ravens announce 2016-17 major award winners. goravens.ca/. March 28, 2017. June 21, 2021. en.
  25. News: Carleton honours major award winners at 2017-18 varsity gala; Leblanc & Bitar named athletes of the year. goravens.ca/. March 29, 2018. June 21, 2021. en.
  26. News: Ravens celebrate outstanding seasons by varsity athletes. Stuart Miller-Davis. goravens.ca/. March 29, 2019 . June 21, 2021. en.
  27. News: Ravens commemorate athletic excellence with annual awards. Mark Bahensky. goravens.ca/. April 13, 2020. June 21, 2021. en.