McCaw Cup explained

McCaw Cup
Sport:Ice Hockey
League:Ontario University Athletics
Awardedfor:OUA champion in U Sports women's ice hockey
Mostrecent:Waterloo Warriors
Mostwins:Toronto Varsity Blues (40)
First:1922
Firstwinner:Toronto Varsity Blues

The McCaw Cup (formerly the WIAU ice hockey trophy and the Dr. Judy McCaw Trophy) is a trophy awarded annually to the provincial champion in collegiate women's ice hockey of the Ontario University Athletics conference of U Sports. Originally named the WIAU ice hockey trophy, it was rededicated by the University of Guelph in 1972 to Dr. Judy McCaw, an Anglo-Québécois veterinarian and professor at the university.[1] The University of Guelph also colloquially refers to the cup as Judy.[2]

The McCaw Cup differs from its counterpart in men's collegiate hockey, the Queen's Cup, as it features teams only from Ontario universities. Unlike the women's conferences which are separated into the OUA in Ontario and the RSEQ in Québec, all three men's collegiate ice hockey teams in Québec compete in the OUA for the Queen's Cup.

History

From 1922-1971, the trophy was known as the Women's Intercollegiate Athletic Union (WIAU) Ice Hockey Trophy. Until 1998 it was the highest award in women's collegiate ice hockey, as there was no national governing body over women's inter-university hockey. Following the 1971 season, the WIAU merged with the Ontario-Québec University Athletic Association to form the Ontario Women's Interuniversity Athletic Association (OWIAA) and the cup was renamed to the Judy McCaw Trophy, which was then shortened to the McCaw Cup following the merger of the men's and women's leagues to the OUA in 1998.

Following the establishment of a national championship in 1998, the recipient of the cup would go on to represent the conference at the national tournament. Currently, both the champion and the runner-up are granted berths at the U Sports national championship, with the recipient of the cup given the higher seed at the tournament.

McCaw Cup Championship

In the OUA's current format, the 4 best teams in each division play in best of 5 quarter-final and semi-final matchups to determine who will play in the single elimination final known as the McCaw Cup Championship. Historically, a 4 team playoff has been used to determine the champion.

Denotes team that went on to win National Championship (post-1998)
Team (#)Denotes the number of times team had been awarded McCaw Cup at that time

WIAU (1922 - 1971)

!Year!Champion
1922Toronto Varsity Blues
1923Toronto Varsity Blues (2)
1924Toronto Varsity Blues (3)
1925Toronto Varsity Blues (4)
1926Queen's Gaels
1927Toronto Varsity Blues (5)
1928Toronto Varsity Blues (6)
1929Toronto Varsity Blues (7)
1930Toronto Varsity Blues (8)
1931Queen's Gaels (2)
1932Toronto Varsity Blues (9)
1933Toronto Varsity Blues (10)
1934Toronto Varsity Blues (11)
1935Toronto Varsity Blues (12)
1936 - 1948Not Awarded
1949Toronto Varsity Blues (13)
1950Toronto Varsity Blues (14)
1951 - 1960Not Awarded
1961Toronto Varsity Blues (15)
1962Toronto Varsity Blues (16)
1963Toronto Varsity Blues (17)
1964Toronto Varsity Blues (18)
1965Toronto Varsity Blues (19)
1966Toronto Varsity Blues (20)
1967Guelph Gryphons
1968Guelph Gryphons (2)
1969Guelph Gryphons (3)
1970Guelph Gryphons (4)
1971McMaster Marauders
Source: [3]

OWIAA (1972 - 1997)

YearChampion
1972Guelph Gryphons (5)
1973Queen's Gaels (3)
1974Guelph Gryphons (6)
1975Queen's Gaels (4)
1976McMaster Marauders (2)
1977Queen's Gaels (5)
1978McMaster Marauders (3)
1979Queen's Gaels (6)
1980Toronto Varsity Blues (21)
1981Toronto Varsity Blues (22)
1982Toronto Varsity Blues (23)
1983York Lions
1984Toronto Varsity Blues (24)
1985Toronto Varsity Blues (25)
1986Toronto Varsity Blues (26)
1987York Lions (2)
1988Toronto Varsity Blues (27)
1989Toronto Varsity Blues (28)
1990Toronto Varsity Blues (29)
1991Toronto Varsity Blues (30)
1992Toronto Varsity Blues (31)
1993Toronto Varsity Blues (32)
1994Toronto Varsity Blues (33)
1995Toronto Varsity Blues (34)
1996Toronto Varsity Blues (35)
1997York Lions (3)
Source:

OUA (1998 - present)

YearChampionRunner UpScore
1998Guelph Gryphons (7)
1999Laurier Golden Hawks
2000Toronto Varsity Blues (36)
2001Toronto Varsity Blues (37)
2002Laurier Golden Hawks (2)
2003Toronto Varsity Blues (38)
2004Laurier Golden Hawks (3)
2005Laurier Golden Hawks (4)
2006Laurier Golden Hawks (5)
2007Laurier Golden Hawks (6)
2008Laurier Golden Hawks (7)
2009Laurier Golden Hawks (8)
2010Laurier Golden Hawks (9)
2011Queen's Gaels (7)
2012Laurier Golden Hawks (10)
2013Queen's Gaels (8)
2014Laurier Golden Hawks (11)
2015Western Mustangs
2016Guelph Gryphons (8)
2017Guelph Gryphons (9)
2018Western Mustangs (2)Queen's Gaels3-0
2019Guelph Gryphons (10)Toronto Varsity Blues4-2
2020Toronto Varsity Blues (39)York Lions3-1
2021Season Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2022Brock BadgersNipissing Lakers3-1
2023Toronto Varsity Blues (40)Nipissing Lakers2-1
2024Waterloo Warriors2-1 (OT)
Source: [4]

Championships by Team

The Toronto Varsity Blues have won the most championships with 40, who were also the inaugural recipients of the cup in 1922. The Queen's Gaels were the second team to win the cup four years later in 1926, and it was not until the Guelph Gryphons won the cup 39 years later in 1967 that a team other than the Blues or the Gaels had won.

The cup was not awarded in 1936-1948, as well as from 1951-1960 after several teams had withdrawn from the conference. The cup has been continually awarded since 1961, with the exception of the 2021 season, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

!Team!Wins!Last
Toronto Varsity Blues402023
Laurier Golden Hawks112014
Guelph Gryphons102019
Queen's Golden Gaels92013
McMaster Marauders31978
York Lions31997
Western Mustangs22018
Brock Badgers12022
Waterloo Warriors12024

Source: [3] [4]

Notes and References

  1. News: December 7, 1967 . News Bulletin, University of Guelph . 3 . 2 . 31.
  2. Web site: x.com .
  3. Web site: Ontario University Athletics (OUA) . 2024-04-13 . www.whockey.com.
  4. Women's Hockey Champions . en.