Montreal Carabins football

Montreal Carabins
Montreal Carabins
	Montreal Carabins logo
First season	2002
Athletic director	Manon Simard
Head coach	Marco Iadeluca; 4th year, 27–5 (.844)
Other staff	Denis Touchette (DC)
Home stadium	CEPSUM Stadium
Stadium capacity	5100
Stadium surface	FieldTurf
Location	Montreal, Quebec
League	U Sports
Conference	QUFL/RSEQ (2002 - present)
Past associations	OIFC (1966); CCIFC (1967-1970); QUAA (1971)
All-time record	129–49–0 (.725)
Postseason record	24–19 (.558)
Titles
Vanier Cups	2 (2014, 2023)
Uteck Bowls	3 (2014, 2019, 2023)
Mitchell Bowls	1 (2015)
Dunsmore Cups	5 (2014, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2023)
Hec Crighton winners	1; (Jonathan Sénécal, 2023)
Current uniform
Colours	Royal Blue, White, and Black;
Outfitter	Adidas
Rivals	Laval Rouge et Or
Website	carabins.umontreal.ca

The Montreal Carabins football team represents the University of Montreal in Montreal, Quebec in the sport of Canadian football in U Sports. The Carabins program has been in operation since its resurrection in the 2002 football season and has established itself as a provincial and national powerhouse with five RSEQ conference championships and two national championships, in 2014 and 2023.^[1]

History

The Carabins on offence in the 55th Vanier Cup game.

The team began its second incarnation in 2002 after over thirty years of being dormant. The Carabins first began play in 1966 in the Ontario Intercollegiate Football Conference and continued play for the next six seasons.^[2]^{[dead link‍]} The program was dropped after the 1971 season due to a shift in philosophy as many francophone universities placed an emphasis on community involvement and intramural athletic activities as opposed to intercollegiate athletics. That philosophy has shifted back to intercollegiate sports as Université Laval, Montréal and Université de Sherbrooke each began programs in 1996, 2002 and 2003, respectively.^[3]^{[dead link‍]}

The current program has seen marked success in the regular season, having qualified for the playoffs in every season since 2003. However, the program had difficulty winning their conference championship in the early years, with five losses in their first five appearances. That changed under the leadership of former head coach, Danny Maciocia, in 2014, as the Carabins defeated the Laval Rouge et Or to win their first Dunsmore Cup. The team then won the national semi-final Uteck Bowl against the Manitoba Bisons to qualify for the first Vanier Cup game in program history. In the 50th Vanier Cup, the Carabins defeated the McMaster Marauders by a score of 20–19 to win the first national championship in program history.

The team won two more Dunsmore Cups in 2015 and 2019, but eventually lost in the Vanier Cup games in both seasons to the UBC Thunderbirds and the Calgary Dinos. Maciocia resigned following the 2019 season to join the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes and was replaced by Marco Iadeluca on February 11, 2020.^[4]

In 2021, the first season after the COVID-19 pandemic, the team finished first of the regular season with a record of 7-1, and two straight wins against their rivals, the Laval Rouge et Or. They hosted the 2021 Dunsmore Cup at home, and managed to lift it in Montréal - their fourth Dunsmore Cup - following a decisive victory of 28-19 against Laval, the program's first Dunsmore Cup win at home - and finished the season with three wins against their rivals for the first time in their history.

In 2022, the team finished second in the RSEQ with a record of 6-2. They participated in their ninth straight Dunsmore Cup, and lost 24-25 in Québec, against the Rouge et Or on a single.

For the 2023 campaign, the 2022 provincial runner-up finished the regular season with a 7-1 record, suffering their only loss in the final season game at home to the Concordia Stingers, with a score of 14-16 on a walk-off field goal on a meaningless game. In a rare occurrence, Montreal completely outscored Laval in Quebec with a score of 31-14, thanks to their impressive six turnovers. They also shut down the Rouge et Or 28-0 at home, marking Laval's second-ever scoreless game. The Carabins then secured their fifth Dunsmore Cup with a 12-6 victory over Laval in Montreal. In the following week, Montreal defeated the No. 1-ranked team in Canada, the Western Mustangs, by scoring 29-3 in the Uteck Bowl. To cap off the successful campaign, which had already crowned Montreal quarterback Jonathan Sénécal with the HEC Creighton Trophy for the most outstanding player and the Presidents' Trophy for the most outstanding defensive player, Harold Miessan, the Carabins won their second Vanier Cup title, defeating the UBC Thunderbirds 16-9 in the 58th Vanier Cup. During their four playoff games, Montreal did not concede a single touchdown and finished with an impressive combined score of 111-21.

Season-by-season record

Season	Games	Won	Lost	PCT	PF	PA	Standing	Playoffs
2002	8	0	8	0.000	62	359	5th in QUFL	Did not qualify
2003	8	6	2	0.625	220	160	3rd in QUFL	Lost to Concordia Stingers in semi-final 35-8
2004	8	8	0	1.000	256	75	1st in QUFL	Defeated McGill Redmen in semi-final 38-18 Lost to Laval Rouge et Or in Dunsmore Cup 30-12
2005	8	6	2	0.875	229	158	2nd in QUFL	Defeated Concordia Stingers in semi-final 28-17 Lost to Laval Rouge et Or in Dunsmore Cup 19-13
2006	8	6	2	0.750	188	138	3rd in QUFL	Lost to Concordia Stingers in semi-final 23-3
2007	8	4	4	0.500	151	149	4th in QUFL	Lost to Laval Rouge et Or in semi-final 28-16
2008	8	5	3	0.625	273	138	4th in QUFL	Lost to Laval Rouge et Or in semi-final 32-7
2009	8	5	3	0.625	222	146	2nd in QUFL	Defeated Bishop's Gaiters in semi-final 40-15 Lost to Laval Rouge et Or in Dunsmore Cup 31-7
2010	9	5	4	0.556	227	151	2nd in QUFL	Lost to Sherbrooke Vert et Or in semi-final 33-26
2011	9	6	3	0.667	202	152	3rd in RSEQ	Defeated Sherbrooke Vert et Or in semi-final 33-15 Lost to Laval Rouge et Or in Dunsmore Cup 30-7
2012	9	8	1	0.889	299	102	2nd in RSEQ	Lost to Sherbrooke Vert et Or in semi-final 42-24
2013	8	5	3	0.625	211	120	3rd in RSEQ	Defeated Bishop's Gaiters in semi-final 51-8 Lost to Laval Rouge et Or in Dunsmore Cup 14-11
2014	8	7	1	0.875	271	100	2nd in RSEQ	Defeated Sherbrooke Vert et Or in semi-final 40-13 Defeated Laval Rouge et Or in Dunsmore Cup 12-9 (OT) Defeated Manitoba Bisons in Uteck Bowl 29-26 Defeated McMaster Marauders in 50th Vanier Cup 20-19
2015	8	6	2	0.750	232	109	2nd in RSEQ	Defeated Sherbrooke Vert et Or in semi-final 31-24 Defeated Laval Rouge et Or in Dunsmore Cup 18-16 Defeated Guelph Gryphons in Mitchell Bowl 25-10 Lost to UBC Thunderbirds in 51st Vanier Cup 26-23
2016	8	7	1	0.875	296	72	1st in RSEQ	Defeated McGill Redmen in semi-final 42-0 Lost to Laval Rouge et Or in Dunsmore Cup 20-17
2017	7	6	1	0.857	176	93	2nd in RSEQ	Defeated Concordia Stingers in semi-final 42-20 Lost to Laval Rouge et Or in Dunsmore Cup 25-22
2018	8	6	2	0.750	256	46	2nd in RSEQ	Defeated McGill Redmen in semi-final 48-2 Lost to Laval Rouge et Or in Dunsmore Cup 14-1
2019	8	6	2	0.750	144	93	2nd in RSEQ	Defeated McGill Redmen in semi-final 31-0 Defeated Laval Rouge et Or in Dunsmore Cup 25-10 Defeated Acadia Axemen in Uteck Bowl 38-0 Lost to Calgary Dinos in 55th Vanier Cup 27-13
2020	Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021	8	7	1	0.875	226	113	1st in RSEQ	Defeated Sherbrooke Vert et Or in semi-final 31-3 Defeated Laval Rouge et Or in Dunsmore Cup 28-19 Lost to Saskatchewan Huskies in Uteck Bowl 14-10
2022	8	6	2	0.750	163	124	2nd in RSEQ	Defeated Sherbrooke Vert et Or in semi-final 23-15 Lost to Laval Rouge et Or in Dunsmore Cup 25-24
2023	8	7	1	0.875	288	93	1st in RSEQ	Defeated Sherbrooke Vert et Or in semi-final 54-3 Defeated Laval Rouge et Or in Dunsmore Cup 12-6 Defeated Western Mustangs in Uteck Bowl 29-3 Defeated UBC Thunderbirds in 58th Vanier Cup 16-9
2024	8	7	1	0.875	273	131	2nd in RSEQ	Defeated McGill Redbirds in semi-final 42-3 Lost to Laval Rouge et Or in Dunsmore Cup 22-17

^[5]

National Postseason Results

**Vanier Cup Era (1965-current)**
Year	Game	Opponent	Result
2014	Uteck Bowl Vanier Cup	Manitoba McMaster	W 29-26 W 20-19
2015	Mitchell Bowl Vanier Cup	Guelph UBC	W 25-10 L 23-26
2019	Uteck Bowl Vanier Cup	Acadia Calgary	W 38-0 L 13-27
2021	Uteck Bowl	Saskatchewan	L 10-14
2023	Uteck Bowl Vanier Cup	Western UBC	W 29-3 W 16-9