The 48th Vanier Cup will be held during the historic 100th Grey Cup Festival in a joint partnership between Canadian Interuniversity Sport, MRX and the 100th Grey Cup Festival. The best teams in Canadian university football will go head-to-head on Friday, November 23, 2012 at Rogers Centre in Toronto with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff. TSN and RDS have once again partnered up with CIS to broadcast all of the excitement of the final championship game.
"We are excited to include the time-honoured tradition of the Vanier Cup in the 100th Grey Cup Festival," said Lou Ragagnin, President and COO of the 100th Grey Cup Festival. "The celebration of Canadian football is part of what the Festival is all about and the inclusion of the Vanier Cup enhances this celebration as fans can watch the best in Canadian amateur football on the Friday and the best in the CFL on Sunday."
Leo MacPherson, president of CIS added: "We are thrilled to once again partner with the Grey Cup Festival and MRX, and to be integrated into this outstanding celebration of Canadian history and the sport of football. 25,000 football fans witnessed one of the greatest Vanier Cup finals in history last year in Vancouver, and we have no doubt this year's event in Toronto will be a resounding success."
After the recent announcement of the Grey Cup sellout, the Vanier Cup will provide an exciting opportunity for fans to witness future CFL prospects battle it out in front of an electric crowd at Rogers Centre for the right to hoist the 48th Vanier Cup. In 2007, the Vanier Cup was a part of the Grey Cup Festival in Toronto and 26,787 fans cheered on their favourites, marking the largest Vanier Cup crowd since 1995. With the nail-biting finish of last year's CIS final between the McMaster Marauders and Laval Rouge et Or - won in overtime by McMaster in front of 25,000 fans, it is expected that this year's Vanier Cup challenges the all-time attendance record of 32,847, set back in 1989 in Toronto.
"With the national spotlight shining on the 100th Grey Cup this November in Toronto, this partnership provides us with the opportunity to showcase the great game of Canadian football like never before," said Mark Cohon, Commissioner of the Canadian Football League.
"This is great news for fans across Canada, for the CIS, and for the CFL, who looks to Canadian interuniversity football for our future stars. This will make the 100th Grey Cup festival even more exciting, and the future of our game even stronger."
