Noah Sidel
CFL.ca
The program itself may be younger than any of the players who have ever suited up to play Rouge et Or football, but there’s no denying the rich winning tradition that has been established on the gridiron at Université Laval.
The numbers are staggering.
Six Vanier Cups and nearly 100 victories since the Rouge et Or first took to the field in 1996, 28 players drafted into the Canadian Football League since 1998, and legions of fans all over the Quebec City region.
The second biggest football program in the province after only the Montreal Alouettes, indeed the Laval organization’s success has been completely unmatched over the last decade-plus.
And much like the Alouettes, the Rouge et Or’s winning ways have been built around stability.
“Laval is a dominant team because of the continuity of the program,” said 2011 Canadian Draft-eligible kicker and two-time Vanier Cup champion Chris Milo. “Coach (Glen) Constantin and his staff find the best players at every position who are similar in character so the veterans have an easy task to teach the rookies the tradition of the Rouge et Or.”
Laval first joined the CIS football ranks in 1996 – the same year the Als came back to the CFL – with a true expansion team-like performance, going 1-7 in the Ontario-Quebec conference.
From there, they were 3-5 in 1997 before having their first .500 season a year later. Then 1999 saw Laval take their place atop the nation’s university football world for the first time with a 6-2 record and a 14-10 Vanier Cup win over the Saint-Mary’s Huskies at Toronto’s SkyDome.
“For all of us, just being a part of one of the best programs in the CIS is an honour and an accomplishment in itself,” Milo said. “Being able to share the same locker room as the players who began the program is unbelievable, and knowing that we are building on what they started is special.”
Laval certainly hasn’t looked back – the Rouge et Or are a staggering 80-9 in regular season play since 2000, finishing first in Quebec in every season except 2002 and 2004 and winning the Vanier in 2003, 04, 06, 08, and 2010.
Draft-eligible defensive lineman Marc-Antoine L. Fortin agreed with Milo that consistency has been the key to Laval’s success.
“It’s because of the program our coaches have put into place – the goal is to win every year and not be a ‘one-year wonder’ team. We have a formula that brings in quality rookies who are brought along by the veterans both on and off the field,” Fortin explained.
“A big part of our culture is to respect the traditions started by the greats who came before us like Matthieu Proulx or Mathieu Bertrand who have been very successful in the CFL,” he added. “Success breeds success and in general the best players will want to play on the best team, so we have a huge recruiting advantage because of that.”
