Upcoming Vanier Cup Spurs Memories of U Of R Rams Experience 25 Years Ago

On November 22, the University of Regina and the city of Regina will host the 60^th Vanier Cup, emblematic of Canadian university football dominance.

In its history, the University of Regina Rams have only appeared in one Vanier Cup game. The year was 2000, two years after the Rams left behind their junior football command to compete in the Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union (CIAU), Canada’s varsity athletics governing body at the time.

Unfortunately, after a wild playoff ride, the Ram’s 2000 season ended with a heartbreaking 42-39 loss to the Ottawa Gee-Gees in Toronto’s Skydome. It is still considered to be one of the best Vanier Cup games ever played.

This is a great game, a pure form of football at the amateur level. If the fans are willing to come out to the stadium, they will have a great experience and get to see a quality product on the football field. — Sheldon Gray, U of R Rams Defensive Coordinator, Member of Rams in the 2000 Vanier Cup

Now, a quarter century later, the university championship game is coming to Regina for the first time. And the current U of R Rams believe they may have the talent to write their own storybook ending, this time in their own backyard.

Last season, the Rams came within a single win of reaching the national championship, falling just short in the Mitchell Bowl to the Laval Rouge et Or. The experience has left this year’s group hungry, and no one understands the opportunity better than Rams defensive coordinator Sheldon Gray, who suited up for the 2000 team.

“The season was a whirlwind,” Gray remembers. “We squeaked into the playoffs, won on the road in two tight contests in Calgary and Manitoba, who we got smoked by in the regular season. We were not expected to beat Manitoba. They were so confident that they had even booked a flight out of Winnipeg to Halifax. That was a flight that we ended up using to get to the Atlantic Bowl.  All that adversity brings a team together; we didn’t have time to understand the significance of the run.”

That Rams squad became a campus and community phenomenon. Suddenly, a young program found itself playing for a national championship.

“The Vanier Cup was unreal,” enthuses Gray. “Playing at the Skydome was very cool. I think all the travel and chaos finally caught up to us, and playing Ottawa with their limited travel was a tough draw. The game was back and forth, but unfortunately, we lost a nail-biter.”

While the loss stung, Gray says it didn’t overshadow what the team had accomplished.

“It was an honour to represent the University and city in the Vanier Cup,” he says. “We had a ton of support from the community, and we felt like we were taking our brand of ‘Prairie Tough’ football to Toronto.”

Dream team, dream season

That brand of toughness has remained part of the Rams identity. But Gray also sees parallels between the 2000 squad and the current team’s offensive potential.

“Our offence in 2000 was lights out, and I believe this year our offence has taken the step to become dominant,” he says. “In 2000 we stressed gratitude with coach McCrystal, and now with coach McConkey we have the same focus of being thankful for each day and opportunity and not wasting a minute of it.”

Former Rams receiver Jason Clermont also has vivid memories of the 2000 Vanier Cup run, especially the dramatic road the team took to get there.

“The lead up to that game was the most memorable,” Clermont says. “We entered the playoffs with an onside kick against Alberta. We went into Manitoba and won the Hardy Cup in a hostile environment. Then we went to St. Mary’s for the Atlantic Bowl against the Huskies. So really, the whole trip leading up to that Vanier Cup was memorable.”

If Gray recalls the chaos of the travel, Clermont remembers the awe of the destination.

“The one thing that actually does stand out was getting into the Skydome and seeing that big Jumbotron for the first time,” he says. “It felt like we weren’t in Kansas anymore.”

For Clermont, the Rams’ rise to national prominence was even more striking given where the program had started just a few years earlier.

“We dominated junior,” he explains. “In those last couple of years, the Hilltops would give us a run, but for the most part we ran over the league. Then we moved up to the university ranks in ’99. We were close in a bunch of games, but I think we went 0–8. The difference was just that margin of winning at that next level, the size, the age, the experience of players. We were a little bit behind after the first season.”

But by 2000, things had changed.

“I think it was just a refused-to-lose attitude,” Clermont says. “We had a bunch of Prairie boys on our team that didn’t know any better, that they couldn’t compete. And we had a coaching staff that recruited heavily to bolster the positions that needed the most experience, the offensive and defensive lines.”

It was a formula that worked, and Clermont believes today’s Rams may be on a similar trajectory.

Go…Rams…Go!

When asked about the current Rams team Clermont says, “I think they’re strong. Last year, if guys like Marshall Erickson and others had the experience they do now, they probably would have made it through. They really had a good semifinal game here in Regina, and they had a chance to get through. Now those guys have had that taste. They worked so hard in the offseason, and I feel like if they can maintain their health, they’re on the right path.”

Asked what advice he’d give the 2025 Rams, Clermont doesn’t hesitate.

“I’d tell them to circle the day after the Vanier Cup on their calendar and think about the parade, the celebration, the feeling of being champions,” he says. “Once you’ve got that circled, look at it day by day, week by week, opponent by opponent. The only way to eat a dinosaur is one bite at a time.”

For Gray, the message is simpler – seize the opportunity.

“This is a great game, a pure form of football at the amateur level,” he says. “If the fans are willing to come out to the stadium, they will have a great experience and get to see a quality product on the football field.”

As the 2025 season unfolds, the Rams know they can’t look too far ahead. The playoffs are never guaranteed, and last year’s near miss is a reminder of how narrow the margin can be. But the thought of the Rams taking the field for a Vanier Cup in front of their own fans is more than enough to fuel dreams.

Can it happen this year? As Gray and Clermont know better than most, sometimes all it takes is momentum, belief, and a little bit of “Prairie Tough” to realize an unforgettable season.

As members of the 1997 and 1998 junior football Rams teams, Gray and Clermont were inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame on September 20, 2025.