145 CIS grads on 2012 CFL rosters

Just got this article via the CIS twitter feed (https://twitter.com/CIS_SIC) on CIS grads in the CFL.

[url=http://english.cis-sic.ca/sports/fball/2012-13/releases/20120628-cis?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed]http://english.cis-sic.ca/sports/fball/ ... witterfeed[/url]

Apparently, 145 is a record for the number of CIS grads on 2012 rosters (compared to a minimum of 160 over all 8 teams).

The article also breaks down players in a number of ways, including by CIS conference. Canada West leads at 47. This surprises me a little, considering that it's not the biggest conference and there are greater weather and distance challenges faced by that conference than any other. Also surprising is that none of the top 6 contributing schools are in Ontario, despite the fact that all of the teams here are relatively close together and, aside from UBC, we probably have the most favourable weather conditions in Canada for football. I'm impressed that St. Mary's ranks so close to the top, even though Atlantic Canada probably has the lowest interest in football in the country (at least at the pro level).

D’oh! Correction: Western is in the top 6. I blame their misleading name for the error. It’s still surprising that there aren’t more Ontario schools in the top.

Atlantic Canada also has the least population in the country and not all those players at St.Mary's come from the east coast. I have many relatives down east and there is a pretty good following for the CFL. Not having a pro team keeps the interest down.....Good news all around, though! CIS football sure is fun to watch.

That wasn't meant as knock against Atlantic Canada at all, but the facts are the facts. If anything, it's a complement. Even though many of the players come from elsewhere, it still takes a lot of commitment and support to build a successful football program, and it's deserving of praise that they can get that in an area where football isn't the most popular sport.

If I were to pick any region to criticize, it would be Ontario. We've got everything going for us. We have the biggest population. We have the most teams, and they're all located along a well-developed backbone of highways (Highway 401 mostly, with short jaunts along the 403 and 416/417 to get to Mac and Ottawa -- and soon Carleton). Some of those teams have a lot of history behind them. Queen's for example, has had a football team since 1883. The southernmost parts of the country are in Ontario, so there should be more good football weather here than almost anywhere else (exceptions being Vancouver Island and BC's lower mainland, and possibly parts of Atlantic Canada).

I would have expected that the number of CIS grads in the CFL from each region would be proportional to the number of schools. I might even expect Ontario to supply more than a proportional number of players, just because they have so many advantages. That would mean Ontario would have the most, and by quite a margin. But they don't. So OUA football teams aren't, on average, pulling their weight.

Or it's possible that because Ontario has the most population and schools and is relatively easier to travel to it also has a higher profile with US college recruiters.

I'm not surprised by the large number of players from Saskatchewan. Football is huge in this province. Flag, touch and tackle are hugely supported in Regina alone. My sons flag football league has 1200 kids with a waiting list. Not bad for a small city. Saskatoon wouldn't be any different. It's also big in the Rural areas with different variants of football due to the low population. Travelling long distances for sport Is normal in Sasky.

Good to see the CIS doing so well.

Very true and some former CIS players signed on with NFL teams.

The CIS is also huge in Quebec. :thup:

I guess that proves just how important the CIS is to the CFL and visa versa. :thup: