Copyright Kingstonist
The oldest existing football trophy in North America is coming back to Kingston with the Queen’s University Football team, Yates Cup champions. Hosted by the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks at Knight-Newbrough Field in Waterloo, the 117th Yates Cup Championships took place this past Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025. The fourth-seeded Queen’s Golden Gales took on the home team; the Golden Hawks held the top spot in the league leading into the championship. Going into the game, the Gaels had not won at the Yates Cup since 2009. But the Gaels, seeking their 24th win of the Yates Cup since it was first awarded in 1898, came out strong and, according to the university, held on to their first-half lead to defeat the defending champions on their home turf. “It’s a great group of human beings all the way through the entire department, the entire football program,” Queen’s Football Head Coach Steve Snyder said in an announcement from the university. “They care so much. They have been through a lot. Everybody’s got their own story, and they stay committed. The commitment and resiliency, and emotional toughness of this group is unlike any group I’ve ever been around. Snyder continued, saying he is happy for Queen’s, for Kingston, and for all Queen’s University alumni and students – and, of course, the Gaels’ supporters. “This is for everyone that’s ever put on the Tricolour, and that’s ever laid a brick to the foundation to what is now the 2025 team. We’ve got a lot of amazing supporters, great alumni,” he said. “The guys that I’ve coached since 2019, this is for them, because they helped build this. This team finished it off but there is a lot of people that built this thing up, including Linda Melnick, our Executive Director.” Donated by Dr. Henry Brydges Yates of McGill University, the Yates Cup is awarded by Ontario University Athletics (OUA) to the winner of the U Sports football conference. The Golden Gaels will now go on to face the Canada West (CW) Football champions, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies, for the Mitchell Bowl on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025. The Huskies beat out the University of Regina Rams at the CW championship Hardy Cup at the start of the month; the winners of the Mitchell Bowl will take on the winners of the Uteck Bowl for the coveted Vanier Cup on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025.
