The St. Francis Xavier X-Men football team represents the St. Francis Xavier UniversityinAntigonish, Nova Scotia in the sport of Canadian footballinU Sports. The X-Men program has been competing at the varsity level since 1954 and won the second ever Vanier Cup national championship in 1966. The team has played in two National Championship games overall when they were runners-up in 1996 and have won 16 conference championships in total.
| St. Francis Xavier X-Men | |
|---|---|
St. Francis Xavier X-Men logo
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| First season | 1954 |
| Athletic director | Leo MacPherson |
| Head coach | Gary Waterman 13th year, 64–46–0 (.582) |
| Home stadium | Oland Stadium |
| Stadium capacity | 4000 |
| Stadium surface | FieldTurf |
| Location | Antigonish, Nova Scotia |
| League | U Sports |
| Conference | AUS (1999 – present) |
| Past associations | AUAA (1974–1998) |
| All-time record | – |
| Postseason record | – |
| Titles | |
| Vanier Cups | 1 1966 |
| Atlantic Bowls | 5 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1996 |
| Jewett Trophies | 16 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1966, 1967, 1978, 1982, 1983, 1996, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023 |
| Hec Crighton winners | 0 |
| Colours | Blue and White |
| Outfitter | Adidas |
| Website | goxgo.ca |
The X-Men have won the Atlantic Conference Championship 16 times and have been runners-up an additional 12 times.[2]
| Season | Games | Won | Lost | OTL | PCT | PF | PA | Standing | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0.750 | 227 | 147 | 1st in AUS | Defeated Mount Allison MountiesinLoney Bowl 30–22 Defeated Ottawa Gee-GeesinAtlantic Bowl 13–5 Lost to Saskatchewan Huskiesin32nd Vanier Cup 31–12 |
| 1997 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0.875 | 190 | 120 | 1st in AUS | Lost to Mount Allison MountiesinLoney Bowl 20–17 |
| 1998 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0.125 | 112 | 219 | 4th in AUS | Out of playoffs |
| 1999 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0.125 | 132 | 270 | 4th in AUS | Out of playoffs |
| 2000 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0.375 | 65 | 228 | 3rd in AUS | Out of playoffs |
| 2001 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0.375 | 106 | 202 | 3rd in AUS | Out of playoffs |
| 2002 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0.750 | 215 | 134 | 2nd in AUS | Defeated Acadia Axemen in semi-final 25–11 Lost to Saint Mary's HuskiesinLoney Bowl 63–14 |
| 2003 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0.500 | 139 | 143 | 3rd in AUS | Defeated Acadia Axemen in semi-final 30–28 Lost to Saint Mary's HuskiesinLoney Bowl 36–12 |
| 2004 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0.375 | 155 | 245 | 3rd in AUS | Lost to Acadia Axemen in semi-final 15–8 |
| 2005 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0.625 | 219 | 189 | 2nd in AUS | Defeated Saint Mary's Huskies in semi-final 47–29 Lost to Acadia AxemeninLoney Bowl 69–6 |
| 2006 | 7 | 2 | 5 | – | 0.286 | 80 | 176 | 3rd in AUS | Lost to Saint Mary's Huskies in semi-final 24–6 |
| 2007 | 8 | 3 | 5 | – | 0.375 | 158 | 284 | 2nd in AUS | Defeated Acadia Axemen in semi-final 38–17 Lost to Saint Mary's HuskiesinLoney Bowl 25–24 |
| 2008 | 8 | 4 | 4 | – | 0.500 | 186 | 205 | 2nd in AUS | Defeated Mount Allison Mounties in semi-final 52–12 Lost to Saint Mary's HuskiesinLoney Bowl 29–27 |
| 2009 | 8 | 6 | 2 | – | 0.750 | 201 | 166 | 2nd in AUS | Defeated Acadia Axemen in semi-final 33–30 Lost to Saint Mary's HuskiesinLoney Bowl 31–22 |
| 2010 | 8 | 1 | 7 | – | 0.125 | 98 | 247 | 4th in AUS | Out of playoffs |
| 2011 | 8 | 2 | 6 | – | 0.250 | 148 | 300 | 3rd in AUS | Lost to Saint Mary's Huskies in semi-final 25–2 |
| 2012 | 8 | 2 | 6 | – | 0.250 | 137 | 239 | 4th in AUS | Out of playoffs |
| 2013 | 8 | 3 | 5 | – | 0.375 | 150 | 183 | 4th in AUS | Out of playoffs |
| 2014 | 8 | 4 | 4 | – | 0.500 | 181 | 180 | 2nd in AUS | Defeated Acadia Axemen in semi-final 18–17 Lost to Mount Allison MountiesinLoney Bowl 29–7 |
| 2015 | 8 | 5 | 3 | – | 0.625 | 172 | 179 | 2nd in AUS | Defeated Acadia Axemen in semi-final 26–4 Defeated Mount Allison MountiesinLoney Bowl 14–12 Lost to UBC ThunderbirdsinUteck Bowl 36–9 |
| 2016 | 8 | 7 | 1 | – | 0.875 | 299 | 129 | 1st in AUS | Defeated Mount Allison MountiesinLoney Bowl 29–8 Lost to Calgary DinosinMitchell Bowl 50–24 |
| 2017 | 8 | 4 | 4 | – | 0.500 | 179 | 168 | 3rd in AUS | Lost to Saint Mary's Huskies in semi-final 16–15 |
| 2018 | 8 | 6 | 2 | – | 0.750 | 224 | 156 | 2nd in AUS | Defeated Acadia Axemen in semi-final 33–10 Defeated Saint Mary's HuskiesinLoney Bowl 33–9 Lost to Laval Rouge et OrinUteck Bowl 63–0 |
| 2019 | 8 | 2 | 6 | – | 0.250 | 128 | 214 | 5th in AUS | Out of playoffs |
| 2020 | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | ||||||||
| 2021 | 6 | 6 | 0 | – | 1.000 | 193 | 99 | 1st in AUS | Defeated Acadia Axemen in semi-final 27–22 Defeated Bishop's GaitersinLoney Bowl 25–17 Lost to Western MustangsinMitchell Bowl 61–6 |
| 2022 | 8 | 8 | 0 | – | 1.000 | 261 | 83 | 1st in AUS | Defeated Mount Allison MountiesinLoney Bowl 21–14 Lost to Saskatchewan HuskiesinUteck Bowl 36–19 |
| 2023 | 8 | 8 | 0 | – | 1.000 | 267 | 90 | 1st in AUS | Defeated St. Mary's Huskies in semi-final 36–20 Defeated Bishop's GaitersinLoney Bowl 34–23 Lost to UBC ThunderbirdsinMitchell Bowl 47–17 |
In the 2011 CFL Draft, Hénoc Muamba became the first X-Men player to be selected first overall in the Canadian College Draft, having been drafted by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.[5]
As of the start of the 2024 CFL season, three former X-Men players are on CFL teams' rosters: