GUELPH, Ont. – It is official. Intercollegiate sports will be returning to the University of Guelph campus for the 2021-22 season. And six Gryphon varsity teams now have dates they can circle on their calendars.
On Wednesday, June 30, 2021, Ontario University Athletics (OUA) released 2021 regular season schedules for four different intercollegiate, league-based, fall sports. Schedules are now in place for football, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's rugby and field hockey. Games get underway in late September, with Saturday, September 25, 2021 marking the first time in a year and a half in which games will have taken place on U of G campus, with the Gryphons men's rugby team hosting the Waterloo Warriors at 3pm, followed by a 6pm kickoff at Alumni Stadium later that same day as the Gryphon football team host the Western Mustangs. This most recent announcement from the OUA comes just seven days after the league office
released details regarding the adjusted structure of this season's schedules, which sees teams playing fewer games than in past seasons.
No decision has been made at this point as to whether or not fans will be permitted to be in attendance for Gryphon home games during the upcoming season, but the University of Guelph Department of Athletics will continue to monitor the situation closely and follow public health guidelines as the province continues to progress through its reopening plan.
Football
The Gryphon football team has waited a long time to get back on the field. But they will have to wait one more additional week longer than the rest of the conference. OUA football returns this fall, with a modified six-game regular season schedule (as opposed to the standard eight-game format). While the other 10 teams in the OUA will kickoff the new season on September 18, the Gryphon football team will put the finishing touches on their preparation during a Week 1 bye, meaning the first regular season football game for the Gryphons will take place on Saturday, September 25 with a 6pm kickoff at Alumni Stadium versus the Western Mustangs.
A packed, Alumni Stadium crowd cheers on the Gryphons during the 2019 Homecoming game, which the Gryphons would win 33-6 over the Ottawa Gee-Gees
The other two regular season home games for the Gryphons will take place on back-to-back weekends in October, with the Waterloo Warriors visiting Alumni Stadium for another 6pm kickoff October 16, followed by a 1pm game versus the Toronto Varsity Blues on October 23. Away games will see the Gryphons travel to Windsor (Oct. 2), Queen's (Oct. 8) and McMaster (Oct. 30).
"Our team is elated that we will be back on the field in 2021," says Gryphon football head coach
Ryan Sheahan, who will be entering his third season in charge in 2021 after leading the Gryphons to an OUA semifinal appearance during his first season as head coach back in 2019. "It's great to be able to circle an official date to get back to the business of being a team, and competing at the game we love so much. The reduced format schedule will feel a little different, but I believe those feelings will disappear come playoff time when we are in the hunt for the trophy."
The OUA playoffs will culminate on Saturday, November 20 with the playing of the 113th Yates Cup. The OUA champion will host the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) champion in the 2021 Mitchell Bowl, with the U SPORTS football season wrapping up in Quebec City on December 4 with
Laval serving as the host of the 56th Vanier Cup.
"Over the next two and half months our focus remains the same ats it has been for the last 16 months," adds Sheahan, who led the Gryphons to as high as No. 3 in the national rankings during the 2019 season. "Prepare, stay hungry, and come flying out of the gate come September."
Women's Soccer
The Gryphons women's soccer team will play a 10-game regular season schedule in 2021 (down from a 14-game schedule back in 2019). The Gryphons return to OUA action on September 22 with a road game against the Windsor Lancers. The home opener will take place four days later on Sunday, September 26 at the Gryphon Soccer Complex, with the Gryphons once again facing the Lancers in the second half of a home-and-home matchup to open the season.
In Shayne Campbell's first 3 seasons in charge, the Gryphons have finished 1st or 2nd in their division each season, including capturing the OUA title in 2017
The game on September 26 will mark the first time OUA soccer will have taken place at the Gryphon Soccer Complex since October of 2019.
"The players and staff are very excited to look ahead to competition in the fall of 2021," says
Shayne Campbell, who will be entering his fourth season as head coach of the U of G women's soccer program in 2021. "We are very grateful for all of the hard work that each stakeholder and organization has done to make this possible for the student-athletes," adds Campbell, who has led the Gryphons to an impressive record of 30 wins, 6 losses and 10 draws in OUA play over the course of three seasons from 2017-to-2019, including securing the program's first OUA title back in 2017. "Each player has been working hard through COVID to improve their fitness level. The focus over the next couple of months leading into the season will be a focus on improving their soccer-specific actions that can only come from playing the sport again. We are all looking forward to the preparation for the upcoming season."
Men's Soccer
The last time the Gryphons men's soccer team was in action, they left the pitch with medals around their necks as OUA bronze medalists in 2019. The Gryphons will once again look to establish themselves among the OUA's elite when they kickoff their 2021 campaign on September 22 at Windsor. The 2021 OUA men's soccer season will see teams play a shortened 10-game schedule (down from 14 games in 2019), with the Gryphons home opener set for Sunday, September 26 versus the Lancers.
Under head coach Keith Mason, the Gryphons have been regularly ranked in the national Top 10 in recent years
The 10-game regular season schedule wraps up on Halloween (Oct. 31) with the OUA soccer playoffs taking place from November 3-to-10.
"After a difficult 16 months of COVID protocols, the soccer players and staff are mightily relieved and excited to have a 2021 competitive season," says longtime head coach Keith Mason, who will be entering his 21st season in charge of the U of G men's soccer program this fall. "The OUA have done a great job in their scheduling, post-pandemic, and the news of a season was music to our ears. The excitement is growing to get back on the pitch, and an overwhelming sense of relief is the main emotion to explain how the boys and staff feel. We now need to build the players back to peak fitness with total understanding that we must take a slow and steady with a patient approach, but I am confident we will be ready to go come the fall."
Women's Rugby
One of the few varsity teams who will
not have to adjust to changes in their regular season schedule for 2021 is the Gryphon women's rugby team.
Head coach Colette McAuley has helped establish the Gryphons as a perennial national power in women's rugby
Just as they did back in 2019, the Gryphons women's rugby team will once again play a four-game regular season schedule, with action getting underway on Friday, September 24 in Hamilton against the Marauders. The Gryphons will then return to Varsity Field for their home opener on October 2 versus Brock.
"We are really excited about getting back in the pitch and competing," says head coach Colette McAuley, a three-time U SPORTS Coach of the Year (2008, 2015 & 2017) who will be entering her 15th season as head coach of the U of G women's rugby program in 2021. "We have a lot of young talent mixed in with our seasoned veterans so it should allow us to play some exciting rugby."
The last time the Gryphons women's rugby team was on the field, was at the 2019 U SPORTS championships where they defeated the defending champions StFX before falling to Laval in the semifinals. The 16-time OUA champion Gryphons will look to add to their decorated history in 2021 after earning OUA silver medals back in 2019.
Men's Rugby
The Gryphons men's rugby team will play a reduced, four-game schedule in 2021 (down from a six-game regular season schedule in 2019). The Gryphons will open their season at home on Saturday, September 25 with a 3pm matchup at Varsity Field versus the Waterloo Warriors.
Head coach Cory Hector led the Gryphons to an OUA silver medal in 2019 and a berth at nationals
After hosting Brock on October 2, the Gryphons will close out their shortened regular season schedule with back-to-back road games at Western (Oct. 9) and at Laurier (Oct. 16).
"The guys have been really motivated over the past year and a half, but things have ramped up to finally get a chance to play again," says former OUA Coach of the Year Cory Hector, who will be entering his sixth season as head coach of the U of G men's rugby program in 2021. "There is a group of 4th and 5
th-year athletes who have put graduation on hold for one last chance to wear the Gryphon jersey, along with some second-years who are eager for their first opportunity. The next two-to-three months will be critical for everyone to prepare their bodies as best they can for training camp and competition. For most of these student-athletes, they have not been in a rugby game for nearly 18 months so it will be critically important to prepare not only for performance, but more importantly for their own welfare."
Field Hockey
The Gryphon field hockey team have waited a long time to defend their OUA title. Back on October 27, 2019, the Gryphons secured the fifth OUA title in program history, and first since 2013, with a 1-0 win over U of T on home soil. Now, the defending OUA champions and U SPORTS silver medalists will return to action in 2021, with a reduced, eight-game schedule (down from a 12-game regular season schedule in 2019).
The Gryphon field hockey will begin the 2021 season as defending OUA champions following their conference title in 2019
The Gryphons 2021 regular season opener will take place on the road, with the team taking on the McMaster Marauders in Hamilton on Friday, September 24. Of the Gryphons eight regular season games, four will take place in Guelph, with the home opener set for Sunday, September 26. The team's eight-games are split up between three local rivals (4 against Waterloo, 2 against Western, 2 against McMaster).
"Going through these unprecedented times took a unique ability to adapt and communicate but we figured it out," says longtime head coach Michelle Turley, who will be entering her 18th season as head coach of the U of G field hockey program in 2021. "We cannot forget the challenges that our student-athletes have faced over the past year, that we have all faced. There is no doubt this season will be different, but we are excited and motivated to get back to what we love and the opportunity to connect with teammates. The health and well-being of our student-athletes must still guide all decisions. I think my athletes will be more motivated than ever and I cannot wait to see everyone reach their potential."
