Carleton Ravens football

Carleton Ravens
First season	1945
Athletic director	Jennifer Brenning
Head coach	Steve Sumarah 5th year, 18–22–0  (.450)
Other Staff	Jean-Philippe Asselin (OC) Ryan Bechmanis (DC)
Home Stadium	MNP Park
Stadium capacity	3044
Stadium surface	FieldTurf
Location	Ottawa, Ontario
League	U Sports
Conference	OUA (2013 – present)
Past associations	OIFC (1957–1966) CCIFC (1967–1970) OUAA (1971–1973) OQIFC (1974–1998)
All-time record	–
Postseason record	–
Tournaments
Vanier Cups	0
Yates Cups	0
Dunsmore Cups	1, 1985
Hec Crighton winners	0
Current uniform
Colours	Black and Red
Mascot	Rodney the Raven
Rivals	Ottawa Gee-Gees
Website	oldcrowsfootball.ca

The Carleton Ravens football team represents Carleton University, which is based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The team plays Canadian Interuniversity Sport football in the Ontario University Athletics conference. The Ravens football program started in 1945 and was continuously in operation until 1998 when the program was disbanded. The football program was brought back to the university in 2011 and began play in 2013.^[1] The football team has won one conference championship, winning the Dunsmore Cup in 1985 while playing in the Ontario-Quebec Intercollegiate Football Conference.

History

Historically, the Ravens football team first began play just after the Second World War in 1945 and was in continuous operation until the program was dropped in 1998.^[2] While the team had some success in the mid-1980s, poor performances and a plan by the Carleton Athletic department to invest more funds in other sports led to the sport being cut after the 1998 season.^[3][4] In their history, the Ravens won one Dunsmore Cup conference championship in 1985, but lost in the following Western Bowl to the Calgary Dinos 56 to 14.^[5]

Revival

For a number of years, there had been movements to revive the team, but there was no real interest from the university. However, on June 25, 2009, an announcement was made that the Lansdowne Live group, which owns the Ottawa Redblacks, the new Canadian Football League team, was in negotiations with the university to bring back the football program and play at a rebuilt Frank Clair Stadium to be shared with the CFL team and the Ottawa Gee-Gees. Lansdowne Live partner and Ravens alumnus John Ruddy has pledged $2.5 million to provide funding for the program and it would follow the private partnership model that has proved successful both financially and on the field with the Regina Rams and Laval Rouge et Or teams.^[7] The program needed to raise a minimum of $5 million in pledge commitments in order to secure final approvals, and establish Old Crows Football Inc. by May 2011 for the team to start play in time for the 2012 season.^[8]

While the group closely missed the May deadline, Old Crows Football Inc. and Carleton University announced on July 6, 2011 that the program would return in 2013. The $5 million was raised and the team operates independently by Old Crows Football Inc. as a non-profit corporate entity that will fund and market the program. Renovations to the locker rooms, coaches' offices and Keith Harris Stadium will be paid for by the Old Crows.^[1][9] On January 16, 2012, Steve Sumarah was named the team's head coach.^[10]

The 2013 team began the new era of Ravens football on September 2 against the Western Mustangs in London, Ontario with a 71-4 loss. They would finish the season with eight losses in eight games as was expected for a program in its first year. In 2014, the Ravens earned the revived program's first win with an away victory against the Waterloo Warriors. Overall, the team finished with a 4-4 record that year, including a memorable Hail Mary Panda Game victory over the Ottawa Gee-Gees.^[11] In 2015, the Ravens qualified for the playoffs for the first time since the 1996 season with a 5-3 record. They defeated the Queen's Golden Gaels in the first round, but lost to the Guelph Gryphons in the semi-finals. In 2016, the team hosted their first playoff game since 1986, with both games featuring wins over the Ottawa Gee-Gees.^[12] The team suffered a setback in 2017 as they finished with a 3-5 record and out of the playoffs. Three of their five losses were by five points or less.

Ravens in the CFL

As of the start of the 2018 CFL season, seven former Ravens players are on CFL teams' rosters:

• Tunde Adeleke, Calgary Stampeders
• Zach Annen, Montreal Alouettes
• Kwabena Asare, Edmonton Eskimos
• Nate Behar, Edmonton Eskimos
• Malcolm Carter, Montreal Alouettes
• Nate Hamlin, BC Lions
• Justin Howell, Ottawa Redblacks

Notable alumni

• Carl Coulter: Played in the Canadian Football League for 15 seasons as a centre, including one-year stints with the Ottawa Rough Riders and Ottawa Renegades. He was a CFL Eastern All-star twice and a CFL All-star once. He was a member of the 87th Grey Cup champion Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
• Michael Allen: Played in the CFL for seven seasons as a defensive back and played with the Ottawa Rough Riders for two seasons. He was a three-time Grey Cup champion.
• Joe Colvey: Played in the CFL for three seasons as a defensive back and was a member of the 64th Grey Cup champion Ottawa Rough Riders.
• Jason Kralt: Played in the CFL for seven seasons as a linebacker including four spent with the Ottawa Renegades. He was a member of the 88th Grey Cup champion BC Lions, but did not play in the championship game due to injury.
• Cameron Legault: Played in the CFL for eight seasons as a defensive tackle, including one year with the Ottawa Renegades. He won the 88th Grey Cup championship as a member of the BC Lions. He also won the Dr. Beattie Martin Trophy as the most outstanding Canadian player in the West Division.
• Michael Philbrick: Played in the CFL for nine seasons as a defensive lineman and played one game for the Ottawa Rough Riders after being drafted by the team in 1990. He was named an East Division All-star three times and was a member of the 87th Grey Cup championship team with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Carleton Ravens football.

• Carleton University athletics