The McCaw Cup (formerly the WIAU ice hockey trophy and the Dr. Judy McCaw Trophy) is a trophy awarded annually to the provincial champion in collegiate women's ice hockey of the Ontario University Athletics conference of U Sports. Originally named the WIAU ice hockey trophy, it was rededicated by the University of Guelph in 1972 to Dr. Judy McCaw, an Anglo-Québécois veterinarian and professor at the university.[1] The University of Guelph also colloquially refers to the cup as Judy.[2]

McCaw Cup
McCaw Cup
SportIce Hockey
LeagueOntario University Athletics
Awarded forOUA champion in U Sports women's ice hockey
History
First award1922
First winnerToronto Varsity Blues
Most winsToronto Varsity Blues (40)
Most recentWaterloo Warriors

The McCaw Cup differs from its counterpart in men's collegiate hockey, the Queen's Cup, as it features teams only from Ontario universities. Unlike the women's conferences which are separated into the OUA in Ontario and the RSEQ in Québec, all three men's collegiate ice hockey teams in Québec compete in the OUA for the Queen's Cup.

History edit

From 1922-1971, the trophy was known as the Women's Intercollegiate Athletic Union (WIAU) Ice Hockey Trophy. Until 1998 it was the highest award in women's collegiate ice hockey, as there was no national governing body over women's inter-university hockey. Following the 1971 season, the WIAU merged with the Ontario-Québec University Athletic Association to form the Ontario Women's Interuniversity Athletic Association (OWIAA) and the cup was renamed to the Judy McCaw Trophy, which was then shortened to the McCaw Cup following the merger of the men's and women's leagues to the OUA in 1998.

Following the establishment of a national championship in 1998, the recipient of the cup would go on to represent the conference at the national tournament. Currently, both the champion and the runner-up are granted berths at the U Sports national championship, with the recipient of the cup given the higher seed at the tournament.

McCaw Cup Championship edit

In the OUA's current format, the 4 best teams in each division play in best of 5 quarter-final and semi-final matchups to determine who will play in the single elimination final known as the McCaw Cup Championship. Historically, a 4 team playoff has been used to determine the champion.

* Denotes team that went on to win National Championship (post-1998)
Team (#) Denotes the number of times team had been awarded McCaw Cup at that time

WIAU (1922 - 1971) edit

Year Champion
1922 Toronto Varsity Blues
1923 Toronto Varsity Blues (2)
1924 Toronto Varsity Blues (3)
1925 Toronto Varsity Blues (4)
1926 Queen's Gaels
1927 Toronto Varsity Blues (5)
1928 Toronto Varsity Blues (6)
1929 Toronto Varsity Blues (7)
1930 Toronto Varsity Blues (8)
1931 Queen's Gaels (2)
1932 Toronto Varsity Blues (9)
1933 Toronto Varsity Blues (10)
1934 Toronto Varsity Blues (11)
1935 Toronto Varsity Blues (12)
1936 - 1948 Not Awarded
1949 Toronto Varsity Blues (13)
1950 Toronto Varsity Blues (14)
1951 - 1960 Not Awarded
1961 Toronto Varsity Blues (15)
1962 Toronto Varsity Blues (16)
1963 Toronto Varsity Blues (17)
1964 Toronto Varsity Blues (18)
1965 Toronto Varsity Blues (19)
1966 Toronto Varsity Blues (20)
1967 Guelph Gryphons
1968 Guelph Gryphons (2)
1969 Guelph Gryphons (3)
1970 Guelph Gryphons (4)
1971 McMaster Marauders

Source: [3]

OWIAA (1972 - 1997) edit

Year Champion
1972 Guelph Gryphons (5)
1973 Queen's Gaels (3)
1974 Guelph Gryphons (6)
1975 Queen's Gaels (4)
1976 McMaster Marauders (2)
1977 Queen's Gaels (5)
1978 McMaster Marauders (3)
1979 Queen's Gaels (6)
1980 Toronto Varsity Blues (21)
1981 Toronto Varsity Blues (22)
1982 Toronto Varsity Blues (23)
1983 York Lions
1984 Toronto Varsity Blues (24)
1985 Toronto Varsity Blues (25)
1986 Toronto Varsity Blues (26)
1987 York Lions (2)
1988 Toronto Varsity Blues (27)
1989 Toronto Varsity Blues (28)
1990 Toronto Varsity Blues (29)
1991 Toronto Varsity Blues (30)
1992 Toronto Varsity Blues (31)
1993 Toronto Varsity Blues (32)
1994 Toronto Varsity Blues (33)
1995 Toronto Varsity Blues (34)
1996 Toronto Varsity Blues (35)
1997 York Lions (3)

Source: [3]

OUA (1998 - present) edit

Year Champion Runner Up Score
1998 Guelph Gryphons (7)
1999 Laurier Golden Hawks
2000 Toronto Varsity Blues (36)
2001 Toronto Varsity Blues (37)
2002 Laurier Golden Hawks (2)
2003 Toronto Varsity Blues (38)
2004 Laurier Golden Hawks (3)
2005 Laurier Golden Hawks (4)
2006 Laurier Golden Hawks (5)
2007 Laurier Golden Hawks (6)
2008 Laurier Golden Hawks (7)
2009 Laurier Golden Hawks (8)
2010 Laurier Golden Hawks (9)
2011 Queen's Gaels (7)
2012 Laurier Golden Hawks (10)
2013 Queen's Gaels (8)
2014 Laurier Golden Hawks (11)
2015 Western Mustangs
2016 Guelph Gryphons (8)
2017 Guelph Gryphons (9)
2018 Western Mustangs (2) Queen's Gaels 3-0
2019 Guelph Gryphons (10) Toronto Varsity Blues 4-2
2020 Toronto Varsity Blues (39) York Lions 3-1
2021 Season Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2022 Brock Badgers Nipissing Lakers 3-1
2023 Toronto Varsity Blues (40) Nipissing Lakers 2-1
2024 Waterloo Warriors Toronto Varsity Blues 2-1 (OT)

Source: [4]

Championships by Team edit

The Toronto Varsity Blues have won the most championships with 40, who were also the inaugural recipients of the cup in 1922. The Queen's Gaels were the second team to win the cup four years later in 1926, and it was not until the Guelph Gryphons won the cup 39 years later in 1967 that a team other than the Blues or the Gaels had won.

The cup was not awarded in 1936-1948, as well as from 1951-1960 after several teams had withdrawn from the conference. The cup has been continually awarded since 1961, with the exception of the 2021 season, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Team Wins Last
Toronto Varsity Blues 40 2023
Laurier Golden Hawks 11 2014
Guelph Gryphons 10 2019
Queen's Golden Gaels 9 2013
McMaster Marauders 3 1978
York Lions 3 1997
Western Mustangs 2 2018
Brock Badgers 1 2022
Waterloo Warriors 1 2024

Source: [3][4]

References edit

  1. ^ "News Bulletin, University of Guelph". Vol. 2, no. 31. December 7, 1967. p. 3.
  2. ^ "x.com".
  3. ^ a b c "Ontario University Athletics (OUA)". www.whockey.com. Retrieved 2024-04-13.
  4. ^ a b "Women's Hockey Champions". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)