The Mount Allison Mounties football team represents Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick in the sport of Canadian football in U Sports. The Mounties program has been in continuous operation since 1955 when they played an exhibition schedule and then officially joined the New Brunswick Football League (NBFL) in 1956. The football team was an inaugural member of the Maritime Intercollegiate Football League (MIFL), which was a precursor to the current sporting association, Atlantic University Sport.
The team has twice appeared in the Vanier Cup, once in 1984, and again in 1991, losing both times. The Mounties have won six conference championships in 14 appearances, including four straight from 2013 to 2016. Only one Mounties player has won the Hec Crighton Trophy, Canadian Football Hall of Fame member, Éric Lapointe, who won the award twice and has since had his number retired by the program.
Recent history In June 2008, Kelly Jeffrey was named interim head coach for the 2008 season and led the Mounties to a berth in the playoffs for only the second time in the new millennium. Under his tutelage, quarterback Kelly Hughes was named the AUS Most Valuable Player. After this season, Jeffrey was named full-time head coach.
2009 saw the Mounties go 0–8, but Gary Ross was named AUS MVP, the first time since 1991 and 1992 (Grant Keaney) that Mounties were named MVPs in back-to-back years. 2010 was the resurgence of the Mounties, led by second-year quarterback Jake Hotchkiss, who that year became the second Mountie quarterback under Jeffrey to be named an AUS All-Star. The Mounties went 4–4 and hosted the AUS Semi-Final for the first time, which was also the first home playoff game since 1998. Jeffrey was named the AUS Coach Of the Year, the first Mountie to receive this honour since John MacNeil in 1996.
The Mounties finished second in the AUS conference in 2010 and hosted their first home playoff game (conference semi-finals) since the new millennium. Another 0–8 season in 2011 was followed up by a successful 2012 which had the Mounties in the playoffs again, and boasted the AUS leading rusher (Jordan Botel) and the emergence of a new leader at quarterback, freshman Brandon Leyh. The 3–5 Mounties also experienced an offence without either Gary Ross or Adam Molnar, as this was the first season without one of the two star receivers in the lineup.
In 2013, the Mounties won the Loney Bowl for the first time since 1997. They followed up that campaign with their first undefeated season in the AUS, posting an 8–0 record en route to their second consecutive Jewett Trophy championship. In 2015, the Mounties finished in first place in the AUS regular season with a 5–3 record and hosted the Loney Bowl for the second consecutive season. They were also looking to win their third consecutive Jewett Trophy but would end up falling short to the St. Francis Xavier X-Men 24–18.
2016 would be the first season with Scott Brady as the team's new head coach, who had been with the team as an assistant coach since 2010. Brady was the first permanent head coach in the program's recent history who was both a Mount Allison graduate and former player for the Mounties. The team ended up making the playoffs as the second place team. They would defeat the Acadia Axemen 27–18 to compete in their fourth straight Loney Bowl but would end up losing to the St. Francis Xavier X-Men 29–8. In 2017, the team would see their five-year playoff streak come to an end as they missed the playoffs for the first time since 2011.
Following a coaching change, with Peter Fraser as the team's new head coach, the team would regress further with a 2–6 record. In 2019, Mount Allison brought in former CFL player and Acadia Axemen alumnus Kyle Graves to take over as Offensive Coordinator. The team lost their first four games of the season, but then won their next three and eventually finished with a 3–5 record and enough to qualify for the playoffs but fell short in the first round to the Bishop's Gaiters in their second year in the AUS conference. Following the season, Graves left the team to be closer to his family.
Following the cancellation of the 2020 season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Mounties saw a significant increase in their performance. They brought in recently retired CFL offensive linemen and Mountie Alumnus Mike Filer to act as Run Game Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach. However, Filer’s coaching career was ended when he decided to come out of retirement to return to the CFL for the 2021 season and Coach Fraser took over Offensive Coordinator duties.
During the 2021 U Sports football season, the team was able to put up their best record since 2014 with 5 wins and a single loss in the shortened regular season. The defensive unit led by perennial AUS All-Star defensive back Lucas Cormier and AUS Defensive MVP Daniel Bell, was ranked as the best in the Nation in most statistical categories. In contrast the Mounties Offence was ranked last nationally in all categories. In the post-season, the team fell short to the Bishop's Gaiters in the first round of the AUS playoff for the second-consecutive season.
In 2022, the Mounties had an up and down season finishing with a record of 4-4. Again, the defence was dominant in most statistical categories ending in the top 5 of all statistical categories. The post-season would prove to be much different for the Mounties squad as they were able to defeat their recent nemesis the Bishop's Gaiters in Lennoxville, Quebec bringing them to the Loney Bowl for the first time since 2016. However, the team was unable to defeat the AUS powerhouse St. Francis Xavier X-Men thus ending their season.
Following this defeat in the AUS Championship, the Mounties have seen a dramatic decline in their performance with the graduation of many of their key contributors to their previously dominant defence. In 2023, the Mounties record fell to 3-5 and failed to defeat the Gaiters in the first round of the AUS playoff.
In 2024, the Mounties had their worst season since 2009 finishing with a record of 1-7 and failing to make the playoffs for the first time since 2017. In the following offseason, head coach Peter Fraser resigned on March 10, 2025.
On May 8, 2025, Scott Brady returned as the Mounties' head coach, having previously served in the role in 2016 and 2017. On July 10, 2025, another former head coach, Kelly Jeffrey, joined the staff as the team's offensive coordinator.
Recent regular season results Season Games Won Lost Ties Standing Playoffs20008 170 0.125 100 2364th in AUS Out of playoffs20018 170 0.125 47 3304th in AUS Out of playoffs20028 170 0.125 60 3344th in AUS Out of playoffs20038 080 0.000 66 2794th in AUS Out of playoffs20048 080 0.000 64 2484th in AUS Out of playoffs20058 080 0.000 23 3794th in AUS Out of playoffs20067 250 0.286 132 2254th in AUS Lost to Acadia Axemen in semi-final 16–620078 170 0.125 199 2954th in AUS Out of playoffs20088 260 0.250 189 2723rd in AUS Lost to St. Francis Xavier X-Men in semi-final 52–1220098 080 0.000 124 3484th in AUS Out of playoffs20108 440 0.500 157 1962nd in AUS Lost to Acadia Axemen in semi-final 22–14 (5OT)20118 080 0.000 146 3444th in AUS Out of playoffs20128 350 0.375 141 2503rd in AUS Lost to Saint Mary's Huskies in semi-final 49–1120138 440 0.500 166 2152nd in AUS Defeated Acadia Axemen in semi-final 19–10Defeated Saint Mary's Huskies in Loney Bowl 20–17Lost to Laval Rouge et Or in Uteck Bowl 48–2120148 800 1.000 234 641st in AUS Defeated St. Francis Xavier X-Men in Loney Bowl 29–7Lost to McMaster Marauders in Mitchell Bowl 24–1220158 530 0.625 221 1441st in AUS Lost to St. Francis Xavier X-Men in Loney Bowl 24–1820168 350 0.375 157 2382nd in AUS Defeated Acadia Axemen in semi-final 27–18Lost to St. Francis Xavier X-Men in Loney Bowl 29–820178 440 0.500 235 2114th in AUS Out of playoffs20188 260 0.250 162 2234th in AUS Out of playoffs20198 350 0.375 194 1613rd in AUS Lost to Bishop's Gaiters in semi-final 28–182020Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.20216 51– 0.833 94 612nd in AUS Lost to Bishop's Gaiters in semi-final 23–520228 440 0.500 98 1443rd in AUS Defeated Bishop's Gaiters in semi-final 15–12Lost to St. Francis Xavier X-Men in Loney Bowl 21–1420238 350 0.375 100 1763rd in AUS Lost to Bishop's Gaiters in semi-final 34–1520248 170 0.125 92 2695th in AUS Out of playoffs20258 170 0.125 75 2855th in AUS Out of playoffs
National postseason results +Vanier Cup Era (1965–present)YearGameOpponentResult1984Atlantic BowlVanier CupQueen'sGuelphW 33–11L 13–221985Atlantic BowlWesternL 3–341991Atlantic BowlVanier CupSaskatchewanWilfrid LaurierW 31–14L 18–251997Atlantic BowlUBCL 29–342013Uteck BowlLavalL 21–482014Mitchell BowlMcMasterL 12–24 Mount Allison is 2–4 in national semi-final games and 0–2 in the Vanier Cup.
Head coaches Name Years Notes Unknown 1955–1956 Gus MacFarlane 1957–1970 John Wheelock 1971–1976 Bill Goodwin 1977 Doug Mitchell 1978–1982 Steve Bruno 1983–1988 Jacques Dussault 1989–1990 Marc Loranger 1990–1996 Gord Grace 1997–1999 Robert Kitchen 2000–2001 Peter Comeau (interim) 2001 Scott Fawcett 2002–2004 Steve Lalonde 2005–2007 Kelly Jeffrey 2008–2015 Scott Brady 2016–2017 Peter Fraser 2018–2024 Scott Brady 2025–present
Mounties in the professional ranks As of the start of the 2026 CFL season, two former Mountie players were on CFL teams' rosters: Daniel Bell, Hamilton Tiger-Cats Lucas Cormier, Ottawa Redblacks
Former Mountie player (1991–93) and assistant coach (1994–97) Ted Goveia held the post of General Manager with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats until his death in 2025.
Notable athletes Rick Black (’63) played fullback and was drafted in the first round of the CFL draft by the Ottawa Rough Riders. Philippe Girard (’98) was a force to be reckoned with defensively for the Mounties, patrolling the secondary from his defensive back position. A league All-Star and All-Canadian in 1996 and 1997, Girard was also a nominee for the President's Trophy as the country's Most Outstanding Defensive Player in 1997, winning the Atlantic Conference's honour in that category. The following spring, in the 1998 Canadian Football League's (CFL) Canadian College Draft, he became the highest-drafted Mountie ever, going in the first round 5th overall to the Edmonton Eskimos. He played there for several seasons before joining former Mountie teammate Éric Lapointe as a member of Montreal Alouettes, retiring as a member of the Alouettes. Eric Lapointe (’00) represents more than just records and statistics, although he dominated both areas of the sport during his four years as a Mountie. He was looked to by his teammates for on-field and locker-room inspiration, and he did not disappoint. Drafted by the Edmonton Eskimos, Lapointe ended up with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 1999 where he rushed for 691 yards during the season, helping his team to the Grey Cup in which he was the game's leading ground gainer. Traded to Toronto, he ultimately ended his career with his hometown Montreal Alouettes. In his final season he was the starting running back in the Grey Cup game. Eric retired with the Alouettes in 2006 after their Grey Cup loss to the BC Lions. In 2012, he was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame for his career as a Mountie.