OTTAWA (CIS) – A single-season record total of 125 players from Canadian Interuniversity Sport institutions, five more than a year ago, are listed among the official rosters posted online by the eight Canadian Football League teams as they get set to open the CFL campaign on Thursday.
According to a survey of lineups posted on the CFL team websites, 52 athletes hail from the 10-team Ontario league (OUA), 41 are from the seven-team Canada West conference, 21 are out of the six-team Quebec division (QUFL) and 11 are a product of the four-team Atlantic conference (AUS).
All but two of the 27 teams in the CIS are represented.
McMaster leads all CIS institutions with a whopping 13 players listed on the 2008 CFL rosters. Reigning Vanier Cup champion Manitoba is next with 11, followed by Saskatchewan, Western Ontario, Laval and Wilfrid Laurier (9 apiece).
Ottawa is next with six, followed by Regina (5), UBC (5), St. FX (5) and Simon Fraser (5; excluding four who played in the CFL before SFU joined the CIS in 2002).
Rounding out the list are Saint Mary’s (4), Windsor (4), Queen’s (4), Concordia (4), Bishop’s (3), York (3), Guelph (3), Calgary (3), Alberta (3), McGill (2), Acadia (2), Montreal (2), Sherbrooke (1) and Waterloo (1).
The 2007 Grey Cup champion Saskatchewan Roughriders will open the season with 21 former CIS players within their ranks, more than any other CFL squad.
All CFL teams are permitted to maintain a 46-man protected roster, although only 42 play in each game. Practice roster players are technically free agents who are paid to practice, although they can be signed by any other team. There’s also room for six or seven injured players, not counting anybody placed on the nine-game injury list, whose salaries don’t count against each team’s $4.2 million salary cap.

SOURCE: Earl Zukerman, Communications Officer, McGill University Athletics

CIS players on 2008 CFL rosters (by CIS schools):
McMaster (13)
Manitoba (11)
Saskatchewan (9), Western Ontario (9), Laval (9), Wilfrid Laurier (9)
Ottawa (6)
Simon Fraser (5), Regina (5), UBC (5), St. FX (5)
Saint Mary’s (4), Windsor (4), Queen’s (4), Concordia (4)
Bishop’s (3), York (3), Guelph (3), Calgary (3), Alberta (3)
McGill (2), Acadia (2), Montreal (2)
Sherbrooke (1), Waterloo (1)

CIS players on 2008 CFL rosters (by CIS regional association):
OUA (52)
Canada West (41)
QUFL (21)
AUS (11)

CIS players on 2008 CFL rosters (by CFL teams):
Saskatchewan (21)
Winnipeg (20)
Edmonton (18)
Montreal (15)
Calgary (14)
Toronto (14)
B.C. (13)
Hamilton (10)