SHERBROOKE, Que. – The Bishop's University football program and Atlantic University Sport (AUS) have agreed that the Bishop's Gaiters football team will compete in the AUS beginning in the 2017 season.

"Bishop's has competed in football since the late 1800's," said Jackie Bailey, Dean of Student Affairs at Bishop's. "We have experienced numerous league configurations and changes over the years," she said.

"Joining the AUS for football will allow us to align with universities of similar size, resources and values as they pertain to varsity sport.  We are committed to creating a context of excellence for our football program and are excited by the prospect of competing in the AUS."

"Our respective football schools are very excited to have the Bishop's Gaiters football program compete in the AUS conference starting in September 2017," said Phil Currie, Executive Director of the AUS. "Expansion of the AUS conference football league has been on our agenda for many years. With the current university landscape in Canada, we believe that the timing is perfect to have Bishop's join our conference," he said. "There are still many details to be considered in creating our Sport Participation Agreement, and we look forward to working with Bishop's to ensure a smooth transition."

Bishop's has competed in the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) university football conference since its inception in 2001.

"We are sorry to see the Bishop's Gaiters football team leave the RSEQ conference, but we understand and respect their decision," said Benoit Doloreux, Directeur des programmes universitaires of the RSEQ. "We are pleased to see their continued commitment to university football. Their storied history that dates back over 140 years speaks for itself."

Bishop's joins Acadia, Mount Allison, St. Francis Xavier and Saint Mary's Universities as participants in AUS football.