TORONTO — Dexter Janke is the new head football coach at York University.
The school announced the hiring Monday.
Janke, 31, served as the head coach of the Westshore Rebels last season. The junior club went 12-1 and reached the Canadian Bowl before dropping a 17-10 loss to the Saskatoon Hilltops.
Janke played four seasons in the CFL as a defensive back with the Calgary Stampeders (2015-17) and Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2019). He earned a Grey Cup ring with the Manitoba squad.
Janke, an Edmonton native, played collegiately at the University of Saskatchewan. He was taken in the fifth round, No. 44 overall, in the 2015 CFL draft by Calgary.
In 2018, Janke competed with Canada's four-man World Cup bobsleigh team as a brakeman.
York's football program last made the Ontario University Athletics playoffs in 2004 when it posted a 3-5 regular-season record to finish sixth in the standings. The Lions' season ended with a 54-18 loss to Western in the quarterfinals.
Two years earlier, the Lions posted a 5-3 record to finish fifth. After dispatching Ottawa in the quarterfinal round, York lost 29-14 to McMaster in the semifinals.
York hasn't posted more than three regular-season victories since 2002. Last year, the Lions had an 0-8 mark, scoring just 42 points while allowing 560 as Nathaniel Griffith and Brian Jones served as associate head coaches.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 22, 2024.
The Canadian Press
