Roughriders vs. Rough Riders: Saskatchewan controls Ottawa?

One of the more bizarre stories of the CFL offseason popped up this week with the news that Ottawa’s expansion team, scheduled to begin play in 2014, will definitely not be using the historic “Rough Riders” name. Jeff Hunt, leader of the Ottawa team’s leadership group, sat down with the Ottawa Sun‘s editorial board to talk about stadium construction, legal challenges and the

timeframe for Ottawa’s return to the league (still set for 2014), but the most interesting thing he mentioned was the name restrictions. The rationale behind Ottawa being prohibited from reclaiming the Rough Riders name? As Tim Baines of the Sun writes, Hunt ascribes it to to a different set of Riders, the green-clad executives out in Saskatchewan:

From this corner, it would be great to see Ottawa reclaim their historic name, as it’s one that means a lot to the CFL. The Rough Riders were founded in 1876, kept that name through their folding in 1996 (the later Renegades were a separate entity), won nine Grey Cups and were a crucial part of the league’s history. Moreover, the issue about having two teams named “Roughriders” or “Rough Riders” is

overblown. For one thing, Ottawa had their name first; the Rough Riders took that moniker in 1898, while Saskatchewan’s Roughriders weren’t founded until 1910 and didn’t take the Roughriders until 1924 (as the Regina Roughriders).