London, ON – It's the end of an era as Greg Marshall is retiring from the Mustangs Football program.

The legendary coach has done far more than guide one of the nation's top football programs for nearly two decades; he has set the benchmark that countless players and coaches across Canada have aspired to reach.
 
A Mustang through and through, the man affectionately known as "G-Marsh" to his players, has accomplished everything from his time playing for the Mustangs, to stepping into a coaching role and leading the team.

BY THE NUMBERS

- 160-34 as Mustangs Head Coach (Playoffs & Regular Season)
- 213-52-2 as U SPORTS Head Coach (Playoffs & Regular Season)
- 4-time Vanier Cup Champion (Assistant Coach & Head Coach)
- 23-time Yates Cup Champion (Playing & Coaching)
- 8-time OUA Coach of the Year
 - 3-time U SPORTS Coach of the Year
- 55 student-athletes selected in the CFL Draft (2007-2025)

THE RECORD



The start of his head coaching career came at McMaster, where he had a 53-18-2 record with the Marauders in the regular season and playoffs. This included four consecutive Yates Cups from 2000 to 2003.

In 2004, the professional level came calling, as the Hamilton Tiger-Cats would hire Marshall to replace Ron Lancaster. At the time, he was the first Canadian-born head coach for Hamilton and the first coach to be named directly to a head coaching position in the CFL from the university level. He led the Ti-Cats to a 9-8-1 record in his debut season and was named CFL Coach of the Year. Injuries plagued his second season in Hamilton and a slow start to the 2006 season saw him depart after four games.
After his time with Hamilton ended in 2006, the first call he got was from his mentor, Larry Haylor. The two met, and as the saying goes, the rest is history. Marshall came back to Western as the offensive coordinator for the 2006 season, and after Haylor announced his retirement, Marshall was named the next Head Coach of the program in 2007.

The start of the 2007 season was slow.

"I knew that we were bringing a different offence in, and it takes time to teach it and get to understand the athletes that I have, " said Marshall "On the bus ride home (after their 4^th loss to start the year) I met with the players and said, guys, if we're gonna have any chance of winning it, it's gonna be with the guys in this room. Let's, let's just bear down, let's just take it one game at a time. Let's win this game. And that's kind of been my philosophy throughout the whole time."

That '07 team proceeded to win the next seven games in a row, win the Yates Cup and fall in the Mitchell Bowl against the eventual Vanier Cup champion Manitoba Bisons.
Western would never have a losing season during Marshall's tenure with the Mustangs. This included seven undefeated regular seasons (2013, 2015, 2017,2018,2019, 2022 & 2023). His regular season record with the Mustangs was 124-18 and 32-13 in the playoffs. During his 18 years at Western, nine Yates Cups (2007, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022 & 2023) and two Vanier Cups (2017 & 2021).

THE AWARDS



While he has always said that awards were indications of the success of his teams, the trophy case recognizing him is flush with honours.

As a player, he was the 1980 Hec Crighton Award winner as the best player in the country.

He won the Grey Cup in 1982 with the Edmonton Eskimos.

As a coach, He was named OUA Coach of the Year twice while at McMaster and also U SPORTS Coach of the Year in 200. At the helm of the Mustangs he received the provincial honour six more times (2010, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2019 & 2022). Marshall was also recognized with the David "Tuffy" Knight award as U SPORTS Coach of the Year in 2018 & 2019.

THE LEADER



He is often referred to as "The GOAT" meaning he's the greatest of all time, and it's hard to argue based on not only his records and awards, but more so the impact on Canadian University Football as a whole. In the OUA alone, it is hard to look at many of the other institutions and not see a Greg Marshall connection. Chris Bertoia (Head Coach at Waterloo), Steve Snyder (Head Coach at Queen's), JP Circelli (Head Coach at Windsor) & Michael Faulds (Head Coach at Laurier) have all been under the Greg Marshall learning tree at some point in their playing or coaching career. The "Marshall Affect" will be felt across Canadian university football for years to come.



Not only has Marshall's leadership led to coaching careers across the country, but the number of student-athletes who finished their playing days at Western and moved on to the pro level is also just as impressive. 55 Mustangs have gone on to be drafted into the CFL during the Marshall era, including nine who played in the league in 2025.

THE MAN


Anyone who has spent any time at all with Marshall knows that the only thing he loves more than football is his family.

"It's hard when you're coaching at this level and hours required, my wife Joan has been doing everything for years now, I didn't get to spend a lot of time with my kids when they were younger," said Marshall. "I was fortunate to have my 3 boys (Tom, Brian and Donnie) all play here. One year, they all played on the team together. That certainly was one of the highlights here. Now I look forward to getting to spend that time with our family, especially my grandkids, we've got five now, and a sixth is on the way. "

THANK YOU COACH



The Mustangs Sports & Recreation Department would like to thank Coach Marshall for everything he has done for the program over his years with us, and we know many others share their warm wishes for the legendary coach. We invite everyone to share their memories and stories with Greg to do so HERE.