The Bishop's Gaiters men's rugby team was established in 1976–77, the program was founded by long time head coach Bill Robson who led them to a first conference championship in 1990.

Clapinson became the fourth coach of the Rugby program, succeeding Bill Robson, Charles Goode, and Andrew Cowell.

[4] However, following the move to the Atlantic University Sport conference in 2017, the team made an appearance in the Loney Bowl championship game in 2019.

[7] The men's basketball team enjoyed their most successful season in 1998, winning the CIAU National Championship, becoming the smallest Canadian university in history to do so.

The Gaiters joined the RSEQ conference for the 2021–22 season, becoming the 37th U SPORTS-level women's hockey university team in Canada.