The Rouge et Or football program was first conceived of by Mike Labadie, a local physical education teacher, and Jacques Tanguay, a wealthy alumnus and avid sports fan.

The Rouge et Or were the first Canadian collegiate team to feature full-time, paid assistant coaches and the first to use video editing, further giving them a heightened competitive advantage.

[4] Laval won their first national championship in 1999, against the Saint Mary's Huskies, under head coach Chapdelaine, bringing the Vanier Cup back to Quebec for the first time since 1987.

In 2001, current head coach Glen Constantin was promoted from his defensive coordinator position and led the team to 5–3 record and another Dunsmore Cup.

The following year, Laval, ranked first in Canada, played in the 2008 Vanier Cup, and defeated the third-ranked Western Mustangs 44–21 to claim their fifth national championship.

[12] It was the eighth time that Laval had finished their season paying in a national final or semi-final and, oddly, the first of those occurrences where the opposing team was not nicknamed the "Huskies."

The 2008 season also saw the program produce its first Hec Crighton Trophy winner as Benoit Groulx was named the CIS football's most valuable player.

[13] Laval University hosted the Vanier Cup game for the first time in 2009, but the Rouge et Or lost to the eventual champion Queen's Golden Gaels in the Mitchell Bowl played at Richardson Memorial Stadium in Kingston, Ontario.

[18] In 2013, they won back-to-back national championships for the second time in program history when they defeated the Calgary Dinos in the 49th Vanier Cup by a score of 25–14.

In that game, the Rouge et Or came back on top by squeezing a narrow 31–26 victory against the Calgary Dinos in Hamilton at Tim Hortons Field.

In 2018, the Rouge et Or would exact a measure of revenge by returning to the national championship game and defeating the Mustangs by a score of 34–20 in front of a home crowd in the 54th Vanier Cup.

On October 20, 2019, a record 19,381 fans attended the Rouge et Or game against the Montreal Carabins as the program celebrated their 25th anniversary.