In 2000, McMaster won their first Yates Cup but were defeated by the University of Ottawa in the chase for the Vanier Cup. Marshall was named the CIS Coach of the Year, becoming only the second person ever to be named both the top player and the top coach in Canadian university football. From 2000 to 2003, Marshall led McMaster to a record-tying four consecutive Yates Cup championships, but never once captured the Vanier Cup as Canadian university football's top team.