The UBC Thunderbirds are the athletic teams that represent the University of British Columbia. In Canadian intercollegiate competition, the Thunderbirds are the most successful athletic program both regionally in the Canada West Universities Athletic Association, and nationally in U Sports, winning 116 national titles. UBC has won an additional 20 national titles competing in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics against collegiate competition from the United States and 40 national titles in sports that compete in independent competitions.
U Sports is the national sport governing body for universities in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country and four regional conferences: Ontario University Athletics (OUA), Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ), Canada West (CW), and Atlantic University Sport (AUS). The equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). Some institutions are members of both bodies for different sports.
The Alberta Golden Bears and Pandas are the sports teams that represent the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Alberta athletics teams have won a total of 101 national championships, including 84 in U Sports sanctioned sports, making it one of the most successful programs in the country.
The McMaster Marauders are the athletic teams that represent McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Athletics at McMaster is currently managed by the university's student affairs, under their athletics & recreation department. The university's 39 varsity teams compete in the Ontario University Athletics conference of U SPORTS. The Marauder's official colours are maroon and grey.
The U Sports Men's Ice Hockey Championship, is a Canadian university ice hockey tournament conducted by U Sports, and determines the men's national champion. The tournament involves the champions from each of Canada's four regional sports conferences. The David Johnston University Cup is awarded to the winners.
U Sports women's ice hockey is the highest level of play of women's ice hockey at the university level under the auspices of U Sports, Canada's governing body for university sports. Women's ice hockey has been played in U Sports since the 1997-98 season, when the governing body was known as the Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Union, following a long stint of teams only competing in the OUA. There are 35 teams, all of which are based in Canada, that are divided into four conferences that are eligible to compete for the year-end championship. As these players compete at the university level, they are obligated to follow the rule of standard eligibility of five years.
The Dalhousie Tigers are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The Tigers field 14 varsity teams with seven men's teams and seven women's teams that primarily compete in the Atlantic University Sport conference of U Sports. The university also offers numerous intramural and club sports that are available to students, staff, alumni, and Dalpex members.
The UNB Reds are the athletic teams that represent the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada.
The UPEI Panthers are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent the University of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. The UPEI Panthers have teams playing in the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) conference of the U Sports, including men's and women's ice hockey, soccer, basketball, cross country running, curling as well as women's rugby. The women's field hockey team competes in an Atlantic league where the winner is then allowed to compete in the U Sports playoffs. UPEI also offers a club-level men's rugby team.
The Brandon Bobcats are the athletic teams that represent Brandon University in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. Currently, there are six Bobcat teams competing in U Sports as members of the Canada West Universities Athletic Association while the Bobcat soccer teams participate in the Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference.
The Waterloo Warriors are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The Warriors have found success over certain spans in football, hockey, rugby, golf and basketball among others, and the Warriors have won national championships in ice hockey (1974), basketball (1975), and women's swimming (1975). For many years from the 1960s through the 1990s, Warrior basketball games attracted the largest and rowdiest basketball crowds in the country. The Warriors Football teams have won two Yates Cup Championships, in 1997 and in 1999.
The Toronto Varsity Blues are the intercollegiate sports program at the University of Toronto. Its 43 athletic teams regularly participate in competitions held by Ontario University Athletics and U Sports. The Varsity Blues trace their founding to 1877, with the formation of the men's football team. Since 1908, Varsity Blues athletes have won numerous medals in Olympic and Paralympic Games and have also long competed in International University Sports Federation championships, Commonwealth Games, and Pan American Games.
Ontario University Athletics is a regional membership association for Canadian universities which assists in co-ordinating competition between their university level athletic programs and providing contact information, schedules, results, and releases about those programs and events to the public and the media. This is similar to what would be called a college athletic conference in the United States. OUA, which covers Ontario, is one of four such bodies that are members of the country's governing body for university athletics, U Sports. The other three regional associations coordinating university-level sports in Canada are Atlantic University Sport (AUS), the Canada West Universities Athletic Association (CW), and Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ).
The Toronto Varsity Blues men's ice hockey team is an ice hockey team operated by the Varsity Blues athletics program of the University of Toronto. They are members of the Ontario University Athletics conference and compete in U Sports. The Varsity Blues senior team won the Allan Cup in 1921 and 1927, and won the gold medal for Canada at the 1928 Winter Olympics. The team is based at Varsity Arena on the University downtown campus in Toronto, Ontario.
The St. Francis Xavier X-Women ice hockey team plays for St. Francis Xavier University, located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. The team competes in the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) conference of U Sports where they were an inaugural varsity member of U Sports women's ice hockey in the 1997–98 season. Representing St. Francis Xavier Athletics, the X-Women have won the most AUS championships with eleven conference championship wins, most recently in 2020.
The 2016 CIS Men's University Cup Hockey Tournament was held March 17–20, 2016 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to determine a national champion for the 2015–16 CIS men's ice hockey season. It was the second of two consecutive CIS Championships to be held at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax.
U Sports women's volleyball is the highest level of amateur play of indoor volleyball in Canada and operates under the auspices of U Sports. 42 teams from Canadian universities are divided into four athletic conferences, drawing from the four regional associations of U Sports: Canada West Universities Athletic Association (CW), Ontario University Athletics (OUA), Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ), and Atlantic University Sport (AUS). Following intra-conference playoffs, eight teams are selected to play in a national tournament to compete for the U Sports women's volleyball championship.
The Mary Lyons Award is awarded annually to the women's volleyball player of the year in U Sports. The award is named after Mary Lyons who served as president of the Ontario-Quebec Women’s Conference Intercollegiate Association (OQWCIA) and the Ontario Women’s Intercollegiate Athletic Association (OWIAA), and as a director of the Canadian Women's Interuniversity Athletic Union (CWIAU) and the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union (CIAU). Lyons, a graduate of Queen's University and the State University of New York, also served as Co-ordinator of Women's Interuniversity Athletics at York University for 26 years and coached the York Yeowomen volleyball team for seven years.
U Sports men's volleyball is the highest level of amateur play of men's indoor volleyball in Canada and operates under the auspices of U Sports. Thirty-one teams from Canadian universities are divided into three athletic conferences, drawing from the three of the four regional associations of U Sports: Canada West Universities Athletic Association (CW), Ontario University Athletics (OUA), and Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ). The Atlantic University Sport (AUS) formerly featured men's volleyball as a U Sports championship sport, but it was removed following the 2017–18 season. The 31 participating teams compete in a regular season and following intra-conference playoffs, eight teams are selected to play in a national tournament to compete for the U Sports men's volleyball championship.
The Nipissing Lakers women's ice hockey program represents Nipissing University in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) conference of U Sports. The Lakers first competed in OUA women's ice hockey in the 2013-14 season and qualified for the OUA playoffs in their second season. The team has played in three McCaw Cup finals and in two U Sports national tournaments, in 2022 and 2023. The team is led by head coach Darren Turcotte, a former NHL forward and North Bay Sports Hall of Fame member.
