First season 1877 Home Stadium Varsity Stadium Location Toronto, Canada Rival York Lions | Athletic director Beth Ali Year built 2007 Home ground Varsity Stadium | |
Head coach Greg Gary
6th year, 16–32 (.333) Other Staff Nate Weiss (OC)
Kevin Eiben (DC) | ||
The Toronto Varsity Blues football team represents the University of Toronto in the sport of Canadian football. The program won the first Grey Cup game ever held in 1909, and went on to win the cup again in 1910, 1911, and 1920. After intercollegiate teams no longer competed for the Grey Cup, the team won the first Vanier Cup ever held in 1965, and then again in 1993 as Canadian national football champions. The team has 25 Yates Cup championship wins as champions of the Ontario University Athletics conference of the CIS, a total second only to the 29 won by the Western Ontario Mustangs.
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However, hard times have fallen on the University of Toronto football team in recent years. The football program had not won a game since the 2001 season (a win that itself ended an 18-game losing streak). On October 13, 2007, they set the record for the longest losing streak in Canadian university history, at 49 losses in a row. This losing streak was snapped on September 1, 2008 when they defeated the Waterloo Warriors 18-17 for their first win in almost seven years. The team last posted a winning record in 1995.
The team was led by head coach Greg DeLaval who won his first game with the Blues when the team ended their record-setting losing streak in 2008. In 2010, the Blues posted a remarkable 40-35 win over the second-ranked Ottawa Gee-Gees, which was their first win over a nationally ranked opponent since 1997 against the Waterloo Warriors. The Blues finished with a 3-5 record in 2010, which was their best since the 1996 season when they posted the same mark. The Blues hired Greg Gary as head coach in 2011, and finished with another 3-5 record, once again finishing just out of the playoffs in seventh place. The team took a step back with a 2-6 record in 2012, including home losses to fellow 2-6 teams York and Ottawa. However, in 2013, they finished the season 4-4, the first time since 1993, but failed to make the playoffs. The team again regressed in 2014 with a 2-6 record, but rebounded in 2015 with a slightly improved 3-5 record. The program again failed to gain any momentum and won only two games the following season.
Season-by-season record
The following is the record of the Toronto Varsity Blues football team since 2003:
Varsity Blues in the CFL
As of the start of the 2016 CFL season, six former Varsity Blues players are on CFL teams' rosters: