As announced by Ontario University Athletics (OUA) during their annual Honour Awards ceremony on Wednesday (May 14) night, former University of Toronto Executive Director of Co-Curricular Athletics and Physical Activity Programs Beth Ali received the prestigious J.P. Loosemore Award.

The J.P. Loosemore Award is presented annually to an individual who exemplifies the best in university sport in terms of ethics, integrity, and honesty. For Ali, she receives the recognition following multiple decades of impact on university sport at various administrative and coaching levels.

Ali served at the helm of the U of T Varsity Blues athletic department for 14 seasons, retiring in 2024. During her time, she led the largest program in North America with 42 teams, 25 sports, over 800 student-athletes, and over 300 full-time and part-time coaches. With a focus on academic success always placed first, she continuously pushed to ensure student-athletes had all the support needed to not only be admitted to U of T, but to graduate from it with success, while competing at the highest possible level.

Under her guidance, the program opened two new state-of-the-art facilities and hosted numerous provincial and national championships, as well as fostered blossoming partnerships with NBA Canada / NBA All-Star, Basketball Canada, BioSteel, and OVO Bounce. She was instrumental in the creation and legacy of converting grass playing fields into two world-class field hockey pitches prior to the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games. She implemented a full-year academic support program; embedded councilors to help all athletes deal with the pressure of school as well as competition; secured the largest apparel deal the University has ever had; introduced a new sport model to help the program run more effectively and efficiently; added a full-time strength and conditioning program; expanded her roster of admin staff as well her growing list of full-time coaches.

Prior to her appointment as Executive Director of Co-Curricular Athletics and Physical Activity Programs in 2016, Ali served as the Director of Intercollegiate and High Performance Sport at U of T since 2010.

Before stepping into these senior roles at the University of Toronto, Ali spent cumulatively 17 years within U of T's Faculty of Physical Education and Health as an intercollegiate manager, program manager and head coach of Varsity Blues field hockey as a Level 4/5 certified coach with the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) in field hockey.

Outside of the University of Toronto community, Ali had also held the role of Associate Director of Athletics and Recreation at TMU (formerly Ryerson University), Associate Director of Athletics at the University of Waterloo, Chef de Mission for the 2011 FISU Winter Games in Turkey, and Field Hockey Canada High-Performance Director of both the men's and women's programs from 2005-08.

In addition to the Honour Award, the University of Toronto Varsity Blues also received the CHAMP Award for Best Social Media Account, recognizing outstanding achievement in marketing and communications via @varsityblues on Instagram. Focusing on being strategically effective, Varsity Blues social media delivered high-quality content with a photo forward and professional video approach. During the 2024-25 season, this resulted in @varsityblues garnering over seven million impressions, nearly two million video views, and over 250,000 total engagements – all leading to a follower growth rate of 16 percent, beating out the competitor average of 13.33.

Additionally, the CHAMP Award for Best Photo featured the Varsity Blues as the incredible image of the 2025 McCaw Cup celebrations captured by Dan Inglis claimed the honour from a nomination pool of 13 finalists. Taken during the celebration of the Varsity Blues women's hockey team's 3-2 OUA McCaw Cup victory over the Waterloo Warriors, Inglis captured an angle that showcased the bliss of the team, the individual, and the supporters. Shared the next day as the cover image of a collaboration carousel between @varsityblues and @uoftwhockey, the post has garnered 39,095 views, 6576 impressions, 1788 likes, 85 shares, and 98 profile clicks.