Varsity Blues Basketball: A Tradition of Excellence
The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men’s basketball team captured the inaugural Ontario men’s intercollegiate championship in 1908-09. Nearly a century later, the Varsity Blues continue to chase the province’s top men’s basketball prize.
U of T has collected the conference crown 14 times, second-best in the OUA, and last brought home the Wilson Cup in 1995. In 1996, the Varsity Blues were the OUA East champions and Wilson Cup finalists.
Along with team accolades, Varsity Blues basketball also regularly attracts some of the top high school student-athletes both from Ontario and nationwide. Since 1985, 48 Varsity Blues have been named OUA all-stars, including former standouts Eddy Meguerian, Rob Wilson and Fred Murrell who also earned all-Canadian honours. In the past 15 years, a number of Varsity Blues have spent time with the Canadian national team including Meguerian, Wilson, Mark Harvey and Jason Dressler.
The Varsity Blues have also been to the post-season 21 times in the past 26 years, including three straight trips to the ‘Final Eight’, the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) championship, from 1995 to 1997.
As part of the Varsity Blues family, men’s basketball is one of 44 men’s and women’s teams in 26 sports offered by U of T. The breadth of the Varsity Blues experience and legacy are unmatched at a Canadian university.
In 2004-05 the Varsity Blues welcomed new head coach Mike Katz, who brings a wealth of experience and past success from his time at Humber College and with the Canadian national team. Since then, under Katz's and his staff's leadership, the Blues have finished in the top three the past five seasons in the OUA East conference, with a combined league record of 84-48 and three playoff victories. In addition, Katz earned 2007-08 OUA and CIS coach of the year honours.
