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.

The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada. Originally controlled by the Church of England, the university assumed its present name in 1850 upon becoming a secular institution. As a collegiate university, it comprises 11 colleges each with substantial autonomy on financial and institutional affairs and significant differences in character and history. The university maintains three campuses, the oldest of which is St. George, located in downtown Toronto. The other two satellite campuses are located in Scarborough and Mississauga.