SkyDome – University of Toronto 37 vs. University of Calgary 34
In 1993, the University of Toronto’s Varsity Blues both won the championship and overcame cancellation. The university needed to plug a $1.3 million budget gap, so they opted to drop the school’s most expensive sport – football. The team proposed a compromise: if the school covered half the cost, the team and alumni would fundraise the rest. That deal salvaged the season, in which the Varsity Blues, behind stars like Glenn McCausland, Francis Etienne and Lou Tiro, won 11 games and lost just one, and finished the season with a dramatic victory over Calgary to win the national championship.
An article excerpt from the Toronto Star with the headline, “Blues beat extinction, Dinosaurs,” published on November 21, 1993. The article describes the victory of the University of Toronto Varsity Blue’s college football team beating Calgary Dinosaurs following a year where the team was at risk of being disbanded. Article written by Barabara Aarsteinsen, photograph by Tony bock, and sourced from Newspapers.com.
A photograph of Governor-General George Vanier (left) presents Vanier Cup to Varsity Blues; winners of the first College Bowl championshipin 1965-1966. Receiving award are: (left to right) former coach Dalt White and Varsity’s co-captains Bryce Taylor and Bob Pampe. Originally from taken for a Toronto Star article. Photographed by Doug Griffin and sourced from the Toronto Public Library.
