Renowned faculty and alumni. World-class facilities. Top-notch programs that offer limitless discovery. Yes, the University of Toronto clearly has its spot among the most highly regarded universities on the planet.
There just seems to be one thing left for the school to hang its hat on: a vibrant university sports scene.
It’s hardly the Blues’ fault. Just walk through the Athletic Centre on any spring day and try not to notice all the OUA Championship banners Varsity Blues teams have raked in this past year hanging in the main lobby. Clearly, there’s a lot worth cheering for.
It’s possible the shadows of the old Varsity Stadium still linger, bringing to mind memories of an ugly, crumbling mass, desperately in need of repair. The same could describe the university’s most ridiculed, and unfortunately, most publicized sports program, the men’s football team.
So maybe that’s why, in the summer of 2002, bulldozers mercifully demolished the stadium, in an attempt to take out some of the stink from the armpit of the campus.
With the emergence of the Varsity Centre out of its stale ashes, the Faculty of Physical Education and Health looks to the future in hopes of building a strong, stable university sports scene, bringing the Varsity Blues back to its glory days.
The first step involved hiring Diamond & Schmitt, an internationally recognized architecture firm and no stranger to the St. George campus (their portfolio includes the Bahen Centre for Information Technology and the Davenport Wing of the Lash Miller chemistry building), to design and execute the new Varsity Stadium.
Duncan Higgins, the project manager for the first phase, said that Bruce Kidd, the Dean of the Faculty of Physical Education and Health, came to Diamond & Schmitt’s design team with a clear vision for the new stadium. Instead of one closed to campus by high brick walls, Kidd wanted a stadium that was welcoming and inclusive to the community as a whole.
“That was defined as the goal by the dean and […] we had to work very hard with the city to maintain that and make sure that happened,” said Higgins.
This resulted in an open fence along the perimeter of the stadium giving passersby a clear view of the field. The fence also provides places for groups of people to gather, like the front entrance to Varsity Centre on Bloor Street and the corner of Devonshire Place. Today, a raised plaza allows anyone to sit comfortably and watch the action inside.
More than that, the new stadium features first-class facilities, such as the field turf and the track circling the field. Both have the highest possible rating by their respective international bodies. This summer, the stadium will host a world-class track and field meet on June 11 featuring Olympic triple gold medalist and world record holder Usain Bolt.
“[The new Varsity Stadium] will give a real new focus and a sense of pride to people that are involved in the athletics departments at the university,” said Higgins. “There will no longer be the embarrassment.”
Revitalizing the sports culture at U of T clearly is not an overnight project, even with a brand new $92-million state-of-the-art Varsity Centre. It will require years of successful planning and execution on the part of alumni, faculty, athletes, and students.
Masha Sidorova, an ex-Varsity Blues athlete and recent grad of the U of T’s Physical Education program currently completing her Sports and Event Marketing degree from George Brown, was a member of the Varsity Centre’s implementation committee as the co-chair of the Council of Athletics and Recreation from 2006 to 2008.
Sidorova said the Council started to target first year students in 2007. By informing frosh leaders about Varsity sports and educating them on important resources, such as websites for Varsity team schedules and how to book a section at Varsity Stadium, they encourage colleges and faculty to get in the game.
“That helps you set the ground and build that tradition right from the get-go,” said Sidorova. “[First years] can learn from their leaders and peers that this is what we do at U of T, or this is something cool to participate in.”
Sidorova believes students can decide for themselves during their first few weeks at school whether supporting U of T sports teams will be something they participate in.
“Not when they’re almost done university […] and thinking ‘Wow! I didn’t know we had a swim team and we hold national championships,’” says Sidorva. “[They need to know] that we have a tennis team and rugby team involved in great competitions and [they] have the ability to watch them.”
Judging by the much-increased support for the football team’s home games, the hard work is paying off. For example, on Sept 3, 2007, over 3,000 fans showed up for their first-ever game played at the new stadium. Last year, decent crowds turned out to watch the team dramatically snap their 49-game losing streak on a last-second field goal, and witness a second victory at home with a blowout win over rival York.
Sidorova believes the university can get the word out by making more students aware of the Athletic Centre. Game events are posted inside the building and on U of T’s main home page daily.
One idea that was kicked around involved high-definition monitors, which are found at or near the front entrances to most buildings throughout the campus, to post Varsity game times and locations. Yet colleges and facilities that host these monitors have the right to display whatever content they want. One could logically assume Hart House would want to use their monitors to inform people about an upcoming show performed at their theatre, or that the Medical Science Building would want to tell others about their seminars.
A possible solution could involve cross-promotion. For example, the Medical Science Building could agree to promote men and women’s basketball games and in return the Athletic Centre would promote graduate programs that may interest some Physical Education undergrads.
As for now, supporters are using a wait-and-see approach to see if the seeds planted in first-year students will begin to grow, blossom, and spread to others.
“I think sports are extremely important and […] it’s a memory that you can take away and bring home,” said Sidorova. “Obviously, winning helps too.”
