Varsity Match

A varsity match is a fixture (especially of a sporting event or team) between two university teams, particularly Oxford and Cambridge. The Scottish Varsity rugby match between the University of St Andrews and the University of Edinburgh at Murrayfield stadium is claimed to be the oldest recurring varsity match in the world, having been played since the 1860s. It is predated by the University Match in Cricket between Oxford and Cambridge, which was first played in 1827.
The 139th Varsity Chess Match between Oxford and Cambridge took place at Pall Mall on Saturday 23 October 2021. The match normally held in March was caused by the Covid19 pandemic to move to October but kept its tradition of not missing a year and remains the longest running and continuous chess competition in the world.

Varsity in England

The country's longest-running series of varsity matches is played between the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. In addition to the 1827 University Match in Cricket mentioned above, the first "Boat Race" in 1829 the first "Varsity Match" (in Rugby Union) in 1872, and the first " Varsity Game" (in Basketball) in 1921 were all contested between Oxford and Cambridge. Unusually for British university sporting events, both the Boat Race and Varsity Match are shown on broadcast television. Unlike many more recent varsity competitions, the Oxford–Cambridge matches stand alone rather than being part of a wider multi-sport varsity competition.

British newspaper ''The Independent'' proposed in 2008 that Bath vs Loughborough was "the real varsity match" on the basis that these were the top two teams (at that time) in British Universities Sports Association (BUSA) competitions. Since 2015, British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS), the successor to BUSA, has organised fixtures between Loughborough and Durham (the top two universities since 2011-12) to occur on the same day, in what has been termed the "BUCS Varsity".

A number of city and regional sporting rivalries exist between universities, which are also dubbed varsity matches. The Roses Tournament between the universities of York and Lancaster is one of the oldest and largest of these, dating back to 1965. It is frequently referred to as the largest inter-university sports tournament in Europe.

Interregional rivalries

*Anglia Ruskin University vs University of East London
**Challenge Cup
*Bath Spa University vs University of Winchester
** Varsity
*Bradford University vs King's College London
** The Tolstoy Cup
*Camborne School of Mines vs Royal School of Mines
** The Bottle Match
*University of Cambridge vs University of Oxford – every fixture between these two universities can be referred to as a varsity match; the most notable are:
**The Varsity Game - Basketball
**The University Match - Cricket
**University Golf Match
** University Hockey Match
**Ice Hockey Varsity Match
** The Varsity Polo Match
**The Boat Race, the Women's Boat Race and the Henley Boat Races - Rowing
**The Varsity Match - Rugby Union
**Rugby League Varsity Match
** Varsity Trip - Skiing
** The Varsity Yacht Race
*Durham University vs Loughborough University
** BUCS Varsity
** Intramural Varsity ( Durham colleges vs Loughborough intramural sports)
*Durham University vs University of York
** College Varsity – between Durham colleges and York Colleges, started 2014 as a replacement for the White Rose Varsity
** James – Collingwood tournament annually between James College, York and Collingwood College, Durham since 2009.
** Josephine Butler – Langwith varsity: Annual home-and-away (York in the autumn, Durham in the summer) tournaments between Josephine Butler College, Durham and Langwith College, York held since 2013.
* Lancaster University vs University of York
** The Roses Tournament
* University of Leeds vs University of Liverpool vs University of Manchester
** The Christie Cup
* Leeds Beckett University vs Manchester Metropolitan University
** Battle of the North
* University of Sunderland vs York St John University
** Varsity

Regional rivalries

East

*University of East Anglia vs University of Essex
** Derby Day

London

*Brunel University vs St Mary's University, Twickenham
** West London Varsity – Rugby, Football, Basketball, Netball and Cricket.
* City, University of London vs Kingston University London
** Varsity
*University of East London vs Middlesex University
**Varsity – replaced by UEL vs Anglia Ruskin Challenge Cup from 2016
*Goldsmiths, University of London vs University of the Arts London
** The Arts Cup – Basketball, Football, Hockey, Netball and Rugby
*Imperial College London vs Imperial College School of Medicine
** VarsityFest – Rugby, Hockey, Netball, Football, Lacrosse, Basketball, Tennis
*King's College London vs King's College London School of Medicine
** The Macadam Cup – Swimming gala, Water polo, Badminton, Squash, Hockey (men and women), Mixed fencing, Mixed tennis, Ultimate frisbee, Rugby (men and women), Netball, Lacrosse, Football (men and women) and Darts
*King's College London vs University College London
** London Varsity Series – multiple sports over 8 days, culminating in the London Varsity rugby match
* University of London Colleges and Imperial College School of Medicine
** Allom Cup – Rowing
*Queen Mary, University of London vs Queen Mary, University of London, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry
** The Merger Cup – rugby, football, hockey, rowing, tennis, badminton, netball, squash, and basketball
*University of West London vs University of Westminster
**West London Varsity

Midlands

*Aston University vs Birmingham City University
** Varsity
*University of Birmingham vs University of Birmingham Medics
** Brum Rugby Varsity
*University of Birmingham vs University of Warwick
** Varsity Boat Race (2006 and 2012)
*Coventry University vs University of Warwick
**Varsity
*Derby University vs University of Hertfordshire
**Varsity
*De Montfort University vs University of Leicester
** Varsity
*Keele University vs Staffordshire University
**Varsity (from 2001)
*Loughborough University vs University of Nottingham
** IMS Varsity – between intramural sports teams
*University of Nottingham vs Nottingham Trent University
** Nottingham Varsity (2004–present)

North East

*Durham University vs Newcastle University
** The Boat Race of the North – Rowing (since 1997)
*Newcastle University vs Northumbria University
** The Stan Calvert Cup (1994-2018)
*University of Sunderland vs University of Teesside
** Varsity

North West

*University of Central Lancashire vs Edge Hill University
**Varsity
*University of Chester vs Salford University
**Varsity (from 2016)
*University of Liverpool vs Liverpool John Moores University
** Liverpool Varsity
*University of Manchester vs Manchester Metropolitan University
** Varsity
*University of Manchester vs University of Salford
** The Two Cities Rugby League Challenge
** The Two Cities Boat Race – Rowing (from 1972)

South East

*University of Bedfordshire vs University of Northampton
** Varsity
* University of Bournemouth vs Southampton Solent University
**Varsity
*University of Brighton vs University of Sussex
** Varsity
*Buckinghamshire New University vs University of Roehampton
** Varsity
* Canterbury Christ Church University vs University of Kent
**Canterbury Varsity
*University of Chichester vs University of Winchester
**Varsity
*Kingston University vs University of Surrey
**Varsity (2010 to 2016, replaced by Kingston vs City and Surrey vs Royal Holloway)
*Oxford Brookes University vs University of Reading
**Varsity
*University of Portsmouth vs University of Southampton
** Varsity Cup
* Royal Holloway, University of London vs University of Surrey
**Varsity

South West

*University of Bath vs University of Exeter
**Rugby Varsity
*University of Bristol vs University of West England
**Varsity
*University of Plymouth vs University of St Mark & St John
**Varsity
*University of Worcester vs University of Gloucestershire
**Varsity

Yorkshire and the Humber

*University of Bradford vs University of Huddersfield
*University of Hull vs University of Teesside vs York St. John University
** The Tri-Varsity (ended 2008)
*University of Hull vs University of Lincoln
**The Humber Games – inaugurated in 2014 after Hull's annual series with York ended in acrimony in 2013.
*University of Hull vs University of York
**The White Rose Varsity Tournament (contested from 2005 to 2011 between York and York St John University) was a short-lived series established in 2011. It was discontinued in 2013 due to disagreements between the two universities.
*University of Leeds vs Leeds Beckett University
** Leeds Varsity
*University of Sheffield vs Sheffield Hallam University
** Sheffield Varsity (1996 – present)
*University of York vs York St. John University
** White Rose Varsity Tournament (until 2011)

Varsity in Ireland

*University College Dublin v. Trinity College Dublin
** Colours Boat Races
** The Colours Match - Rugby Union

Varsity in Scotland

*University of Aberdeen v. Robert Gordon University
** Granite City Challenge
** Aberdeen Universities Boat Race - Rowing
*University of Abertay Dundee v. University of Dundee
** The Tay Games Varsity Challenge
*University of Edinburgh v. Heriot-Watt University
** Varsity Quaich - Men’s Football, Men’s and Women’s Hockey, Men’s Rugby and Rowing
*University of St Andrews v. University of Edinburgh
** The Scottish Varsity - Rugby
**The Johnny Wookey Memorial Varsity - Ice Hockey
* University of Edinburgh v. University of Glasgow
** The Scottish Boat Race - Rowing
* University of the West of Scotland v. Edinburgh Napier University
** East vs West Varsity - Men's American Football, Mixed Badminton, Men's Basketball, Men's and Women's Hockey, Men's Rugby
* University of the West of Scotland v. Scottish Rural College v. Ayrshire College
** West Coast Varsity

Varsity in Wales

*Cardiff University v. Swansea University
**Welsh Varsity - Rugby
** Varsity Shield
***The Welsh Boat Race - Rowing
* Aberystwyth University v. Bangor University
** Aberystwyth-Bangor Varsity

See also

*College rivalry
*College athletics
*Varsity team

References

{{Reflist

College sports rivalries
Student culture
Sports matches
Student sport rivalries in the United Kingdom