FROSH: ‘We have a baseball team?’ Explaining the difference between varsity and club Dinos
By Maggie Hsu, September 11 2025—
As a new student, you likely know that we’re all Dinos and you’ve likely heard of our Dinos football team charging down the field at McMahon Stadium or caught the buzz of a hockey game at Father David Bauer Arena. But ask someone if we have a baseball, rowing or curling team and you’ll probably get the same response: “Wait… we have one of those?”
The truth is, there are a lot more student-athletes on campus than most people realize — and they’re not all varsity Dinos. Some of the sports representing our school compete as club teams, and while they share the Dinos branding, their structure, funding and visibility are pretty different.
Varsity vs club: what’s the difference?
Varsity teams are what most people picture when they think of university sports. They compete in U SPORTS — the national governing body for university athletics in Canada — and have full-time coaching staff, athletic scholarships and significant institutional support. These teams have regular schedules and receive more media coverage.
Varsity sports are also divided further into two categories: team sports and championship sports. Team sports include football, basketball (men’s and women’s), soccer (men’s and women’s), hockey (men’s and women’s), volleyball (men’s and women’s), field hockey (women’s) and rugby (women’s 7s and 15s). Team sports are played almost every week and travel to compete against other universities. Their schedules are regular, but championship sports are more sporadic, competing in meets or tournaments to accumulate points throughout the year to calculate towards qualifying for Canada West and U SPORTS Championships. Championship sports are always co-ed, covering cross country, golf, swimming, track and field and wrestling.
Club teams, on the other hand, are teams that compete under the Dinos banner but are not sanctioned by U SPORTS, so they compete in a different league or are sanctioned by separate governing bodies for these specific sports. The best example is the Dinos Ringette team, who compete under the Canadian University and College Ringette Association (CUCRA) who are responsible for organizing university and college ringette in Canada.
While club teams may not get the same funding or marketing push as varsity teams, their athletes still train and compete at a high level. Many club Dinos travel for tournaments, face top competition and, in some cases, have alumni who’ve gone on to professional or national-level play.
Why the confusion?
Part of the mix-up comes from branding — both varsity and club athletes wear the Dinos logo, which makes sense since they’re all representing UCalgary. But while varsity teams are managed by the university’s athletics department, club teams operate more independently.
That independence means they don’t always get the same spotlight. Varsity games are often advertised around campus and covered in sports news, while club sports might happen off-campus or without much promotion and fanfare. Unless you know someone on the team or are a major fan of that sport in particular, you might never hear about them.
Meet your lesser-known Dinos
Here are the club sports you might want to check out during their seasons:
- Artistic Swimming
- Baseball
- Fastball
- Ringette
- Rowing
- Rugby – Men’s
- Tennis
Why club sports matter and why you should support them
For many students, joining a club team is a way to keep competing at a high level without the full-time commitment of varsity athletics. Club sports are also valuable outlets for students who have experience in these sports to continue pursuing their passions, along with pursuing their academics.
And while they might not pack the Saddledome, these athletes are still representing our university with pride. Some even use their club experience as a stepping stone to higher levels of play.
How to get involved
If you’re curious about joining or supporting a club team, the easiest place to start is checking out the Dinos’ website or by checking their social media pages.
So next time someone asks, “We have a baseball team?” you’ll be able to answer — and maybe even tell them when the next game is.