The paper publishes weekly on all campuses during the fall and winter semesters and online throughout the year, along with two seasonal magazines.

The paper is published by Varsity Publications, a not-for-profit corporation, and is primarily financed by advertisement revenues with subsidies from a student levy.

[citation needed] At the height of debate on coeducation in 1880, The Varsity published an article in its inaugural issue in favour of admitting women.

[2] University College students then approved a motion by Varsity editorial staff member William Lyon Mackenzie King and boycotted lectures for a week.

[3][4] After Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau decriminalized homosexuality in 1969, a medical research assistant placed an advertisement in The Varsity seeking volunteers to establish the first university homophile association in Canada.