[2] The team name "Patriotes" was selected following a contest where it was suggested by Gérald Baril, a history student and hockey player, because of its sense of rallying, dynamism and commitment to the environment.

However, with the shifting landscape of philosophy regarding education and sports, football and both basketball programs were all dropped by the 1980s due to a financial crisis.

The team competed in the Ottawa-St. Lawrence Conference (OSLC) for their first two seasons before moving to the Quebec Universities Athletic Association (QUAA) in 1971.

The Patriotes won their first conference championship in 1986 and made their first appearance in the University Cup tournament where they finished with a silver medal as the runner-up.

[7] The Patriotes also played in the University Cup final three years in a row from 2001 to 2003, winning in 2001 and 2003, both times over the St. Francis Xavier X-Men.

[1] The Patriotes won the Queen's Cup three more times in 2007, 2013, and 2016, but did not replicate their national success and could not make it past the second round in each U-Cup tournament.

On November 10, 2019, UQTR defeated the host team Montreal Carabins by a score of 2–0 to win their first U Sports men's soccer championship.