It used the basic Boy Scouting program and added high adventure, sporting, and other elements that were more appealing to older youth to accomplish the aims of character development, citizenship training, and personal fitness.

The Varsity Scout learned to use these ideals as a measure of personal growth and continually tries to improve.

The basic framework for Varsity Scout activities revolved around high adventure and sports.

The intent of this emphasis was to encourage a coherently planned set of activities that led to occasional "ultimate adventures" or sports seasons.

Following the original model, teams were encouraged to plan a set of activities quarterly that culminate in some type of big event.

"Varsity Scouting promotes growth through spirituality, leadership abilities, citizenship, social and cultural attributes, and physical fitness."

[4] Dr. Mortensen formed a Task Force to develop a Scouting program for 14- to 15-year-old young men in 1975.

They wanted it to be more advanced, one that would hold the interest of a young man entering High School, a more "Senior" version of Scouting.

Once the initial program design was finished, they began putting a plan together for moving forward.

The total sum he paid is unknown, but it is generally accepted to have been tens of thousands of dollars.

Serving at the pleasure of the Team Captain, each Program Manager eas made responsible for one of five fields of emphasis.

In the spring of 1973, the Great Salt Lake Council held a "Merit Badge Expo" at the University of Utah.

Commissioner Glen Oliver had the idea to send a Boy Scout Troop to the top of nearby Mount Olympus with a signaling mirror.

Materials to support the program, the first Varsity Scout Handbook for the boys and a Leader Guidebook for the adults, were released.

After a successful pre-pilot program, both the Varsity Scout Handbook for the boys and the Leader Guidebook were revised, creating second editions of each volume.

The Varsity Scout Emblem originally used was changed to a stitched logo using orange thread.

The participating councils in this round were: Aloha, Honolulu, HI; Anthony Wayne Area, Fort Wayne, IN; Baltimore Area, Baltimore, MD; Bay-Lakes, Menasha, WI; Cache Valley, Logan, UT; Chief Seattle, Seattle, WA; Del-Mar-Va, Wilmington, DE; Evergreen, Everett, WA; Great Salt Lake, Salt Lake City, UT; Great Western, Van Nuys, CA; Jim Bridger, Rock Springs, WY; Lake Bonneville, Ogden, UT; Longhorn, Fort Worth, TX; Los Angeles Area, Los Angeles, CA; Minsi Trails, Lehigh Valley, PA; Mount Rainier, Tacoma, WA; National Capital Area, Washington, D.C.; Ore-Ida, Boise, ID; Otetiana, Rochester, NY; Quivira, Wichita, KS; San Gabriel Valley, Pasadena, CA; Snake River Area, Twin Falls, ID; Tendoy Area, Pocatello, ID; Teton Peaks, Idaho Falls, ID; Utah National Parks, Provo, UT; Verdugo Hills, Glendale, CA; and Winnebago, Waterloo, IA.

In addition to the two evaluations mentioned, a third evaluation was conducted, mid-way through the pre-pilot in order to probe the assumptions upon which the program was developed: questions needed to be answered with regards to the needs, interests and preferences of 14- and 15-year-old boys in order to determine what exactly would attract and hold them in a program specifically designed for their age group.

The initial research data was gathered by collecting and evaluating responses from participants in Varsity Scouting programs, by means of surveys made on random samples of populations of 14- and 15-year-old boys located in Utah and Idaho, the two states comprising the pre-pilot area.

[11][12] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints officially endorsed the program on September 23, 1983.,[13] with a bulletin appeared on pages 79–80 of the January 1984 issue of the Ensign magazine.

Although an officially approved BSA program, Varsity Scouting continued to face opposition.

Paul M. Anderson served as Committee Chair; Joe C. Glasscock was the Professional Adviser.

[18] In May 2017, The Church of Christ of Latter-Day Saints announced that it would, at the conclusion of that year, end its participation in the Varsity Scouting program.

The chartered organization was responsible for selecting leadership, providing a meeting place and promoting a good program.

Fast Start Training was the introduction for adult leaders new to the Varsity Scout program.

Youth Protection Training is required for all adult leaders and must be recertified per local council policy.

Wood Badge consists of six days of training (usually presented as two three-day weekends) and an application phase of several months.

Varsity Scouts could also earn activity pins in several areas of high adventure and sports.

Program resources and official pins were available for backpacking, basketball, bowling, canoe camping, caving, cross-country skiing, cycling, discovering America, fishing, freestyle biking, frontiersman, mechanics, Operation On-Target, orienteering, rock climbing and rappelling, roller hockey, shooting sports, snow camping, soccer, survival, swimming, tennis, triathlon, volleyball, water skiing, and whitewater canoeing.

The requirements for earning an activity pin were determined locally by the team captain and are usually awarded at the conclusion of each ultimate adventure or sports season.