What was U Sports originally founded as?

• A. It was founded as the Canadian College Sports Union in 1980
• B. It was founded as the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union (CIAU) in 1906 (Ontario and Quebec)
• C. It was founded as the CIAU in 1906 (Ontario and Quebec)
• D. It was founded as the Canadian Intercollegiate Athletics Union in 1907

Answer: (C)

The main idea here is tracing the organization’s origins in Canadian university sport. The national body that governs university athletics in Canada began in 1906, founded by Ontario and Quebec universities to coordinate interuniversity competition. Its original name was the Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Union (CIAU), a designation that stayed in use as the governing body for many decades. This fits the historical record because the group started with a regional focus in Ontario and Quebec before expanding nationally and evolving its branding as the sport landscape grew. Later on, the organization adopted new names as it broadened its scope—becoming Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) and, more recently, rebranding to U Sports. The option stating it started as the CIAU in 1906 in Ontario and Quebec aligns with this established lineage. The other choices reference different names or years that don’t match the historical timeline of the federation’s founding.