The varsity is the main team representing a school or university. Make varsity, the varsity squad, a varsity letter.
In America it is the first team, with junior varsity below it, and making varsity is a real marker in an American school. In Britain the word is old slang for university itself, and the varsity match is the annual Oxford and Cambridge fixture.
1nounvarsityThe main team representing a school or university.
“He trained all summer and finally made the varsity basketball team.”
varsity is a team.
A clipping of an old pronunciation of university, univarsity, from the seventeenth century.
mid-17th century. a clipping of univarsity, reflecting an archaic pronunciation of university.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA