The York Lions is the official name for the athletic varsity teams that represent York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's varsity teams compete in the Ontario University Athletics conference of U Sports and, where applicable, in the east division. The Lions' logo features a red lion from the school's logo with the university's colours, red and white.
York's former teams were known as the York Yeomen and York Yeowomen, but changed their name to the gender-neutral Lions in 2003.
Varsity teams
{| class="wikitable"; style= "text-align: "
! width= 150px style=""| Men's sports
! width= 150px style=""| Women's sports
|-
| Basketball || Basketball
|-
| Cross Country || Cross Country
|-
| Football || Field hockey
|-
| Ice Hockey || Ice Hockey
|-
| Soccer || Rugby
|-
| Tennis || Soccer
|-
| Track and field || Tennis
|-
| Volleyball || Track and field
|-
| Wrestling || Volleyball
|-
| || Wrestling
|}
Football
The York Lions football team has been in operation since 1968 and currently compete in the 11-team Ontario University Athletics conference. The program is one of two in U Sports football to have never won a conference championship. Dexter Janke has been the team's head coach since January 22, 2024.
Men's ice hockey
thumb|Men's hockey road playoff game vs. [[Windsor Lancers February 16, 2012.]]
The York Lions men's ice hockey team competes in the 20-team Ontario University Athletics conference. The team has won three national championships in 1985, 1988, and 1989. The program has also yielded seven Queen's Cup conference championships, most recently in 2017.
Men's soccer
<!---->
The York Lions men's soccer team has won six U Sports national championships and seven OUA conference championships. Playing for the Lions, in 2010 Alon Badat was named a U Sports Championship All Star, and the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) West Rookie of the Year, and in 2011 he was a First-Team OUA All-Star. The team currently competes in the 18-team Ontario University Athletics conference.
Women's soccer
The York Lions women's soccer team currently competes in the 19-team Ontario University Athletics conference. The program has had four conference championship winners, coming in 2005, 2007, 2009, and 2019.
Men's volleyball
The York Lions men's volleyball team currently competes in the 13-team Ontario University Athletics conference. The program has featured 13 conference championship winners, most recently in 2005. Jordan Taylor was named the team's head coach on July 21, 2023.
Women's volleyball
The York Lions women's volleyball team currently competes in the 14-team Ontario University Athletics conference. The program has had a school-record 15 conference championships with the most recent occurring 2009. The team has been led by head coach Jennifer Neilson since 2018.
Championships
thumb|The Lions Men's soccer team celebrates their [[2025 U Sports Men's Soccer Championship|2025 championship.]]
National championships
As of December 2025, York Lions teams and athletes have won 39 national championships.
|-
| Alumni Field || Field hockey <br> Rugby ||
|-
| Tait McKenzie Centre || Basketball <br> Volleyball<br> Wrestling ||
|-
| Canlan Sports || Ice hockey ||
|-
| Mayfair Clubs || Tennis ||
|-
| Toronto Track and Field Centre || Track and field ||
|}
;Notes
International competition
This is an incomplete list
- Kelsey Webster, Ice Hockey, 2009 Winter Universiade,
- Courtney Unruh, Ice Hockey, 2011 Winter Universiade,
- Kelsey Webster, Ice Hockey, 2011 Winter Universiade,
- Kiri Langford, Ice Hockey, 2011 Women's World Ice Hockey Championships – Division IV,
- Autumn Mills: Baseball, 2015 Pan American Games,
- Brittany Crew, Track and Field, 2017 Summer Universiade (Won gold with a best throw of 18.34 meters)
- Melissa Humana-Paredes, Volleyball, 2018 Commonwealth Games , 2019 Beach Volleyball World Championships
Awards and honours
Athletes of the Year
This is an incomplete list
{|class="wikitable" width="60%"
|- align="center" style=" background:#E31837;color:#FFFFFF;"
| Year || Female Athlete || Sport || Male Athlete || Sport
|Ref.
|- align="center" bgcolor=""
|2009–10||Heather Hamilton ||Track & Field || Tyrone Halstead || Track & Field
|
|- align="center" bgcolor=""
|2010–11 || Effie Petrou ||Field Hockey ||Adrian Pena ||Soccer
|
|- align="center" bgcolor=""
|2011–12||Melissa Humana-Paredes ||Volleyball || Dontae Richards-Kwok || Track & Field
|
|- align="center" bgcolor=""
|2012–13|| Cynthia Appiah|| Track & Field || David McKay|| Track & Field
|
|- align="center" bgcolor=""
|2013–14 || Khamica Bingham || Track & Field || Dontae Richards-Kwok || Track & Field
|
|- align="center" bgcolor=""
|2014–15|| Brittany Crew || Track & Field || Jarek Whiteman || Soccer
|
|- align="center" bgcolor=""
|2015–16 ||Brittany Crew || Track & Field || Michael Cox|| Soccer
|
|- align="center" bgcolor=""
|2016–17|| Holly Pitters || Track & Field || Jonathan Lao || Soccer
|
|- align="center" bgcolor=""
|2017–18||Holly Pitters || Track & Field || Kayden Johnson || Track & Field<br>Football
|
|- align="center" bgcolor=""
| 2018–19||Brittany Crew || Track & Field || Pierce Lepage || Track & Field
|
|- align="center" bgcolor=""
|2019–20|| Teni Odetoyinbo || Soccer || Daniel Gleason || Track & Field
|
|- align="center" bgcolor=""
|2020–21 || colspan="12" | Not awarded due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
|- align="center" bgcolor=""
|2021–22|| Leah Jones || Track & Field || Dieu Merci Yuma || Soccer
|
|- align="center" bgcolor=""
|2022–23|| Jotam Chouhan || Soccer || Soji Olatoye || Soccer
|
|- align="center" bgcolor=""
|2023–24|| Kaitlin Brooks || Track & Field || Christian Zeppieri || Soccer
|
|- align="center" bgcolor=""
|2024–25|| Nia Fleming-Thompson || Soccer || Christian Zeppieri || Soccer
|