The goal of this study was to compare the use of sports facilities of selected universities in Iran with some Canadian universities. This study was comparative and data collection was done through interviews with directors of physical education departments of the selected universities. All the universities studied in this paper are faced with a crisis of financial resources and revenue generation; however, a common weak point of Iranian universities is that they lack initial plan for efficient design as well as expert designers in construction of university spaces. Based on the findings, in the Canadian universities the facilities have the highest multi-purpose applications. Accordingly, practical and applicable recommendations have been suggested to office of development plans of Iran’s ministry of science, research and technology to improve the operation of sports facilities in Iranian universities.