Sunday
Feb 05th
Joining NCAA |
 |
 |
| Written by Administrator | |
| Friday, 07 November 2008 18:49 | |
|
And it has company. Both SFU and the University of British Columbia are investigating membership in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the U.S. college athletics juggernaut known for 100,000-seat stadiums and multibillion-dollar television deals. The NCAA unveiled a pilot program in January that allows Canadian schools to join Division II, and at least SFU is intending to apply in 2009. Fearing their defection would trigger a more widespread exodus, CIS officials are seeking ways to galvanize a membership that is divided over athletics scholarships, among other issues. "I see the fear that they have, and I think it's well founded," SFU athletics director David Murphy said of CIS. CIS is divided along geographical lines, and resentment has percolated for years without any meaningful action to resolve differences. As the Canada West conference pushed for higher scholarship limits and an increased level of competition, Ontario University Athletics voted down their proposals one by one. Unlike the OUA, which includes 19 schools within one province, Canada West sprawls more than 2,000 kilometres from the University of Victoria on Vancouver Island to the universities of Manitoba and Winnipeg. The travel budgets are bigger in the West, and so are the ambitions of the athletics departments. Currently in Canada, universities are permitted by CIS to offer only full tuition for an athletics scholarship, and there are limits to the number of the awards by sport. Men's and women's basketball teams, for example, are capped at an equivalent of 8.4 full-tuition scholarships, while football teams are permitted 28. Many OUA schools resist providing scholarships to student-athletes. The conference's scholarships are capped at $3,500 an athlete, while outside Ontario, universities will pay full tuition and fees. It is believed that most Ontario schools do not come close to the scholarship caps in the individual sports, and while they relented by allowing entry-level scholarships last year, only students with at least an 80 per cent average out of high school are eligible. In contrast, a "full-ride" NCAA scholarship includes tuition, books, fees and residence. Canada West wants to raise the limits on individual scholarships, with UBC at the forefront of the push. The motive is the ability to compete with the NCAA for top Canadian athletes. CIS has responded with "a 10-point plan" to improve university athletics in this country. "Business as usual is not an option," CIS chief executive officer Marg McGregor said. The plan is designed to make CIS "the destination of choice" for top athletes, she said, and involves a review of scholarship issues and tiering so that large schools such as UBC wouldn't be obliged to play smaller ones, such as those in Langley, Abbotsford and Kamloops. "We've discussed the issues that are troubling to UBC, their concerns with CIS," McGregor said. "Our leadership is committed to making changes in the way that we govern and the way that we operate." Proposals will be discussed by all CIS members over the next few weeks. But even if reforms are introduced, SFU's athletic administration said it is very likely to apply for NCAA membership because of the school's long history of competing against U.S. schools. Simon Fraser joined CIS reluctantly six years ago when their U.S. National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics rivals jumped to Division II, which at the time did not allow Canadian members. Murphy said playing in the NCAA would simply be "a return to our roots." Even so, Murphy has firm roots of his own in CIS and sympathizes with the battles being fought by others in Canada West. He said travel costs in the conference are through the roof, especially for teams that progress into the playoffs, as SFU's football team has this season. After a win in Saskatoon last week, Simon Fraser is playing for the Hardy Cup at the University of Calgary today , a game that could be the school's final postseason football game as part of CIS. A win would put SFU into Quebec next weekend for a bowl game, and a win there would mean a trip to the Vanier Cup in Hamilton. Winning, in CIS, can be an expensive proposition — especially for schools in Western Canada. In the NCAA, Murphy said, playoff travel costs are covered by the league. Simon Fraser is not pursuing NCAA membership as a way to punish CIS, however. "We're not doing it maliciously," Murphy said. "Personally, I love CIS, I think it's great. I really, really have enjoyed my association with it. We're not leaving the CIS because we're disgruntled with it or we don't like it." From Saturday's Globe and Mail Related Articles/Posts
athletics, canada, football, membership, murphy, scholarship, scholarships, schools, teams, university Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites           |
News Categories
Tags
Copyright © 2005 - 2012 Canadian College Sports.
www.precedabusiness.com
