this could mean a return of men’s soccer or volleyball U SPORTS teams for universities like the U of O
It’s no secret that the Canadian university sports landscape has some issues. The 12,000 student-athletes who make up U SPORTS simply deserve better, in countless ways. This includes OUA athletes not being classified as “elite athletes” during the COVID-19 pandemic and therefore not being able to continue training.
The governing body knows this, and is hoping the changes they make, beginning in 2024-25, will help create real change in the country.
U SPORTS is making some major reforms in an effort to set their athletes up for success in the classroom and in their respective fields of competition. The changes were announced in a press release Sept. 28. There are two major changes being made, both of which aim to make sports participation more accessible.
First, U SPORTS is replacing a policy that required incoming student-athletes to have an 80 per cent average in their final year of CEGEP or high school to be eligible for an athletic scholarship, and a 60 per cent average in their post-secondary academics to participate at all in their first season.
Now, incoming athletes will simply need to be accepted at universities to be able to play university sports and receive tuition credits. “These changes intend to remove systemic barriers impacting a student-athlete’s ability to participate in U SPORTS and receive funding assistance for pursuing their education,” U SPORTS CEO Pierre Arsenault said in the press release.
The second change is a movement in the amount of scholarship units given to programs. The adjustment in percentage of scholarship units to 45 per cent male teams, 45 per cent female teams, and 10 per cent to teams of either gender could mean a change in the competitive landscape across the country.
With football teams taking up such a huge proportion of athletes for institutions, it’s likely this change was put in place to diminish the impact the large roster has for other men’s sports. Of course, each university is free to enact whatever changes they wish (within the Athletic Financial Awards ceiling), but this could mean a return of men’s soccer or volleyball U SPORTS teams for universities like the U of O.
