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No volleyball for UNBC |
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Written by JASON PETERS, Citizen staff
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Sunday, 11 May 2008 |
Axed CNC program won’t be picked up by university
College-level volleyball will not be played in Prince George next season.
In late April, after the College of New Caledonia approved the withdrawal of its volleyball teams from the B.C. Colleges Athletic Association for 2008-09, some members of the local volleyball community turned their eyes to the UNBC athletics department as a potential saviour.
Len McNamara, UNBC’s athletics and recreation coordinator, said Sunday night UNBC will not pursue membership in BCCAA volleyball for next season. The university is currently focusing its efforts and its dollars on joining the Canada West division of Canadian Interuniversity Sport. And, in McNamara’s view, the CIS bid wipes out any chance of UNBC getting involved in BCCAA volleyball in 2008-09.
“We’re pretty well committed with that (CIS bid),” McNamara said. “The volleyball, it’s a great sport locally but we just don’t have the financial resources to be able to take it over all in one year.”
Given the ever-changing landscape of the BCCAA -- for example, current member schools like Nanaimo’s Malaspina and Kelowna’s UBC Okanagan chasing membership in the CIS -- McNamara is not closing the door on UNBC volleyball in the future.
“Malaspina and UBC-O, if they’re going to end up in Canada West with volleyball, I’m sure the BCCAA is going to need more teams to compete against,” he said.
“In a year’s time, we don’t know if we’re going to be accepted to Canada West, we don’t know if others are going to be accepted, and what’s the whole BCCAA and Canada West look at this time next year. I think you’ve got to see where that plays out before you can make any kind of a decision.”
CNC pulled its men’s and women’s volleyball teams out of the BCCAA as part of cost-cutting measures to deal with a projected $1.1-million deficit for the 2008-09 fiscal year.
McNamara said UNBC’s application to the CIS will go before the school’s board of governors in the third week of June. The application must be submitted to the CIS by July 31. UNBC is interested in landing its men’s and women’s basketball teams in the CIS. Both those clubs currently compete in the BCCAA. If UNBC is successful in attaining CIS membership, its basketball teams could begin competition as early as the 2010-11 season.
McNamara will be in Tofino today through Thursday for the BCCAA annual general meeting. During the get-together, the league will name a new president to replace Tim Demant of Abbotsford’s Columbia Bible College. Demant recently accepted a job as the athletic director at Indiana’s Goshen College.
Also at the AGM, McNamara will provide the BCCAA with an update on the 2009 Canadian Colleges Athletic Association men’s basketball nationals, which UNBC will host March 18-21.
Sticking with basketball, the BCCAA is expected to approve the membership application of Quest University Canada for next season. Quest, located in Squamish, had men’s and women’s teams play required exhibition schedules last season.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 11 May 2008 )
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