This time next week, Jason Kerswill might have to rewrite his own job description.
As director of athletics and recreation at UNBC, his duties could change dramatically if UNBC gains admission into Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), the highest level of competition in the country for post-secondary athletes.
UNBC has been pushing for CIS status since 2005, and itsapplication as a member school will be determined next week at the Canada West Universities Athletic Association annual general meeting in Calgary.
Mount Royal University in Calgary is also applying for CIS membership and Kerswill is keeping his fingers crossed UNBC will get what it wants.
"I'm cautiously optimistic," Kerswill said. "The motion being out forth to Canada West right now would see our basketball teams commencing play in 2012 and our soccer teams starting in 2014, which would allow us a few more years to ensure our soccer programs are at the necessary level to be competitive within Canada West.
"It's hard to say which direction Canada West is going, with or without us, but if we do become a member it will a wonderful opportunity to help shape the future landscape of interuniversity sport in the west."
On Tuesday, UBC announced it was dropping its plans to join the U.S.-based NCAA and would remain in the CIS as part of Canada West. UBC and other member universities have been pressuring Canada West to adopt a two-tiered competitive structure for the 2012-13 season and that will be a topic of discussion at next week's AGM.
A tiered system would separate the sports programs at larger universities like UBC, UVic, Alberta, Calgary, Saskatchewan and Manitoba from those at smaller campuses like UBC-Okanagan, Trinity Western and Thompson Rivers. Kerswill sees UNBC as a perfect fit for the second tier.
Joining the CIS won't come without a price. UNBC would have to increase the budget for its teams to cover additional travel costs and scholarship funding, and to pay full-time salaries for two soccer coaches and a sports information director.
As part of the B.C. Colleges Athletic Association, UNBC covers 70 per cent of the overall tuition costs of the each basketball team and provides 25 percent of tuition for the soccer teams. Depending on how that money is allocated, some players receive full tuition. Some of the players receive support from the Timberwolves Athletic Association, which raises funds through sales of Wolf Club memberships.
Competition-wise, this has been another successful season for UNBC, with three of its four Northern Timberwolves teams finishing with BCCAA medals. In men's basketball, the T-wolves won the provincial title and made their third-straight appearance at the national championship. Last season's CCAA champions finished fifth in the country this season. The men's soccer team pulled off a huge upset in the BCCAA tournament, knocking off undefeated Douglas College, the top-ranked team in Canada, on the way to a silver medal. The UNBC women's basketball team captured BCCAA bronze.
"With the silver medal that we won in men's soccer, the credibility of our program jumped by leaps and bounds in a matter of a few months and the interest we've seen from the Vancouver area from potential student athletes has increased," the 31-year-old Kerswill said.
"The commitment was made a few years to hire full time coaches in basketball, which enhanced our recruiting, and with success comes more success. Any time you have the opportunity to play for a team that makes it to playoffs every year and has a good shot at medaling with the opportunity to go to nationals, why wouldn't you want to be a part of that?"
Kerswill plans to ramp up the recreational side of UNBC athletics to include university support for club programs in such sports as cross-country running, cross-country skiing and biathlon and wants to establish an Timberwolves alumni association to help graduates gain employment in the workforce.
