The switch to the big leagues of Canadian university athletics means bigger bucks will be required next year for UNBC's four varsity teams.
UNBC athletics and recreation director Jason Kerswill says the move to the CIS in 2012 as a member of the Canada West Universities Athletic Association will require an additional $300,000 for its Northern Timberwolves soccer and basketball teams, from the current $1.1 million to $1.4 million. And Kerswill is confident the money will be there.
"The only way we'd ever be able to move this forward is a commitment from the institution because as much as Canada West wants to see successful fundraising campaigns from every athletic department, that money can come and go," said Kerswill.
"There has to be the commitment from every institution in Canada West to ensure that if there is a down year in fundraising, ever, your teams are still going to be playing."
UNBC will have to hire two full-time soccer coaches, a sports information director, and increase its travel budget to allow more air travel for the teams. Based on its current roster sizes of 20 for each soccer team and 14 for each basketball team, the additional cost of playing in the CIS works out to $4,411 per player.
CIS regulations limit soccer teams to a 22-player roster, with 18 players allowed to dress for games. Basketball teams in the CIS are allowed 14 players on each roster, with a maximum of 12 per game. The T-wolves currently have 18 male and 16 female soccer players, while each basketball team has 14 players.
The revised budget includes administrative costs and allows for an increase in the amount of scholarships for student-athletes. UNBC currently has $140,000 allotted for scholarship players, which will increase to $180,000 in the 2012-13 season.
"When you're looking at hiring three full-time staff and some travel, that $300,000 goes by quickly," said Kerswill. "For some institutions making the jump, the increase in the budget would be far more substantial than ours, partly because we already fly on a good number of our trips for basketball and we already have such a robust exhibition schedule. We're definitely well-positioned."
UNBC already pays full-time salaries to its basketball coaches, Loralyn Murdoch and Todd Jordan, and this year has budgeted three air trips to Vancouver for PACWEST games for its basketball teams.
CIS soccer teams play between 14 and 16 games in a fall semester only, an increase from the current 12-game schedule for the T-wolves in the Pacific West Athletic Association. The switch to CIS basketball will increase the fall-winter schedule for UNBC teams. PACWEST basketball teams play a 16-game season as compared to 24 games in Canada West.
Kerswill said the league structure of Canada West likely won't be determined until a meeting in Calgary in February. Until then, he won't have an accurate estimate of the T-wolves travel budgets.
UNBC might compete in a separate conference based on regional geography, or it could be grouped with the newer entrants in Canada West like TRU, UBC-Okanagan and Mount Royal, which have fewer sports offered than long-established CIS schools like UBC and the University of Alberta.
"It does depend on how or if the league is broken down into two divisions because that will definitely affect travel costs," Kerswill said. "Some schools have four or five sports, compared to the institutions that have two or three that would be competing together."
