A year ago, UNBC ranked first on the list of applicants to join Canada West Universities Athletic Association.
On Thursday, it was clear that rating had plummeted when Canada West turned down UNBC's bid to become a Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) member, and Len McNamara, the former head of UNBC's athletics department, thinks he knows why that happened.
UNBC was one of three schools applying for first-time Canada West membership, along with UBC-Okanagan of Kelowna and Vancouver Island University of Nanaimo. UBC-Okanagan, which ranked second behind UNBC in the May 2009 Canada West membership committee report, was successful in gaining at least 75 per cent approval in Thursday's vote in Victoria and will become a probationary member of the CIS in 2011. VIU's application was denied, reportedly over concerns about its athletics facilities.
McNamara suggests UNBC's fall from grace within Canada West was either the result of "bad decisions within the school administration" or because UNBC did not want to advance its athletics programs to the highest possible level to compete in the CIS.
"I believe that certainly UBC-O did the right things to enhance their application but it was more a case of what UNBC didn't do to improve the application or at least maintain the No.1 ranking," said McNamara.
"It was a combination of them not addressing the expense (issue), which I think would have been relatively easy. All we had to do was go in and make that presentation and we would have remained No. 1. That would have really put the pressure on Canada West. If they really wanted UBC-O in, they basically had to take us as well."
McNamara, who was fired from his job as UNBC's athletics and recreations co-ordinator in September 2009, said UNBC was not proactive enough in finding solutions to alleviate concerns from Canada West members that expansion into Prince George would result in increased traveling costs for visiting teams. Those concerns were outlined in the Canada West Ad Hoc membership committee report issued to UNBC in May 2009.
McNamara served as general manager of the Spruce Kings hockey team in the '80s and 90's when the team made the step up from the Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League to the B.C. Hockey League and offered travel subsidies the first season that helped make expansion into the north easier to accept for existing league members.
He was prepared to do that for CIS teams. While still with UNBC, McNamara worked out the additional costs for traveling teams for weekend games in Prince George would be between $3,000 and $4,000. McNamara made contact with WestJet airlines official to discuss a possible sponsorship to reduce flight costs for visiting teams and said he was also working out a deal with a local hotel to provide rooms, possibly without charge. Those discussions ended after he was fired.
"Just like the B.C. Hockey League, some of them are looking for reasons not to let you in, so you have to be proactive on it and do those types of things, He said. "Obviously they didn't do that."
UNBC was represented at the Canada West meetings last week by president George Iwama and former UNBC men's basketball coach Zane Robison, UNBC's housing co-ordinator who is now the interim athletics director. Neither Iwama or Robison were part of the CIS meetings until recently and McNamara said that was a contributing factor in Thursday's decision.
"They weren't involved in the application (first made in 2004), they weren't involved in the site visit (November 2008), they weren't part of the visit to Calgary (in February 2009), and I don't know if they took the time to read through the material in our application the ad hoc committee report," said McNamara. "If you had read those type of things it was fairly clear what you had to do."
McNamara questions why Loralyn Murdoch, coach of the UNBC women's basketball team, was part of the meeting with Canada West last week just prior to the vote. Murdoch has been in her current position at UNBC since the team first formed in 1999 and he said her presence would have helped in the bid to join an organization that stresses gender equity.
McNamara received a $120,000 severance package from UNBC for being fired without cause after eight years on the job. Canada West president Sandy Slavin said some members were concerned about the fact UNBC has not filled McNamara's position, nine months after he was dismissed. In fact, all three positions within the athletics and recreation department are currently vacant. McNamara worked without an assistant in his last year and that position has not been filled for 21 months. The sales and marketing officer position has gone unfilled for nine months.
McNamara still believes the CIS will eventually welcome UNBC, but that will require local community and business leaders to convince senior administration it needs to keep athletics at the forefront of the university.
"I think it's going to take competent people in those (athletics) positions and it will take an effort from people in the community to continue to exert pressure on the people at UNBC that this is what they want and they should pay attention to achieving it," he said.
"Decisions were made that have diminished the opportunities that our university can provide our community and I believe people should take note of that and make inquiries and hold people accountable and make sure those people correct the situation so that it doesn't happen again."
