Kwantlen to play in the NCAA?
By Michela Fiorido [Sports Bureau Chief]
A few of my colleagues at The Runner commented on SFU’s recent move as the first Canadian team ever to join the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) and then proceeded to ask me if Kwantlen could move to this level of competition. They made it seem as though this were something reasonably attainable in the near future. After laughing in their faces and yelling “Are you kidding me!?”, I came to the realization that most Kwantlen students have minimal knowledge on how Canadian university athletics work. This lack of knowledge is what prompted me to write this article to expose the current state of sports at Kwantlen.
First, SFU was already competing in the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) for most sports, which is a step up from UBC, UVIC, Trinity Western and the likes who play CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport). No students, we do not compete with these teams – not even close. We are not in the CIS. We are in the BCCAA (British Columbia College’s Athletic Association) and we play against Douglas College, Langara College, Capilano University, etc. It is a lower quality of play than CIS, than NAIA, and of course, than NCAA. Kwantlen joining NCAA is so out there, that even Kwantlen joining CIS is a massive stretch. Let’s put things in perspective and explore what it would take in order for Kwantlen to move up a level to compete in the CIS.
The first order of business is: has anyone seen SFU’s gym? Or even any other gym in the BCCAA? Well I’d be hard pressed to find a more dismal gymnasium than Kwantlen’s. Most high school gyms are superior to ours. In all fairness, when it was built I don’t think the future was kept in mind and that it would be intended for university play, but alas, it’s still in use and in dire need of a makeover…or a bulldozer. The endlines and the far sideline are so close to the wall that certain inbound plays cannot be executed in our gym because there is no room to overhand throw. Our gym is so small that it is barely regulation and as a result, Kwantlen players are always shocked when they play away games in bigger gyms and wonder why they get tired a lot quicker than playing at home. Our gym is also one of the only gyms to not have a concession stand or offer some form of food. What’s silly is that the Grassroots lounge is almost always closed during games so fans can’t even grab something to eat there. It’s also one of the only gyms to not offer halftime entertainment for fans. Almost every team in the BCCAA league has something special that they have going on. At CBC (Columbia Bible College) there’s a fancy couch right at centre court called “the best seat in the house” and there are contests going on throughout the year for fans to have a chance to sit there for a game. At VIU (Vancouver Island University) they have a “date a player” contest that they host after each home game and a fan is selected to go on a date with a member of one of the basketball teams. At UNBC (University of British Columbia), kids’ club teams play a mini game at halftime, much to the delight of the massive crowd that packs their brand new 2000 capacity gym. Langara has a paper airplane contest at half where fans compete for Falcon t-shirts and hoodies. At Kwantlen, we, umm, we don’t do anything – in fact we’re lucky if they remember to turn on the music at halftime. There are other problems with our gym including no real change-rooms that can accommodate a whole team and no real designated space for game strategy. Moreover, the floor has not been redone since it was built and it’s very noticeable and very slippery. The gym is also still blue-themed to reflect our old school colours. As Kwantlen is still promoting our relatively new image as a university, our gym needs to be repainted red to indicate the new changes that the school has undergone. I realize that the economy is not in our favour, however, I would suggest that Kwantlen look to build an entirely new gymnasium on the modern and spacious Cloverdale Campus in the near future.
A dismal gym and an unfriendly fan atmosphere isn’t the only reason why Kwantlen hardly has any fans come out to games. Kwantlen is a commuter school with divided campuses and no student housing. People go to class and then they go home. There’s no reason for them to hang out and watch the games on Friday night, and there’s no reason for a student in Richmond to drive all the way to Surrey to catch a game. The lack of student housing at Kwantlen also prevents out of town athletes from choosing to play here. About half of the teams in the BCCAA offer on-campus housing, and, as a result, have attracted skilled players from places like New York (Quest), Scotland (Quest), Australia (VIU), and Japan (VIU) among others. Just a small dorm complex would be enough to attract some athletes and a small core of fans that would eventually grow. Kwantlen has an excellent academic reputation and excellent programs such as the business program that would attract a lot more students nationally and even internationally if there were student housing available.
Speaking of programs, the most important change that Kwantlen needs to make to improve our athletic situation is the addition of Sports Science, Kinesiology, Human Kinetics, Physical Education, and/or Recreation programs to our academic curriculum. After some extensive research, I ascertained that Kwantlen is indeed the only school competing in the BCCAA who does not have any sort of recreation or kinesiology program that could appeal to athletic minded individuals. I can recall countless examples of quality players who went to Douglas or Langara college, even though they wanted to go to Kwantlen, just because the other schools offered human kinetics or physical education. Let’s think logically. If we want to attract athletes to our school, and athletes are interested in sports and many want some sort of athletic career, don’t you think we should offer them something, anything? This would be a massive breakthrough for the Kwantlen athletic program. Kwantlen has such a wonderful academic reputation within the BCCAA and is among the top BCCAA schools for academic quality, however, it is such a blow to the athletics program and the recruitment process for our school to not offer these programs. It is also a reason why we lose players after their second year because they do their first two years of science and then they have to transfer somewhere else to complete the rest of their degree. I just can’t believe Kwantlen hasn’t made this a priority because it is so important and we lose so many skilled athletes because of it.
Last but not least, to move up a level in university competition, you actually have to win games. Not just games, but championships – national championships. Let’s put things in perspective here. SFU has won over 50 national championships and has produced countless individual champions and even Olympians. University of the Fraser Valley (UFV), which is the most recent team to move from the BCCAA to the CIS, is known in their history as being among the most decorated collegiate athletic programs in Canada. They have won 3 national championships, 15 provincial championships and have had over a hundred athletes named provincial allstars. Right now, Langara College who is in the BCCAA has won 24 national titles, 161 provincial titles, and countless other awards and banners that take up so much space in their gym that you can hardly see any of the actual wall. If an athletics program such as Langara’s is not even close to becoming a CIS competitor, than where does Kwantlen stand? Kwantlen has zero titles, and zero banners in our bare bones gym. I hope this puts things in perspective for students as to what an accomplishment it is for SFU to join the NCAA or for UFV to join CIS. I also hope that construction of athletic-focused academic programs commences immediately because without them, Kwantlen will remain forever in the BCCAA.
