Canada West turns down UNBC ... again
UNBC has again been left out in the cold by the Canada West Universities Athletic Association.
The school's bid for membership in the basketball and soccer leagues of Canada West were voted down Thursday at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport meetings in Victoria.
“I’m disappointed by the outcome of the vote earlier today," said UNBC president George Iwama. "Canada West was presented with an opportunity to expand the reach of its Association into the North, and showcase some of Canada’s best and brightest student-athletes to our very deserving region."
UNBC and its basketball program first applied for Canada West membership in 2008 and hosted a Canada West review team that fall. In early 2009, UNBC presented its application to the full Canada West membership in Calgary. That spring, Canada West delayed a decision on new members for one year. The membership vote was subsequently held in May 2010 and UNBC’s application was not accepted. UNBC re-applied that December, this time with the addition of men’s and women’s soccer. Again, a site team visited and UNBC made a presentation to the full Canada West membership. The inclusion of a second major sport, basketball being the first, allowed UNBC to pursue Canada West’s full-membership category.
“We understood that through the addition of a Director of Athletics and a second sport, we would be in a more favourable position than last year. Unfortunately, this was not enough to change the outcome of the vote,” says Iwama. “As a community we have witnessed great accomplishments from our student-athletes and we will continue to support our students in their pursuit of excellence. We are proud of our membership in the British Columbia Colleges Athletic Association and the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association and will continue to both strengthen our Athletics program and help move these Associations forward.”
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