Dissolving the CIS’s regional conference into one super conference
Here’s an open letter to anybody who’s anybody.The Canadian Interuniversity Sports (CIS) association needs a national conference realignment. As it stands, the four regional conferences that comprise the CIS (the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec , the Ontario University Athletics, Canada West, Atlantic University Sport) are deeply connected to their geographic location. Nowadays with the commodification of all aspects of educational life, Canadian universities are looking towards athletics to help strengthen their brand.
Heavily subsidized conference juggernauts like the University of Laval (RSEQ), Western Mustangs (OUA) and the University of Calgary (Canada West) are big fish that have outgrown their constricting regional ponds. A quick lesson in trickle-down economics would indicate that the development of a national conference would help leverage the notoriety of “big schools” to help grow the sports in question nationally.
Financially speaking, with both the federal and provincial governments pulling back on education spending, investing in a national syndication of sports and entertainment only makes sense in times like these. If pride cometh before the fall, then nationwide wide airfare expenses for varsity teams must cometh before the science pavilion.
As a society, we’ve entered our age of decadence and half-assing our time in the sun won’t preclude the inevitable. Denis Coderre needs baseball. Toronto needs a subway extension, and Canada needs a national interuniversity athletic conference. Because I said so… and I like football.
