Financial bonuses not just a feature of American colleges

Written by Sarah Dunstan

In the 1990s, Canadian universities had little to no financial incentives to offer incoming high school athletes.
Now these same athletes may be receiving sports scholarships at the beginning of their first year, granted their high school academic average is 80 per cent or higher.

But those who didn’t do so well in high school, fear not; athletes can receive sports scholarships at the end of their first year, and again at the beginning every year after, for up to five years, if they maintain a minimum average of 70 per cent or higher.
The University of Guelph is in its third year such a scholarship program. From the 08-09 to the 09-10 season, the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) scholarship program at Guelph experienced a growth of $36,400, with 13 additional athletes receiving scholarships, adding to the grand total of $139,250 divided amongst 65 student-athletes. Last year, the combined efforts of CIS schools provided almost $10 million for student athletic scholarships.
Scholarship programs in the United States are well known and incredibly large, particularly for large market sports, such as men’s basketball and football. Interestingly, graduation rates at US universities are staggeringly low. Last year, USA Today reported that one in six Division I basketball programs in America has an athlete graduation rate of under 50 per cent. Despite a questionable quality of education, the popular belief is that many student-athletes head south of the border after high school, primarily hoping to score a ‘free-ride’ from big-ticket sports universities. University of Guelph Director of Athletics Tom Kendall quickly debunked this urban myth.
“There is no evidence that kids go for the money,” said Kendall, “Sports are more important in US culture. The experience is pretty exciting, and there’s significant prestige in playing for a Division I school.”
As well as being the Director of Athletics at the University of Guelph, Kendall is also a former women’s basketball coach at universities across North America, including the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Winnipeg.
But as the scholarship program is still young in Guelph, many student athletes and their families know little about it, other than it exists.
“I spend a lot of time going over rules and regulations,” said Kyle Walters, head coach of the Gryphons football team. “We play Concordia a lot, and they get their money twice.”
What Walters is referring to with the Concordia example is that athletes in Quebec receive money for having an academic average of 65 per cent or above at the end of their first year, as well as the beginning of their second. Ontario athletes only receive money at the beginning of their second year, if they have an average of 70 per cent or higher. As well as generating much confusion, program variations from province to province can be a major recruiting factor. Fierce competition exists between Ontario universities, enticing athletes with ‘wow’ scholarships, and, at the same time, schools in the western provinces are notoriously aggressive with scholarship money.
Simon Fraser University recently joined Division II in the American NCAA, and is now able to offer scholarship packages ranging between $12,000 and $15,000; as opposed to the seemingly measly $3500 limit in Ontario.
Kendall recalled that during his time as a women’s basketball coach in Winnipeg, not only was much more scholarship money made available, but also, half of the scholarship budget was paid by the government via lottery funds.
Along with meeting academic standards, gender equity is an important feature of the scholarship program, as scholarship money is evenly divided between male and female recipients every year. Not only do men’s athletics tend to be higher profile, attracting more financial support, but larger teams, such as football, can consist of more than 80 members, providing a large number of alumni contributions. Raising money for women’s scholarships can be a struggle, but according to Kendall, “you just have to find a way.”
Kendall says the number females athletes receiving academic scholarships is always higher than males.
With 20 hours each week dedicated to any given sport, many students involved in varsity athletics simply don’t have the time to commit to a part-time job. CIS scholarships provide the money that student-athletes need to stay in school, and pursue their passions. The scholarship program does not provide a ‘free ride,’ it is designed to act as a helpful supplement for students in varsity athletics. Thus far, it has succeeded.

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