Canadian Universities still haven't decided whether to enter NCAA Division II

Last January NCAA Division II institutions voted on and approved a program that would allow Canadian universities to apply for membership. The vote was 97 percent in favor, including two abstentions. The original deadline to apply was June 1 this past summer, but none of the qualifying schools jumped at the opportunity.

One of the first hopefuls was the University of British Columbia, who had expressed an interest in joining in the past, but it wasn't until this past week that UBC started actively considering applying for membership, holding a series of meetings for the faculty, staff and surrounding community to discuss the feasibility of going D-II. They are still hesitant about the offer, however, because of varying opinions on the matter.

Some think becoming a D-II member is a lateral move as far as the competition level, and the only way it should join the NCAA is if it can be a Division I school. In the current system however, the university would only be eligible for Division II membership, even though one team would be able to compete at the Division I level for men and one team for women.

Longwood's own recent ascension to D-I gives us the perspective to understand where UBC is coming from when they say they want to come in as a D-I institution and not at D-II, but I'm not convinced the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) is at the same level of competition as Division I, especially considering intercollegiate sports in Canada are not nearly as popular as college athletics in the U.S., particularly outside of sports like football, basketball and of course hockey.

According to an article in "The Province," there isn't much of an upside to going D-II other than "being able to do a little more for the student athlete in the way of full scholarships." It also mentions the real question is whether or not to eventually achieve D-I status and that UBC athletics director Bob Phillip isn't being clear on his plans.

If UBC ultimately plans to became a D-I institution then the logical plan would be to apply and enter at D-II, play the field a few years while getting used to the NCAA's rules and academic regulations, then see what happens once they've been tried at that level.

While UBC's hesitancy on the invite may still seem ridiculous considering the amount of publicity they would receive from becoming an official NCAA university, there are hurdles the school would have to overcome.

UBC, as well as other Canadian universities, would have to change their recruiting practices. At this time, a large portion of Canadian college hockey players are older, having previously played at other league levels. These older players would be ineligible in the NCAA, causing UBC and any other schools that apply for membership to invest more in recruitment than they usually would.

"The Province" article also suggests the cost of athletics overall would increase if NCAA membership is acquired, and this is a relevant point. "The cost of travel and recruiting would skyrocket, as would the cost of coaches salaries, particularly in the major sports, and there may well be all sorts of Title IX concerns further driving costs through the roof."

Despite the astronomical cost associated with Division I and II athletics, the exposure UBC would receive would help alleviate the costs. The school's status would increase Canadians students' desire to attend the university, not to mention the student-athletes the school could acquire considering that numerous Canadian teens already come to the U.S. to participate in NCAA competition. However, even if they're accepted into the NCAA, and even if one men's and one women's team could compete at Division I, UBC would still face the snag of needing to be accepted into a conference.It may be some time before Phillip decides whether all the money, work and academic reformation is worth the switch to D-II and the possibility of eventually going D-I. Whether UBC is hesitant or not the choice seems obvious to me: go for it.Other Canadian universities that have expressed interest in the NCAA are Simon Fraser University, the University of Alberta and St Claire's College in Ontario