To all Forum posters!
We have had Can-Am football games in the past, and some of our Canadian teams have done rather well. Recently, Simon Fraser university announced that it will be part of the NCAA Division II schools. This will no doubt raise many eyebrows and have many looking on with great interest, not the least of which will be the CIS and the CFL.
Among the many questions and points of interest is the business of athletic scholarships. As a retired educator, I would say that the first vocation of any institution of higher learning is academic excellence and preparing young minds for careers that will be of service to and improve society through knowledge, technological advancement, and leadership in many fields.
In North America, however, sports is also extremenly popular and a solid sports education also forms minds, bodies, and spirits. The USA, in many ways, is a "football factory". Along with Sunday football (NFL), there is Saturday football (NCAA), as well as Friday night football (HS). Most have packed stadia - a "football factory"! Many great players came up through this system through great coaching, encouragement from family and friends, and great programmes, aided in no small part by football scholarships.
This raises the question. Assuming that the SFU experiment is successful and other CIS teams decide to follow suit, should Canadian Universities consider football scholarships and enhanced, better-funded football programmes?
What say you?