Beginning in 2014, sa国际传媒-based sa国际传媒 West soccer teams will only play each other in the regular season and opening rounds of the playoffs.
The move, affirmed in a vote this week by sa国际传媒 West athletic directors, will turn conference soccer into a 鈥済lorified local college league,鈥� said long-standing UVic men鈥檚 soccer head coach Bruce Wilson.
Wilson, who captained sa国际传媒 at the 1986 World Cup, has seen a lot in soccer but rarely has he been this frustrated and incensed.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a credibility issue and a backward move,鈥� he said.
鈥淲e鈥檝e built up the rivalries against Alberta, Saskatchewan, Calgary, Lethbridge and the others over the 25 years I鈥檝e been coaching at UVic. We don鈥檛 accept this.鈥�
Neither does UVic women鈥檚 soccer head coach Tracy David, who is also president of the sa国际传媒 West Women鈥檚 Soccer Coaches Association.
鈥淲e want to play Alberta, Saskatchewan and the rest,鈥� she said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e being held back to the lowest common denominator and that breeds mediocrity, not excellence.鈥�
The move will not apply to any other sa国际传媒 West team sports, which further infuriates the soccer coaches. They say money is being saved for team travel in other sports on the backs of the soccer programs.
鈥淲e鈥檙e extremely disappointed that they are only trying to save money in the soccer programs,鈥� said David.
Wilson, meanwhile, said he has been informed only UVic, UBC and University of the Fraser Valley voted against the move.
鈥淔or us, the vision has always been a sa国际传媒 to Manitoba conference,鈥� said Clint Hamilton, UVic鈥檚 director of athletics and recreation.
鈥淲e鈥檝e always valued that about sa国际传媒 West. This [new soccer format] is not what we do in sa国际传媒 West. This is very much a concern to UVic. Our concern is this could be the thin edge of the wedge [in other sports in the future].鈥�
Hamilton did allow there are financial considerations in a conference as widely-flung as sa国际传媒 West.
鈥淓veryone struggles with cost containment in today鈥檚 post-secondary environment,鈥� he said.
sa国际传媒 West soccer coaches counter they want that reality to be evenly addressed across all sports, not just theirs.
鈥淚t鈥檚 OK for the athletic directors to try to save money on travel. But they are using soccer as the scapegoat,鈥� said David.
She said sa国际传媒 West soccer coaches will battle the scheduling change by coming up with alternative proposals for maintaining wider conference play that take into account travel costs.
鈥淲e鈥檙e still going to fight this,鈥� vowed David.
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