The war between Ontario universities and American
institutions over the province's high school athletes just got
a little more interesting.
The Ontario University Athletics (OUA), which governs the
university sporting scene in the province, recently brought in
financial rewards for first-year student-athletes, which is
designed to stem the tide of athletes crossing the border to
play sports and study.
For many years, United States-based National Collegiate
Athletic Association (NCAA) schools have been plucking top
athletes from across Ontario and the Greater Sudbury area to
compete for their sports clubs.
At one point, it seemed many top athletes were bolting for
the supposed greener pastures of the NCAA landscape.
Their biggest and greatest weapon was a financial windfall.
NCAA institutions would swoop in with full scholarship rides
for elite athletes.
For most Ontario high school athletes, the lure of the big
bucks in the United States was too much to ignore or pass up,
especially since Ontario universities offered very little in
the way of financial bonuses for first-year athletes.
As the war raged on, Ontario schools watched, almost
helplessly, as the cream of the athletic crop relocated to far
regions of the "Land of Opportunity."
One of the first stories I ever wrote for Northern Life was
on the battle between the two countries over athletes.
I spoke with Laurentian University athletic director Peter
Hellstrom about the issue in July 2003. He passionately talked
about how difficult it was for Ontario to keep many of its
homegrown talent. Hellstrom wanted big changes, and recently
his wish came true when the OUA decided to offer financial
awards to first-year athletes. The OUA already had awards
programs set up for returning university athletes.
While the OUA's recent decision provides extra incentive,
the tide had already been turning over the last two years,
especially in Sudbury.
The greener pastures turned out to be not so great for a lot
of athletes. Laurentian gained many exciting young talents in
the form of soccer stars like Erica Duczeminksi, Samantha
Falcioni and Jenna Roach. Even Cara Smith, who had previously
accepted a soccer scholarship in the United States, returned to
LU after only one year.
This past year, local basketball standouts Lisa Furchner and
Katie Goggins both committed to Laurentian, along with elite
swimmer Kyleigh Commito and soccer player Anjelica Mazzella.
Even without the lure of financial rewards, these young
athletes spurned more lucrative offers to stay home.
It means a lot to the sporting community to see young
athletes stay home and compete in front of home crowds as they
try their hardest to win championships for the city.
It's not hard to see why the NCAA schools are trying to
recruit from Sudbury and Ontario since we produce some of the
finest athletes in the world.
If I were running one of their schools, I would be mining
Sudbury for talent as well.
As the future unfolds, it will be interesting to see how
much of an impact the new rewards program will have when it
comes to retaining our athletes.
Coaches at Laurentian are excited about the prospects of
being able to reel in top recruits to bolster its chances at
provincial and national glory.
It will also be interesting to see how much the NCAA is
paying attention, and if they will counter with a new strategy
down the road.
The key for all this though, is the athletes' ability to
also excel in academics, as they must enter their first year of
university with at least an 80 percent average.
For this, first-year athletes can be rewarded up to $3,500.
Returning athletes also get the same amount, but must
maintain a 70 percent average in their studies.
In Jan. 2007, the OUA will meet again to discuss the
possibilities of increasing the maximum amount allowed for
athlete rewards.
Only time will tell if the strategy literally pays off.
