'Flexible scholarship in the works,' says CIS president

Maybe it wasn't wishful thinking that Simon Fraser bolting would have a desired effect

" 'When the NCAA changed its constitution to allow Canadian schools in, that was a key catalyst for the CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport) to look at making some changes,' said Clint Hamilton, the director of athletics and recreation at the University of Victoria and president of the CIS. 'We have a flexible scholarship in the works and a motion will be put forward for the CIS membership to vote on in June.'

"If the flexible scholarship model is passed, it will give Canadian schools a fighting chance at keeping the best talent at home.

"The system would work something like the salary cap in the National Hockey League. Universities could offer a full scholarship to one or two players and use the remainder of their budget to pay partial scholarships for other players."

" 'We will have to do a better job of increasing the athletic scholarships and that will mean more fundraising,' Hamilton said. 'We want to keep our athletes in Canada and if we do, that will raise the level of competition and make our product better.' "

The proof will come next June. Perhaps the top-end talent like Oshiomogho Atogwe (the current St. Louis Rams safety who attended Stanford) will never opt for a Canadian school, but there are plenty whom it would be nice to see staying at home instead of going to a smaller Division I school that people have to Google.

(That's right. It's "write the best long-winded headline like they do in The New York Times" day.)

Related:
Canadian schools ponder increased scholarships to keep student-athletes (Ron Rauch, Victoria Times-Colonist)