University football played on field of disparity

The word “parity” is popping up a lot in the commentary of sports … um, commentators, in relation to the National Hockey League (NHL).

The gist of the “parity” phenomenon is that, even though the league is only about a quarter way into the 82-game schedule, a bunch of teams are making fools out of pre-season prognosticators.

Take the Montreal Canadiens, for example - as perhaps the best example. Management disposed of the core of players that in recent years brought les glorieux to the brink of glory, or at least beyond the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Sage shinny observers had written off the current edition of the Habs as a long-term rebuilding project without a blueprint, doomed to dwell in the league basement for the foreseeable future.

As of this writing, however, the Canadiens are holding down the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference standings, and if the playoffs were held today, would face the top-seeded Tampa Bay Lightning. The Canadiens are a few points ahead of the Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals, and the perennial powerhouse Pittsburgh Penguins are last in the conference.

Indeed, with one exception, six of the seven Canadian NHL squads are currently playoff teams, or on the bubble. The Ottawa Senators, enduring what her majesty would call an annus horribilis, are floundering in the depths - but, hey, it’s still early yet.

NHL parity is such that in the Eastern Conference the bottom team is only 10 points behind the top team. In the Western Conference, it’s about the same if you eliminate the Los Angeles Kings.

Most observers would argue parity in pro sports is a good thing, in that it’s proof that any team is a contender for a championship and, because each point is precious, makes early-season games meaningful. In the NHL, in the era of the salary cap, the assumption is a rich owner cannot simply buy the best team by writing a cheque. (Which doesn’t explain the failure of the pre-cap Toronto Maple Leafs - but we digress).

But what about student sports, where the relative strength of teams is not subject to market forces, and, legally speaking, student players cannot be offered financial incentives or compensation to play for a given team beyond free tuition and other fees. (Ontario, where the average university tuition is more than $6,500, caps its student sports scholarships at $4,500).

The obvious example of the lack of parity in university sports would be Université Laval’s Rouge et Or football team, whose dominance of the Quebec league since the program started in 1996 has been overwhelming. The team has played in the Quebec championship Dunsmore Cup 15 consecutive times, and only lost twice, both at the hands of the Université de Montréal Carabins.

This past season was the same story, with the Rouge et Or undefeated and the Carabins only losing twice, narrowly, to the Laval team. In the semi-final Uteck Bowl, Laval crushed its Atlantic conference opponent, the St. Francis Xavier University X-men, by 63-0, and moved on to a 12th Vanier Cup appearance on Saturday, hoping to add a record tenth championship to their trophy case.

The disparity in the Quebec league finally forced Bishop’s University to look for other teams to play where they had at least a fighting chance. In 2017 the Gaiters moved to the Atlantic conference where they have been in some close games, losing by one point to the X-men in their last match of the season.

Faced with the overwhelming might of Laval and U de M, the three remaining teams, Mcgill, Concordia and Université de Sherbrooke, can only hope to score points off each other during the season in the hopes of making the playoffs and the slim prospect of beating either of the big two.

DEAR EDITOR,

IScenarios abound on how to fix the disparity, not only in the Quebec league, but nation-wide, where 27 university football programs compete: More interconference play, a difference structure for play-offs, more television coverage to stimulate fan interest. Losing teams could always do a better job of recruiting better players.

In the NHL, parity has made a repeat champion a rarity; in university football, disparity breeds dynasties. would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who helped in any way to support our auction we held recently for our church roof fund. To all who donated time, items for the sale, helped sort, moved items, donated time of trucks and trailers for pick up, and food for the canteen. Your generosity has been extraordinary and we at Beulah United Church in Ayer’s Cliff are so grateful. It was a super sale and successful thanks to Larry Wheeler, our auctioneer and his team, who donated their time. We are now able to redo the church roof this year. A great big hug and thank you to all! The Record welcomes your letters to the editor. Please limit your letters to 300 words. We reserve the right to edit for length, clarity, legality and taste. Please ensure there is a phone number or email where you can be reached, to confirm authorship and current town/city of residence. Names will not be withheld but the address and phone number of the writer are not published, except by request.

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