Trickle-down effect
With universities sacking football this season, all levels of the game facing harsh realities
Canada’s football community was reeling Monday as three of the country’s four university conferences cancelled their fall seasons.
It may be the default position for a long time yet, as the sport at all levels comes to grips with the logistical and financial realities forced upon it by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Canada West, Ontario University Athletics and Atlantic University Sport pulled the plug on all fall sport, leaving only the Reseau du sport etudiant du Quebec considering its options. U Sports, the national governing body, cancelled the Vanier Cup, the university football championship game that has been played since 1965.
There is a chance that some conferences will try to kick-start football in the spring, but it’s only an idea at this point.
And it may well be overtaken by more bad news. Probably no later than early July, the Canadian Football League will be forced into making a decision on whether to play a truncated 2020 season capped by a December Grey Cup.
Some time after that, perhaps mid-August, the Canadian Junior Football League will have to decide its fate. Even if conferences go ahead with four- or six-game seasons, safety and financial concerns will likely restrict teams to intra-provincial play where possible and the league might have to scrap the Canadian Bowl, the junior football championship game that has been played under three different names since 1948.
The same basic considerations surrounding a return to play are holding sway at all levels of the game; the health and safety of players, coaches, officials, team personnel, fans and the community at large; and finances. On the latter point, trickle-down economics are a major part of the problem. Last year, the CFL donated $4 million to amateur football in Canada through in-stadium 50/50 draws and other initiatives.
That money won’t be flowing this year. The CFL will either scrap its season entirely, or play games with either no fans or drastically reduced numbers. Both scenarios would have a debilitating impact on the massive 50/50 returns that have been so important to amateur teams like the University of Regina Rams and Regina Thunder, and the University of Alberta Golden Bears, Edmonton Wildcats and Edmonton Huskies.
U of A athletic director Ian Reade said the university’s internal spend on football is about $450,000 per year, while head coach Chris Morris and his fundraising team generate another $600,000. But the pandemic already shut down most fundraising, and stands to shrink university revenues as well.
“Those (external) sources of revenue have been just completely decimated. Casinos shut down, golf tournaments shut down,” said Reade. “Most universities in Western
Canada were hard hit by the interpretation that students aren’t going to be on campus so they may not pay fees, which would take hundreds of thousands of dollars out of your budget. So it’s compounded by that. It’s not just COVID. The finances are brutal right now.”
The CJFL is feeling the pinch too. Many of its 17 teams are situated in small communities in B.C. and Ontario, most of them operating on budgets of perhaps $100,000. Local sponsorships and relationships with CFL teams like the B.C. Lions, Edmonton Eskimos, Calgary Stampeders and Saskatchewan Roughriders are crucial, and imperilled.
CJFL commissioner Jim
Pankovich said the financial health of all teams will be considered as part of the discussion on a return to play.
“It definitely will be a huge hit. We know there will be a decrease in financial resources available, both because of the collaboration with the CFL, but also because our sponsors are the smaller, mom and pop stores that have been forced to close,” said Pankovich.
“All our teams are currently solid and made it through last year and intend to make it through this year. We don’t want to exit the year with fewer teams than we started the year with. So while I don’t think any teams are going to disappear, they’re all going to face a financial hardship. We
CJFL commissioner Jim Pankovich
It definitely will be a huge hit. We know there will be a decrease in financial resources available, both because of the collaboration with the CFL, but also because our sponsors are the smaller, mom and pop stores that have been forced to close.
want to make sure we’re supporting them.”
If the CJFL plays shortened seasons in September, there is a chance that some ageeligible U Sports players will be welcomed on to their rosters.
“It’s something we want to do but we also want to support the players who have chosen the CJFL as their primary path,” said Pankovich. “We don’t want to lose those players going forward.”
The CFL, meanwhile, is keeping one eye on all that transpires elsewhere, given that its player pool for the 2021 draft will be impacted.
“We will continue to discuss the path forward with our colleagues and fellow football leaders at U SPORTS,” the CFL said in a statement. “And we want to assure those who aspire to a playing career in the CFL that we will continue to consider all options for evaluating great young Canadian players and inviting them into our league.”