Nothing to Do with FSU but O'Canada

This post has nothing to do with Fresno State or its athletic department but its something that I think is very interesting. I am from Fresno and I am definitely Bulldog Born but after a year of going to Fresno State I decided to transfer schools. I was ready for a change and decided to transfer to a Canadian school (I know, I know, why Canada) but I came across this story while going to school in Vancouver, British Columbia and just heard on the news today that Simon Fraser University from Burnaby, B.C. (Not the school I went to) has joined to NCAA. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/joe_lemire/08/05/canadian.hoops/. Another school from the Vancouver area,The University of British Columbia, is also trying to gain admittance to the NCAA.

This is obviously a big shift in policy for the NCAA to allow non-US schools to compete in athletics. It is also a policy shift for Canadian schools because they, by rule, are not allowed to give full athletic scholarships. Now that SFU is apart of the NCAA (they starting in Div 2) they will be allowed to give full ride scholarships which is huge for recruiting. It is no secret that most elite level Canadian athletes attend US schools for the scholarships and the higher level of competition. I wonder if this move will entice more elite Canadian athletes to stay in Canada and play for a SFU or UBC (if they gain admittance)??

I am happy and intrigued by this decision by SFU and the NCAA because I think this could be a great addition to college (for the zero Canadians who will read this university) sports. Could you imagine the rivalries that could emerge between the Washington and B.C. schools? Not only would there be a school rivalry but all the sudden it becomes the US versus Canada on the hardwood, field, tennis court, etc. That would be awesome to watch!

I'm not exactly sure how well schools like SFU or UBC would do recruiting American players but if they could get their top athletes to stay home I am more than confident that they would be competitive. Actually, while I was going to school up there American D-1 hoop teams would come up every August-September and play exhibitions against the local schools and the Canadian schools would knock off a team or two each summer. So for the Americans who think it would be a joke competition wise, don't be so sure. I have the first hand knowledge of watching many of those exhibitions as i just stated and believe me the Canadian schools hold their own and that is without their top talent.

Now I fully realize that most of you could care less about any of this but If you do happen to read this and have an opinion I would love to hear what you think. I am a bit of a Canadian homer because I went to school there but I just find this story really interesting. Also if you have any questions about this I will try to answer them as best as I can.