Origin and development of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference

Transcription

1 University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers Graduate School 1983 Origin and development of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference R. Allen Bohonus The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: Recommended Citation Bohonus, R. Allen, "Origin and development of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference" (1983). Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers. Paper This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact

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4 THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE ALBERTA COLLEGES ATHLETIC CONFERENCE R. Allen Bohonus B.P.E., University of Calgary, 197^ Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA 1983 Approved by: aujje*~j.. ill,ssjyt J Chairman, Board of Examiners D^Th, Graduate School Date 1 ;

5 UMI Number: EP35432 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMT Dia*artatk>r> ntfamng UMI EP35432 Published by ProQuest LLC (2012). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml

6 Bohonus, R. Allen, M.S., October 1983 Physical Education The Origin and Development of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (145 pp.) Director: Dr. Kathleen E. Miller The purpose of this study was to investigate and document the establishment of organized intercollegiate athletics within the Community Colleges and Technical Institutes in Alberta. Specifically, this study researched the history and development of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) and investigated, (1) how the ACAC evolved and what key individuals were responsible for its continuation throughout the years, (2) what were the founding philosophies of the organization, (3) what was the organizational structure of the association, (4) what were the sports activities undertaken by the organization in men's and women's categories, and (5) what were the team placings in each sport from 1964 to The data pertinent to the research were gathered from minutes of the organization held by the conference secretary as well as correspondence between members of the Conference Executive Committee and interviews with key individuals involved in the growth of the Conference. The history of the ACAC can best be highlighted by its transition from a participatory, social and cultural atmosphere of competition to a highly competitive, skill oriented approach. The increased involvement in terms of schedule and travel commitments contributed to escalating costs to institutional budgets for athletic programs. This resulted in a renewed interest from college presidents to have the athletic directors deal with the question of participation versus excellence among conference members. The need to address this question would cause the athletic directors to find a common ground and commit themselves strongly to the betterment of athletics in Alberta. It would serve as a turning point within which all of the colleges would dedicate themselves towards excellence and achievement. ii

7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge and thank Dr. Kathleen Miller, Dr. Gary Nygaard and Dr. John Hunt for their input and guidance in the preparation of this study. I would also like to thank the many athletic leaders who have "been a part of the development of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference. These individuals can be proud of the impact they have had in creating a strong and viable athletic conference for student athletes in Alberta Colleges and Technical Institutions. In closing, I would like to lovingly acknowledge my wife Angie, son Gord and daughter Amber for their patience and support of my absences to complete this project. iii

8 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TITLE PAGE ABSTRACT ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES i ii iii iv vi Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION 1 The Problem 1 Definition of Terms 2 Delimitations 3 Limitations ^ Significance 5 Related Studies 6 Procedure ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF COMMUNITY COLLEGES IN ALBERTA DEVELOPMENT OF ATHLETICS IN COMMUNITY COLLEGES AND TECHNICAL INSTITUTES IN ALBERTA 25 it-. ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE WESTERN INTER- COLLEGE CONFERENCE 196^ ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE ALBERTA COLLEGE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE iv

9 Chapter Page 6. ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE ALBERTA COLLEGES ATHLETIC CONFERENCE SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATIONS 97 Summary Recommendations 102 REFERENCES 104- APPENDIXES 110 A. WESTERN INTER-COLLEGE AND ACAC EXECUTIVE COMMITTEES 19 6* Ill B. WESTERN INTER-COLLEGE AND ACAC STANDINGS 196^ v

10 LIST OF TABLES WESTERN INTER-COLLEGE CONFERENCE AND ALBERTA COLLEGES ATHLETIC CONFERENCE STANDINGS Table Page 1. Basketball-Men Basketball-Women Volleyball-Men Volleyball-Women 119 5* Hockey Badminton-Men's Singles Badminton-Men's Doubles Badminton-Women's Singles Badminton-Women's Doubles Badminton-Mixed Curling-Men Curling-Women Curling-Mixed Cross-Country Running-Men * Cross-Country Running-Women Golf-Men Golf-Mixed Wrestling Bowling-Men Bowling-Women Bowling-Mixed 136 vi

11 Table Page 22. Canoeing-Men Canoeing-Women Canoeing-Mixed Canoeing-War Alpine Skiing-Men l4l 27- Alpine Skiing-Women Cross-Country Skiing-Men Cross-Country Skiing-Women Cross-Country Skiing-Mixed 145 vii

12 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION According to currently available information, there has been no serious or definitive investigation undertaken into the history, philosophy and development of intercollegiate sports in Alberta community colleges and technical institutes since it came into being seventeen years ago. Therefore, intensive and comprehensive research of this athletic sphere is long overdue. This analysis is intended to inform the reader as to the origin, philosophy and general development of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference. The study will also give the reader a chronological account of the sports in which each college and technical school participated along with a record of their placing in each sport by year. Similarly, a study of this nature may well prove beneficial to historians and area educators who are interested in the emerging role of intercollegiate athletics in community colleges and technical institutes in Alberta. The Problem At the present time there is no definitive information available to document the establishment of organized intercollegiate athletics within the community 1

13 2 colleges and technical institutes in Alberta. Therefore, a study of this nature is necessary to investigate the following questions- How did the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference evolve and what key individuals were responsible for its continuation throughout the years? What were the founding philosophies of the organization? What was the organizational structure of the association? What were the sports activities undertaken by the organization in men's and women's categories? What were the team placings in each sport from 1964 to 1981? Definition of Terms A) Administrative Council a body composed of the chief administrative officer from each of the member institutions in the conference. B) Athletic Director a person of faculty or staff status remunerated for services rendered wholly or partly by him in the field of physical education or athletics. C) Conference a formal association with the expressed purpose of implementing and formulating common policy concerned with intercollegiate athletics among its member schools- D) Conference Commissioner the chief judicial officer of the conference who shall act as interpreter of the constitution and operating code and apply the same to given instances or controversies when authorized.

14 E) Conference Council a body composed of an 3 athletic director and a faculty representative from each of the member institutions in the conference. F) Faculty Representative a person having tenure or established faculty status and involved in student activities other than athletics. G) Operating Code the system of principles, rules and regulations relating to the operation of the conference. H) Principal the title used for the chief administrative officer of institutions involved in high school training prior to offering university and junior college courses. Delimitations This study investigated the origin, history and development of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference from 1963 to I98I. It was proposed that research and analysis of this subject would reveal to the reader the philosophies, opinions and practices which led to the birth of intercollegiate athletics at the community college and technical institute level in Alberta. The Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference presently consists of ten official member colleges and technical institutes plus five executive officers. The member colleges consisted of:

15 4 Grande Prairie Regional College Grant MacEwan Community College Northern Alberta Institute of Technology Camrose Lutheran College Red Deer College Mount Royal Community College Olds Agricultural College Southern Alberta Institute of Technology Medicine Hat Community College Lethbridge Community College Limitations The study did not attempt to document the status of intercollegiate athletics in Alberta prior to Due to the complexity and uniqueness of member colleges and their administrative models, the study did not endeavor to reveal the rationale for individual member college's desire to join the conference. The data pertinent to the research were gathered from minutes of the organization held by the conference secretary as well as correspondence between the conference executive committee, and interviews of individuals involved with the growth of the conference. In view of the number of interviews required for the study and the varied location of individuals throughout Alberta, the majority of interviews were conducted via telephone as opposed to personal interviews. A drawback to gathering information by telephone is that it may be slightly less complete as compared to face-to-face questioning. This process of data collection required the correlation and interpolation of data found in minutes and correspondence with that gleaned from interviews with key personalities.

16 5 Therefore, the validity of certain conclusions may be questioned due to generalized statements and concepts based on attitudes and opinions received. A study of this nature is by no means complete, as many singular or complex aspects of the development of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference could not be researched. Significance Since there is a complete lack of investigation concerning the origin and development of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference, the contention is that with the formation of the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association (CCAA) in 1973 and its growth to include some 84 colleges in Canada, the role of intercollegiate athletics at the community college and technical institute level is increasingly significant to the sport mosaic of Canada. There are 192 community colleges in Canada, 83 of which are in Quebec, 3 in Ontario, 20 in each of Alberta and British Columbia, with 39 dispersed throughout the remaining six provinces. Colleges with teams which participate in a sport leading to a CCAA National Championship are members of the national association. Many of the 192 colleges are not capable of supporting an athletic program due to their relatively low registration (33)* Since the introduction of national championships for college sports in men's and women's volleyball, men's and women's basketball, badminton and hockey, along with the

17 6 asserted "Pursuit of Excellence" philosophy, the two-year institutions in Canada are prepared to make a serious contribution to the upgrading of national and international level sport in Canada. In the eight-year period of the Canadian Colleges National Championships the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference has been represented by nine of its ten member colleges in at least one sport. This would suggest a wellbalanced conference not only from an athletic perspective but also from an organizational and philosophical point of view. Therefore, an intensive, comprehensive study of the origin, history and philosophy of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference was justifiably needed to perpetuate and preserve its founding principles as well as maintain a base from which future direction can be formulated. Alberta has played a formidable role in the development of intercollegiate athletics in Canada and the intent of this study was to document the origin, history and philosophy involved with college sport in Alberta, as a possible insight to its success on a national scale. Related Studies Those studies which have been found to have some bearing have been done in the province of Ontario. An article by Monkell and Wilson (52:21-23) called "The Community College in Canada" has accumulated various

18 7 addresses and comments presented "by notable speakers in education at a conference sponsored by the Association of Adult Education. Some of the items of note which were discussed at the conference are those comments made by Mr. William Davis, then Minister of Education of Ontario, and presently Premier of the province. Mr. Davis gave a factual account of the position of the government with regard to what Ontario will name colleges of applied arts and technology. The basis of Mr. Davis' report affirmed Ontario's commitment to develop a third educational program in the province which would be quite separate from public and university systems (52:21). These colleges would provide three-year courses in engineering technology and industrial management and a limited number of new courses as the need arises (52:21). As well, they would provide two-year technical and skilled trades courses, business courses, such as the three-year courses given at the institutes, one-year courses at the vocational centers and two-year courses in fields such as computer programming, institutional management, marketing and others (52:22). In addition, the institutions would provide general and applied arts courses to supply enrichment and related academic subjects for the other three centers, as well as courses in journalism, social casework, child care and public recreation (52:22). The relative value of this article can be found in its description of the emergence of the community

19 college system in another Canadian province. In addition, the study captures the essence of the community college system which has the following functions: (a) "broaden the base for higher education in terms of other than traditional academic courses (b) ease the problem of access to higher education, in effect, pick up the "drop-outs" (c) distribute students by transfer to universities and by terminal courses to employment (52:23) An article by Smith (63:4) focused its attention on the Ontario college system as well- The article was found to have been of value to this study through the concepts the author advanced as to the nature and scope that physical education programs should take in the colleges. The author maintained that most "community college" students are in the "terminal phase" of their formal education, therefore, colleges should offer a recreational program which would more fully complement the varied needs of the industry bound student, i.e., golf, bowling and curling should be included (63:4). The college programs must not however, neglect to recognize the degree to which a great variety of sports activities permeates the lives of most Canadians (63«4). Therefore, providing an athletic program, broad in its scope and encompassing both intramural and intercollegiate sports should be of prime concern. The one study that was the most closely related 8

20 9 to this research was a thesis project taken on by Mr- A1 Hoffman, Past President of the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association (41). The purpose of the research in general, was to investigate and document the history of organized intercollegiate athletics within Ontario colleges of applied arts and technology. The study specifically researched the history and development of the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) and investigated the background of post secondary education in Ontario, the primary factors and legislation responsible for the development of the OCAA, the background of university intercollegiate athletics in Ontario and the evolution and key individuals involved in the growth of the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (4l). This thesis study provided valuable information and direction for addressing similar questions as to the development of intercollegiate sports in Alberta colleges. The review of literature has dealt with the form and style of historical research. Leedy (47 s71) explains that the historical method aims to assess the meaning and to read the message of the happenings in which men and events relate meaningfully to each other. The essence of historical research requires the investigator to examine the data for authenticity and source. The question of authenticity is not only asked of the material in terms of, "Is it genuine?" but also in terms of what is it saying, "What does it mean?".

21 10 Therefore, historical research relies heavily on primary and secondary sources of data to present a histiography of occurrences as opposed to a chronology of events (47s72). The research must seek not only to identify and isolate the chain of events of substantive history, important though that chronological process is, but also to understand their meaning in terms of their relation both to each other and to the problem under study (47*. 73)* Procedure Data for this research were taken from the official records of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference, held by the conference secretary. The data required included all copies of Conference Council Minutes from In addition, correspondence between members of the Conference Council Executive Committee between the years I963-I98I were utilized to give the researcher further insight into the background of specific issues during the developmental stages of the conference. Further data required included documentation of team records and standings by year from and finally, personal interviews with key Conference Council Executive Committee members, athletic directors and college administrators during the time period. In terms of external criticism of the data, the author of the minutes has been the elected Secretary of the Conference Council. He wrote down and documented the

22 "business of the meetings as it occurred immediately and then had the written material transcribed shortly after the meetings for distribution to the membership. The question of authenticity of minutes is not as crucial in terms of external criticism because as part of the formal business process of the Conference Council meetings, minutes of the previous meeting must be approved and adopted. Therefore, any discrepancies or personal biases which may have surfaced as a result of the secretary's interpretation of events should have been identified and corrected. The question of internal criticism became a critical means of injecting authenticity into this study. Since much of what has been reported in the minutes of Conference Council meetings does not deal at length with the rationale, motive, or discussions leading to action taken from the meetings, the internal criticism of the study was completed through information gleaned from personal correspondence among Conference Executive Commit tee, Executive Committee and Athletic Directors and more importantly through personal interviews with key individuals during those periods of significant development in conference history. All events connected with the development of intercollegiate athletics in Alberta were dealt with in chronological order. To appreciate and understand fully the development of intercollegiate athletics in Alberta community colleges and technical

23 12 institutes, it is necessary to link their evolution with events that were taking place in the country during the period of Provinces on a larger scale during the postwar period in Canada saw educational enrollments increase faster than that in any other industrialized country (29) In addition to increased enrollments, there was a marked increase in the numbers of young people in the year old age category. Therefore, universities were experiencing a significant impact on their enrollments across the country during the sixties- As well, the schools were experiencing higher retention rates among their students, as aspirations to attain higher levels of education escalated (29). The rate of increase in full-time enrollments at all post secondary institutions in Canada reached a high of 282 percent between i960 and 1969 (20). Both the country and the province were also experiencing rapid urbanization through the sixties as significant numbers of young people made the transition from rural communities to the industrialized cities. Alberta's rate of urbanization was double that of the rest of Canada (29) The migration of young people to industrialized jobs, left many without the necessary knowledge to cope with increased technological improvements. Formal education became more formally linked with occupational competence. To respond to the need to produce more technically prepared people, the federal government initiated the Technical and Vocational Training

24 13 Assistance Act of i960 (29)- The act sought to end Canada's shortage of domestic skilled labor and by doing so making vocational and technical education a priority. The federal assistance took the form of financial support in the area of 75 percent of the capital costs of new facilities and 50 percent of operating costs of vocational technical and technological training in the provinces (29). The provincial response to the aid was enthusiastic to the point that enrollments in post secondary technical vocational courses rose to 20,000 in from just over 8,000 in I960 (29) During the sixties the development of more community colleges in the province was also a response to a growing need for improved levels of academic preparation to large numbers of young people, as well as reacting to the demands being placed on the only university in the province at the time (University of Alberta, Edmonton). The colleges were encouraged to grow and develop as evidenced by the funding formula to colleges utilized by the social credit government of the sixties. Colleges received grants based on student enrollments, therefore, as school populations and programs grew, so did operating grants to the institutions- Colleges and ultimately their internal services such as athletics, were able to enjoy a period of rather unencumbered growth through the sixties. By the fall of "the province of Alberta took a major political shift with the election of a progressive

25 14 conservative government under the leadership of Peter Longheed. The conservatives were to bring about a number of changes in post secondary education in the province throughout the seventies* The first of these changes was to establish the Department of Advanced Education as the office responsible for post secondary education in the province (43)- Secondly, the new government chose to modify the funding scheme to public colleges- It should be pointed out at this juncture that the technical institutes in the province were under the auspices of the Department of Manpower initially and then later the Department of Advanced Education, but were funded directly as a branch of the provincial government (45)* Similarly the agricultural colleges in the province were funded under the Department of Agriculture and then later under the guidelines of the Department of Advanced Education (43)* Whereas the technical and agricultural colleges submitted budget projections directly to the provincial government, the public colleges received their funding in the form of a grant. The modification to the funding formula took away from the enrollment driven approach was to award the grants on the basis of the institution's fulltime equivalents (FTE) (46). FTE's as an institution would be calculated by the number of students enrolled in the full number of course credits for any particular discipline. An example would be a student enrolled in 18 credits of instruction per semester in the leisure education

26 15 program would be the equivalent of one FTE. Therefore, it would take the equivalent of three part-time students enrolled in six credits each to equal one FTE. Therefore, the actual number of bodies enrolled may far exceed your FTE count depending on how many part-time students are involved to reach the number of course credits for each discipline. The grant to public colleges was awarded on FTE assumptions submitted by the institutions- An interesting aspect of the submissions was that they were negotiable with the government. That is, that if the government felt the institution was being unrealistic about its FTE estimate it would cut the figure back (46). The senior administrations of public colleges were required to estimate their FTE's reasonably accurately with only a ten percent cushion on either side of the figure. The motivation for this new approach was predicted on the belief that colleges had become "too fat" under the previous enrollment driven scheme, which had few controls on actual school enrollments and programs (46). The FTE approach to funding of public colleges remained in effect until at which time the Department of Advanced Education moved into the block grant system (46). Essentially the block grant system approach gave the colleges a set grant based on the previous year plus a percentage increase to attempt to compensate rising costs, salary settlements, etc., (46). The weakness of this approach in terms of the

27 16 colleges was establishing a fair and realistic base amount from which to work. The government in looking for a starting point for the grant, chose to use the basic figures from the FTE formula. In many cases this figure was not adequate for colleges who had experienced large enrollment and program growth throughout the period. As a result, many of the Alberta colleges started under this scheme with a base grant which was below their needs and could not be compensated by the percentage increase. Therefore, colleges annually faced the delicate problem of balancing operating costs that were escalating at an alarming rate versus a base grant plus a percentage increase. Some colleges such as Grande Prairie, Red Deer and Medicine Hat were successful in negotiating a higher base grant figure with the provincial government others, such as Mount Royal College were not (46). The reasons for the provincial government's hardline decision on funding to the colleges was twofold. The first reason was related to long-term projections of expenditures in education in the province. Economists in the late sixties developed a study which indicated that at the current rates of increase, the cost of education in the province would far exceed the gross national product of the country in a short time (46). Secondly, demographic projections indicated a strong 20 percent growth in student enrollments in post secondary institutions from 1970 to 1982, followed by a sharp 20 percent drop-off in

28 17 enrollments to 1985 (46). Therefore, the Department of Advanced Education in the mid seventies felt it had to enact strategies to hold the line on growth and expenditures in post secondary institutions in the province (46). The effect of these global issues on the development of athletics in the colleges would have a significant effect as eluded to in Chapter 6 of this study. It would be the service-oriented areas in the colleges, of which athletics was included which would feel the squeeze first. Operating grants to institutions had up to 80 percent of the dollars committed to contracts and salaries (46). Therefore, senior administrations had actual control over only a small part of the overall budget. Meanwhile, during this same time frame of the mid to late seventies athletic programs were experiencing marked escalations in transportation, accommodations and equipment costs to meet conference schedule commitments (46). A concern which would bring the presidents and athletic directors together to develop strategies for the preservation of varsity athletics in the colleges. In the next chapter the origin and development of community colleges in Alberta is traced. Reference is made to the earliest mention of colleges in provincial legislation and their four-stage development-

29 Chapter 2 ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF COMMUNITY COLLEGES IN ALBERTA "The earliest reference to a college in provincial legislation was included in the Act Respecting the University of Alberta, 1910" (59)- The development of colleges in Alberta was accomplished in four stages: The first stage began with the emergence of private church-related junior colleges in the early part of the century and ended with the establishment of the first public community college at Lethbridge in 1957 (62). During this first phase, control of the junior colleges was characterized by the domination of Alberta's only university, the University of Alberta, Edmonton and its committee on junior colleges- The purpose of the committee was to ensure the rigorous screening of college instructors and academic standards. This arrangement was a constant source of annoyance to the colleges who were displeased at the emphasis on academic work which was essentially duplicative of the university. However, the prestige of the university was such that junior college leaders were obliged to accept this one-sided relationship. The second stage of development was initiated by the passage of the Public Junior Colleges Act of

30 19 The passage of this act saw a rapid expansion of the public college system: Junior Colleges Act, Colleges initiated and managed within the framework of public school system. 2. Financial and curriculum control largely but not entirely local. 3«Three separate jurisdictions; no integration, little coordination between agricultural colleges, institutes and junior colleges. 4. Governing board composed of members appointed by participating school boards. 5- Extensive university control of academic programs; affiliation with university was a prerequisite. 6. Small local taxation through payments by school boards. 7* Different regulations affecting instructors teaching university programs and others* 8. No provision for academic council (62:144). Emerging colleges operated in the main under the influences of affiliation agreements with universities. However, the growing public demand for alternatives to higher education other than universities and the influence of the University of Alberta's Committee on Junior Colleges created friction which in turn generated political concern over the control of this increasingly expensive segment of public education. As a result of growing public concern, the government established the Provincial Board of Post Secondary Education in 1967: The role of this powerful central agency was to advise government in the following areas identifying policies for adoption in principle, setting out provisions to enable policies to be implemented, and preparing legislation (28:32).

31 "In 1969 the provincial government disbanded the Provincial Board of Post Secondary Education to be replaced by the Alberta Colleges Commission, thus completing the third stage of community college development in Alberta" (62:145)' This agency was specifically responsible for coordinating the efforts of colleges in the province. However, it did encounter some difficultie in terms of total coordination since it did not have jurisdiction over the province's two institutes of technology (Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology) and its three agricultural colleges (Olds Agricultural and Vocational College, Lakeland College (formerly Vermillion Agricultural and Vocational College), Fairview Agricultural and Vocational College). "The fourth stage of development involved the establishment of the Alberta Colleges Commission at a time when the Universities Commission was still in operation" (62:145)- This establishment of a twin commission was to perpetuate the cleavage between the university, the community colleges and a variety of other institutions managed directly by the Department of Education. However, the combined development did serve to provide continued differentiation among and within varieties of institutions, improved linkage among them, and stabilized temporarily what might otherwise have become a series of separate entities involving

32 21 agricultural schools, colleges, institutes and universities. The origin and background of the colleges, agricultural and vocational colleges, technical institutes and private institutions which make up the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference is as follows: Camrose Lutheran College, Camrose Alberta: The college was established in 1911 by the Alberta Norwegian Lutheran College Association. It became an institution of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada in Until 1959» only high school courses were offered, but in that year the college became affiliated with the University of Alberta and a first-year university program was added- The college is private and coeducational. Control is vested in a ninemember Board of Regents elected by the Camrose Lutheran College Corporation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada (28:80). Lethbridge Community College, Lethbridge, Alberta: Formerly Lethbridge Junior College prior to The college was established in 1957 in the Lethbridge Collegiate Institute. The emphasis was at first on the university programs, but in 1962 the vocational technical section expanded considerably and in 1967 the university section separated to become the University of Lethbridge. Control is vested in an eight-member Board of Governors, consisting of five members appointed by the provincial government, one faculty member, one student member and the president. The college is public and coeducational (28:88). Mount Royal College, Calgary, Alberta: Formerly Mount Royal Junior College prior to 1969* The college began classes in 1911 in academic, commercial and conservatory departments under the sponsorship of the Board of Colleges of the Methodist Church. In 1925 the sponsorship changed to the Board of Colleges and Secondary Schools, United Church of Canada. The college department (first twoyears in arts and science) was established in 1931, and affiliation was obtained from the University of Alberta. Elementary education was discontinued. In

33 Mount Royal College became a public comprehensive junior college. Temporary control was vested in a nine-member Board of Trustees made up by appointments of three members by the Public School Board, three members by the Separate School Board and three members by the previous Private College Board. In 1969 legislative assembly of the province of Alberta passed "The College Act" which changed structure of the Board of Trustees to consist of the following members appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council: a) an apademic staff member b) a member of the student body of the college; and c) five other persons, one of whom shall be designated as the chairman. The college is coeducational, offering courses in both liberal arts and vocational technical fields (28:92). Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, E dmont on, A1be rta: Alberta: The institute was established in One, two and three-year programs are offered in business and technology, as well as a number of trades- The institute is coeducational and was controlled directly by the Department of Education of the province of Alberta up to April It is now under the direction of a Public Board of Governors (28:94). Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, Calgary, The institute is a public, coeducational institution offering one to four years of post secondary training in a number of occupational fields. The institute was established in 1916 as the Provincial Institute of Technology and Art. The name was changed in The institute previously under the control of the Department of Advanced Education has been functioning under the direction of a Board of Governors since April, 1982 (28:100). Red Deer College, Red Deer, Alberta: Formerly Red Deer Junior College prior to 1969 was established in 1964 in temporary quarters in the Red Deer Composite High School. It moved to its new permanent campus in the summer of The college is public and coeducational and offers both university transfer and vocational-technical

34 Alberta: Alberta: Alberta: programs- Control is vested in an eight-member Board of Trustees. Members are elected for one-year term by and generally from the Boards of the participating school districts (28:99). Olds Agricultural and Vocational College, Olds The college was established in 1913 and until 1963 was known as the Olds School of Agriculture and Home Economics. It had been operated by the Alberta Department of Agriculture since its inception but presently operates under the direction of a Board of Governors. This public, coeducational college is a specialized institute with the major emphasis on agriculturally-oriented technologies. Business education and fashion and design are also offered. The college is also a center for short courses, conventions, field days, conferences and committee meetings (28:97). Medicine Hat College, Medicine Hat, Alberta: The college was incorporated in 1964 and affiliated with the University of Alberta. A year later it was affiliated with the University of Calgary. It is controlled by an eight-member Board of Governors", five members are appointed by provincial government, one is elected by students, the Dean is also a voting member. The college follows an open-door admission policy and seeks to serve community needs. It is public and coeducational (28:90). Grande Prairie Regional College, Grande Prairie Formerly Grande Prairie Junior College prior to 1969* The college was established in 1965 and opened in 1966 to provide first-year university courses in affiliation with the University of Alberta. Preparatory and vocational courses are also provided. Control is vested in an eightmember Board of Governors consisting of five members appointed by the provincial government, one faculty member, one student member and the president. The college is public and coeducational (28:85)- Grant MacEwan Community College, Edmonton, 23

35 24 The college opened its doors in 1971 and provides educational opportunities to the community through day programs, continuing education credit and general interest courses, Canada Manpower, other government and special industry programs- The college offers 27 diploma programs and 17 certificate programs- Control is vested in a ten-member Board of Governors. The college is public and coeducational (40). The emergence of community colleges in the province as a result of provincial legislation in 1958 and their subsequent growth in both numbers of institutions and populations, would serve to have a powerful impact on the delivery of academic programs in the province, previously reserved for the universities- The ensuing chapter will focus on what the status was of competitive activities for the student body in these newly-formed colleges and what the catalyst was that activated the formation of an athletic setting.

36 Chapter 3 DEVELOPMENT OF ATHLETICS IN COMMUNITY COLLEGES AND TECHNICAL INSTITUTES IN ALBERTA The development of athletics at the college level in Alberta had its beginnings not altogether different from the widely accepted theory of the emergence of intercollegiate athletics in North America: Historically, it is clear that intercollegiate athletics originated and flourished as a studentinitiated, non educational, extracurricular activity. In short, athletics was the enterprise of the students and was external to the educational process (35! 44). Fairs goes on to say: Initially, athletics were forced on educational institutions by student pressures; they were not originated by educators themselves for the educational benefit of the students- Intercollegiate athletics that is, competitive contests between teams representing different schools was, at first, a student initiated activity. Athletics began in various schools at the intramural level and transformed into an intercollegiate extramural activity ( ). This explanation for the development of athletics in post secondary institutions would appear to hold true for the college system in Alberta. All of the charter members of the inter-college conference in Alberta had flourishing and strongly supported intramural programs at their institutions prior to the action of athletic directors and administrators to formalize competition amongst each other. The theory of strong intramural programs 25

37 26 being the forerunner of intercollegiate athletics is born out in the Alberta system. In the case of new members to the conference in all instances, there was a waiting period of anywhere between one and fifty-three years from the time a college was opened and its wish to enter a competitive athletic league. This would first of all support Fairs' findings that competitive intercollegiate athletics began as a "student initiated activity". Educators did not accept intercollegiate athletics as a legitimate partner in educational pursuits. Therefore, the planning of college programs favored the intellectual and academic needs entirely with no conscious consideration of the physical needs of the student. This aspect is emphasized by Harry A. Scott, Competitive Sports in Schools and Colleges, when he points out: While faculty members undoubtedly knew of the existence of these extracurricular activities, they preferred officially to ignore it.... Eventually, competitive athletics developed into an accepted and important phase of student body life, but without the official sanction of educational authorities (61:87). Secondly, if the time period between the opening of the institutions and their joining the Intercollegiate Conference in Alberta were to be examined, the theory of intramural programs being the seed for competitive athletics is strongly justified. With regard to the charter members of the Western Inter-College Conference (WICC), Mount Royal College founded in 1911» Camrose

38 27 Lutheran College founded in Lethbridge College founded in 1957> Northern Alberta Institute of Technology founded in 1961 and Southern Alberta Institute of Technology founded in 1916, all had ample time to have intramural athletics grow in their institutions. This growth fostered the development of the next advancement, which was the staging of competitive extramural events, even before the initial meeting took place to formulate an athletic conference in 19&3- In looking at new members to the conference, Olds Agricultural and Vocational College joined into competitive college athletics in 1966 and was founded in 1913» a period of 53 years for student intramurals to develop. Medicine Hat Junior College, took a period of two years to develop its intramural programs, from its founding in 1964 to its joining the WICC in Grande Prairie Junior College took a period of five years to develop its intramural programs from 1965 until it joined the WICC in Grant MacEwan College was founded in 1971 and joined the athletic conference in 1974, allowing a period of three years for the development of intramurals- Red Deer College, established in 1964, joined the WICC a year later in 1965 which is a relatively short transition period in comparison to the other colleges; however, it had been housed in a high school before that period- As Scott pointed out:

39 It was an easy transition from impromptu participation in games and sports at the community level to organized intramural games between classes or student campus groups- As skills were perfected and as other educational institutions of similar rank developed in the geographical area, extramural contests were arranged (61:87)- Many of the colleges founded after 1963, i-e-, Grande Prairie, Grant MacEwan, Medicine Hat, Red Deer, found the transition time from intramural activities to extramural activities to be rather short- This can likely be attributed to growing student populations as well as the fact that a competitive alternative had been struck with the formation of the Western Inter-College Conference. The incentive to gravitate to a competitive atmosphere was enhanced because the vehicle had been set in place by the charter members who had developed their intramural programs over a much longer time frame- This is not to suggest that the decision to offer intramurals and competitive extramurals was an "either-or" decision among the colleges. All the colleges continued to foster strong intramural programs, allowing the extramural activities to be the venue for spirited competition among students of various institutions. The next chapter will deal more specifically with how these basically studentinitiated and organized extramural activities transcended into the more structured and professionally organized athletic programs in the colleges- 28

40 Chapter 4 ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE WESTERN INTER-COLLEGE CONFERENCE Prior to the first meeting being held to discuss and organize an athletic conference, correspondence and conversation had been going on among the athletic directors of two-year colleges as well as the province's two universities for at least a year. The focus was on the feasibility of such an organization. As mentioned earlier, with the increased number of public colleges in Alberta and the strong development of intramural programs within those institutions, there was a strong desire among potential members to develop an atmosphere for the emergence of competitive athletics. To this point, there were no existing mechanisms for post secondary institutions in the province to compete with each other. There were some exhibition competitions periodically being staged between Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) and Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) as well as Lethbridge Junior College and Mount Royal Junior College. There also existed informal competitions among the post secondary institutions in Calgary between Mount Royal Junior College (SAIT) and the University of Alberta, Calgary. However, in the main intercollegiate 29

41 30 athletics among two-year colleges in Alberta was nonexistent prior to The nature of the information which was exchanged among the two-year schools endeavored to develop an attitude of an athletic conference which would involve both men and women in a series of total activities. Much of the credit for envisioning a total activity concept is given to Mr- Gary Bowie who at the time was at Lethbridge Junior College and was to become the first Chairman of the Conference Council. Mr. Bowie and Mr- Ben Brooks, Athletic Director at Mount Royal Junior College, saw the task of initiating an athletic conference among two-year institutions to be twofold. The first task was to solicit interest from twoyear institutions and convince respective athletic directors of the relative advantages that an intercollegiate athletic program might have. They understood that this task, if it were to meet with any degree of success, could not be predicated on athletics alone and certainly not concentrated in one or two activities. Thus, their "selling point" was to envision a conference association that would bring together students from various institutions creating an atmosphere of friendly competition in many varied aspects of student life both athletically and culturally. Therefore, the original concept of competition among the institutions was to include not only athletic events in various male and female activities

42 but also areas of competition within the fine arts compo nents of institutions such as music festivals, drama festivals, debating, school newspaper competitions and yearbook competitions. The second task was to take the concept a step further beyond the individual athletic directors and to gain approval from senior administrators at the institutions. The suggestion was that the establishment of policies and controls would be assumed by the principals and that in fact, these men would head the organization. To accomplish this phase, the concept of total involvement by institutions both athletically and culturally was highly desirable and would be the key in gaining the support of the senior administrators. The preliminary work having been completed and sufficient evidence to indicate support from several institutions, the initiative to call the first meeting i credited to Mr. Ben Brooks, Athletic Director of Mount Royal College in a letter dated November 6, The meeting was to be held at Mount Royal College on Saturday, December 7» 19&3 in Room 201 at 10:00 A.M. Invitations to the meeting were sent to the principals and athletic directors of the following schools: Northern Alberta Institute of Technology Southern Alberta Institute of Technology Alberta College, Edmonton Lutheran College, Camrose Lethbridge Junior College Lindsay Thurber Composite High School, Red Deer Concordia College, Edmonton