What’s Next for McGill Athletics? University to Review The Future of its Programs
+ Canada West MVB update, OUA MVB update, an all-time U SPORTS MBB performance,and quick hits
Quick rundown: McGill University has announced that it has formed a task force set to build the future of athletics at the university. The task force will be assigned to develop a five-year strategy built around long-term sustainability and viability of an athletics programs that has seen major shifts in the past few months.
What’s happened? In November of last year, McGill announced the axing of 25 varsity programs across 15 different sports. These program cuts were a result of multiple reviews, starting with an internal review conducted by McGill’s internal audit unit, followed by a 2025 external third-party review completed by KPMG.
It’s important to note that all the changes McGill has made to its varsity programming are set to stay in place, and this task force is not meant to revisit those decisions but to chart the new direction of the athletics department.
Who’s on the task force? The task force will be made up of students, staff, faculty, and alumni, and will also be co-chaired by Chancellor Pierre Boivin, Angela Campbell execuitive vice-president (academic), and interim deputy provost (student life and learning) Anthony Mittermaier.
What is the task force set out to do? The broader theme of the task force’s duty will be to recommend “clear and measurable objectives” surrounding several aspects that will impact McGill’s long-term sustainability. Programming models, infrastructure needs, fee structures, and communications and branding are all subject to change based on the task force’s recommendations.
The bigger picture: We know we keep pulling on this string, but this is just another reminder that funding remains an issue, straining Canadian athletics with numerous scenarios emerging within a matter of months.
Simon Fraser University moving from the NCAA back to U SPORTS.
Bishop’s University leaving the Atlantic University Sport.
McGill cutting multiple varsity programs.
The Canadian Olympic Committee is demanding more financial support from the federal government.
Lack of money in Canadian sports is no longer just a concern — it’s a harsh reality.
Serving Up Some Drama 🏐
(Vamsi Nadella / UBC Thunderbirds)
Quick rundown: As we head into the final stage of the U SPORTS men’s volleyball playoffs, the road to this point has been anything but ordinary. The Canada West championship took place this past weekend — and things got spicy.
To kick off the Canada West championship tournament, the Manitoba Bisons upset the No. 1-ranked UBC Thunderbirds in their home gym. The Bisons swept UBC 3-0 to advance to the Canada West final and secure a spot in the national tournament. All in one night, the Bisons beat the No. 1-ranked team in the country, snapped UBC’s 28-game home win streak, punched their ticket to nationals, and secured a spot in their first Canada West title match since 2017.
A day later, the Bisons took on the No. 2-ranked Trinity Western Spartans in a back-and-forth Canada West final. Though Trinity seemed in control the whole match, Manitoba didn’t go down without a fight, winning the second set and holding a lead in the fourth up until the latter half of the set, when drama hit. At 17-16 in the fourth set, with the Bisons leading, a missed lift call by the first official led to fourth-year right side Karil Daddash Adeh staring down the first official at the conclusion of the point. Daddash Adeh was issued a red card as a result, and what would have been an 18-16 lead for the Bisons turned into an 18-17 lead with the serve given to the Spartans. Trinity Western then went on a three-point run and eventually won the match.
The Bisons will enter the national championship as the No. 6 seed, while the Spartans will enter as the No. 1 seed.
Queen’s Claim Their Crown 🏐
(Edwin Tam)
Quick rundown: For two decades, the OUA men’s volleyball circuit has been ruled by two teams. The streak that has seen every OUA men’s volleyball championship won by either McMaster or Queen’s since 2006 is still alive as the Gaels took down the Windsor Lancers to capture their second consecutive Forsyth Cup.
Led by OUA second-team all-star Nikola Mitrovic, who had a game-high 20 points and 17 kills, and setter Chris Zimmerman, who had a game-high 29 assists, the Gaels defeated the Lancers in straight sets, capping off an OUA playoff run that didn’t see them drop a single set.
Although the Gaels have conquered the OUA, they may have won the battle but lost the war. Due to the Canada West bracket experiencing turbulence with UBC losing their semifinal match to Manitoba, Queen’s will now have to face the Thunderbirds, who finished the regular season atop the national rankings with a 19-1 record. On the other side of the bracket, the Windsor Lancers will face the Montreal Carabins, who finished the season as the No. 7-ranked team in the country, four spots behind the Lancers.
The Gaels will enter the national tournament as the No. 2 seed, while the Lancers will enter as the No. 4 seed.
He is Him 🏀
(Lazar Mihajlovic / TMU Athletics)
Quick rundown: Although the Final 8 didn’t finish the way the TMU Bold wanted, TMU’s Kevin Toth put on the performance of a lifetime in the fourth quarter.
TMU went into the second half of the quarterfinal down 55-37. They went on to cut this margin down to 66-63 by the end of the third quarter. Then entered Kevin Toth. The second-year guard went pointless for the first three quarters, but entered the chat in the fourth quarter.
1st Quarter – 0 PTS
2nd Quarter – 0 PTS
3rd Quarter – 0 PTS
4th Quarter – 21 PTS
Toth put the Bold on his shoulders in the fourth quarter and scored 21 of the Bold’s 34 points in the quarter, leading them to a 97-91 victory over the UBC Thunderbirds after trailing in all three of the previous quarters.
Kevin Toth has easily put together one of the greatest performances you will ever see. To go scoreless in the first three quarters and put together 21 points in a single quarter while leading a team that had trailed for the entirety of the game — that’s greatness.
Quick Hits ➡️
🏀 The Saskatchewan Huskies women’s basketball team have gone back-to-back to win their second consecutive national championship. They beat the UNB Reds 77-68 to win their fourth national title in program history.
🏀 The Carleton Ravens defeated the Bishop’s Gaiters 78-75 to win their 18th mens basketball national title. This makes the Ravens a perfect 18-0 in national championship games.
🏒 The UBC Thunderbirds women’s hockey team took home the Canada West championship this past weekend, taking down the Manitoba Bisons 1-0. This is their seventh title in program history and fourth in the past five years.
🏃♀️ The Guelph Gryphons women’s track and field team has won its seventh U SPORTS title in eight years. They finished the championship with 105 total points, 26 points ahead of the second-place team.
🏐 Abby Guezen has won the Women’s Volleyball Canada West Player of the Year award. She finished the season with 277 kills, 3.90 kills per set, and a .304 hitting percentage.
🏐 Mason Greves has claimed Canada West Player of the Year honours. Greves led the conference with 10.68 assists per set while ranking second in the conference in digs per set (2.17). He is the first UBC Thunderbirds men’s volleyball player to win Player of the Year since 2000.
🏐 Maxime Gratton has been named the OUA men’s volleyball Player of the Year after leading the entire conference in total points with 340. Gratton is the second player in the history of the Toronto Varsity Blues men’s volleyball program to win Player of the Year.
🏐 Oceane Raymond-Leduc has taken home OUA women’s volleyball Player of the Year honours. She finished first in total kills (331), kills per set (4.30), and points per set (5.1), and became the first-ever Nipissing Lakers women’s volleyball player to win OUA Player of the Year.