The Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) family is growing.
The CCAA is pleased to welcome the Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference (MCAC) as its sixth member conference. The MCAC was unanimously accepted as a probationary member at the CCAA’s annual general meeting in Calgary today.
Manitoba institutions Brandon University (Brandon), Assiniboine Community College (Brandon), Université de Sainte-Boniface (Winnipeg), Canadian Mennonite University (Winnipeg) and Providence University College (Otterburne) have been accepted as probationary members of the CCAA commencing June 30, 2019.
“The CCAA is thrilled to welcome the MCAC as a probationary member conference,” said CCAA President Alan Rogan. “The MCAC adds a geographical region we currently are not engaged in, increasing the exposure of the CCAA and increasing the number of student-athletes who have the opportunity to compete for a National Championship.”
As a new member conference, the MCAC will not have access to CCAA National Championships for the first two years of their probationary period. If the Association is satisfied that the probationary member conference has met all established requirements, they will be granted access to CCAA National Championships in their third year of probationary status.
Therefore, the MCAC could have access to CCAA National Championships in 2021-22. The MCAC will compete in CCAA Men’s & Women’s Soccer as well as CCAA Men’s & Women’s Volleyball.
The MCAC submitted an official application to join the Association on Nov. 15, 2017. In May of 2018, a CCAA Committee, led by Rogan, visited each member institution’s facility in Manitoba and met with each President and Athletic Director.
The Committee came away impressed.
“The MCAC is a small but extremely collaborative conference that works hard to supply a top-drawer student-athlete experience,” said Rogan.
The MCAC joins current CCAA member conferences from the Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA), Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ), Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA), Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) and Pacific Western Athletic Association (PACWEST).
“On behalf of the MCAC and its member institutions, I can say that we are incredibly excited and honored to be members of the CCAA,” said Scott Masterson, Vice President of the MCAC.
Both current and previous administrators have worked toward this goal for many years according to Masterson.
“We are very proud to be able to provide an opportunity within Manitoba to participate in the CCAA and to eventually be represented at the National Championships,” he said. “We are thankful to the CCAA and its membership for approving our application and making this opportunity possible.”
The CCAA is committed to its vision of enriching the academic experiences of student-athletes through intercollegiate sport and provides leadership and programs that foster student-athlete, coach and athletic administrator development.
CCAA student-athletes compete in seven sports at 10 CCAA National Championships, each hosted by a CCAA member institution. Member institutions include colleges, universities, technical institutes and cégeps.
