Don Stouffer (Mount Royal), Wayne Halliwell (Dawson), Al Hoffman (St. Clair), and Jack Costello (St. Clair) meet in Quebec City in conjunction with a CIAU meeting to discuss the possibility of a national college athletic association. The meeting results in the establishment of an ‘Ad Hoc Steering Committee on the Formation of a National Association to Promote College Athletics.’ Don Stouffer agrees to serve as chair of the committee.
The committee follows up their initial meeting a few months later by convening in Toronto (at the ACCC AGM) with 14 representatives from the regional conferences in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec. The Royal York, with its historic ties to the CP Railway and nation building, serves as a symbolic and appropriate location to discuss the possibility of linking the provincial conferences under a national association.
Several essential components are deliberated upon during the October meetings, including the suggestion of a name – the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association. Another key decision is the designation of the four regional conferences (4-West, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia) which will go on to serve as the founding membership and framework for the association.
Sport Canada assists with funding for the first official meeting between regional representatives to develop the guidelines for a national association. Delegates from the four identified regions, 4-West (BC, AB, SK, and MB), Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes plan to meet in Calgary in June.
The CCAA’s original Executive members are selected at the June meeting. The members include: Don Stouffer, President; Wayne Halliwell, First Vice-President; Jerry Lloyd, Second Vice-President; Al Hoffman, Secretary; Ken Marchant, Treasurer; John Rostron, Four-West Rep; Jack Costello, OCAA Rep; Jean-Marc Lalonde, FASCQ Rep; and Doug Grant, Maritime Rep.
The regional delegates are asked to present their preferences for the sports which should be introduced at the national championship level. The combined results become the National Championship Priority List: 1. Men’s Basketball; 2. Badminton; 3. Women’s Basketball; 4. Men’s Hockey; 5. Curling; 6. Women’s Volleyball; 7. Men’s Volleyball.
The CCAA Executive is informed that the association meets the objectives of Sports Canada’s mandate and interest in developing athletic excellence. Sport Canada offers funding to assist with the initiation of national championships in Men’s Basketball and Men’s Hockey with the potential to phase in other sports over the next several years.
While meeting together, the CIAU acknowledges that “the CCAA is indeed a unique and viable organization, representing post-secondary and non-university institutions and their respective student- athletes”. The two associations agree that through dialogue and the exchange of information they can enhance and promote each other’s programs.
Deliberations are initiated at the AGM regarding the CCAA’s Constitution and by-laws, membership, eligibility, and the sharing of regional sports rules and regulations. Issues surrounding these subjects, which are fundamental to the CCAA’s structure, become ongoing topics for discussion and revision.
The first CCAA National Championships are held simultaneously on March 21 and 22 in Men’s Basketball and Men’s Hockey. The conference champion from each of the four regions competed to be crowned the CCAA National Champions in their respective sport.
The inaugural CCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship is hosted by Mount Royal College in Calgary, AB. The four competing conference champions were Vancouver City College (4-West), George Brown College (OCAA), Dawson College (FASCQ), and Nova Scotia Agricultural College (NSCC). A dominant George Brown team takes home the first National Championship title.
Sydney, NS is the host site of the inaugural CCAA Men’s Hockey National Championship. The regions were represented by Camrose Lutheran College (4-West), St. Clair College (OCAA), Cegep St. Laurent (FASCQ) and the hometown College of Cape Breton. Camrose defeated St. Clair for the gold medal while the hosts claimed the bronze. Fans in Windsor and Cape Breton were treated to live radio broadcasts of their teams’ games.
Two key “Hosting” issues are identified following the National Championships – diminished local interest without a home team and the costs of running the event. It is decided that future hosts will have the opportunity to “play-in” versus the fourth seed in a qualifying game and the costs of accommodations, meals and local travel will be the responsibility of participating teams.
Following the Olympic model, the members approve the presentation of gold, silver and bronze medals for the following season’s National Championships. The fourth-place team also receives a participation certificate, and the first-place team receives a National Championship banner to display in their institution.
The CCAA switches its representation structure from regional – which includes the Four-west, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia – to a provincial based system. The new structure divides the Four–west into smaller conferences based in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The regional structure remains for competition purposes.
Al Hoffman, as CCAA Secretary, leads a study examining the participation of women in intercollegiate sport programs and seeks funding from Sport Canada for championship expansion. The research shows that the ‘level of activity in women’s intercollegiate sport programs loosely approximates that of the existing men’s programs’ (64 basketball and 84 volleyball teams), which supports the CCAA’s plans to include Women's National Championships in the upcoming season.
After only one season with a five team format, which eliminated one team before the “final four”, the CCAA delegates elect to expand the National Championships to include six teams. The new format includes the four regional conference champions, the host team and a wild card team selected by the sport’s convenor, championship host and regional representatives.
After four years of research and fine tuning an official CCAA Constitution is provisionally accepted at the AGM. With most members keen to discuss the National Championships, drafting the document and its by-laws was not a particularly popular endeavour and the associated Committee receives very little interest or participation.
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