Mohawk College removes four teams from varsity status

Mohawk College will have a smaller roster of varsity athletic teams moving forward in 2021, with the removal of four programs from Ontario Colleges Athletics Association competition.

Following a two-year review of all Mohawk Athletics Department varsity programs, the college announced it will no longer move forward with badminton, golf, men’s indoor soccer and women’s indoor soccer in intercollegiate competition in the future. The decision was made based on performance history, student participation rates and college recruitment success.

The Mountaineers will continue to support varsity teams in women’s and men’s basketball, volleyball and outdoor soccer. Co-ed curling and cross-country, men’s rugby and women’s softball will also maintain varsity status.

“Mohawk College Athletics has renewed its commitment to nurturing high performance in all aspects of its programs, promoting the pursuit of excellence for our student athletes in their athletic, academic and personal lives,” said Matt Ferreira, Director of Athletics and Recreation at Mohawk. “We will continue to support an active and diverse number of sports at the recreational level and will focus our efforts at the varsity level on programs that have demonstrated recent success and that we feel can be sustainable in the pursuit of a high-performance varsity portfolio.”

In the last full year of varsity competition, prior to COVID-19 restrictions and cancellations, 210 student athletes represented the Mountaineers in varsity sports. This decision would impact 23 student athletes who were involved in intercollegiate competition (noting that indoor soccer served largely as an extension of the outdoor soccer program, with nearly identical team rosters). None of the student athletes affected were recruited to Mohawk College to compete in these sports.

“By narrowing the focus of our efforts on fewer varsity programs, we will have the opportunity to increase the resources and support we can provide for Mountaineer teams and for our student athletes,” added Ferreira. “We are grateful to have the support of college leadership in this process.”

The Mohawk Athletic Department will continue to review both its varsity and recreational programs, based on a series of benchmarks. Varsity teams will be assessed on the competitive success of teams, on the academic success of student athletes, recruitment and student retention, and leadership development. Recreation programs will be evaluated on participation levels, variety of offerings and accessibility of programs.

For more information about Mohawk College Athletics and Recreation, visit the department’s new website, launching on February 1, 2021: www.mohawkmountaineers.com