As mentioned last season, the Western Canadian Universities were working towards changing their rule set from Canadian football to hybrid with the WFU’s merger with the NAAF. It would be made official, that starting in the 1972 college season, the colleges would be switching to hybrid rules. The conference that schools are involved in, called the West-Can Athletic Conference, will officially make its football program hybrid rules and will compete along with the AEHC and CEHC for the Hybrid Football National Championship. Below is a full overview of the schools that are going to be joining:
Pacific Provincial University - PPU
Location: Vancouver, BC
Mascot: Seahawks
Notable Players: WR Keshawn Johnston (VAN), QB Kevin Westwood (VAN), DB Scott Summerhayes (CGY)
One of the most technologically advanced universities in North America, Pacific Provincial prides itself in being a cutting-edge institution where many top researchers go to study and teach. The sports are pretty big as well, having consistently strong teams across many sports. Football is not the top sport at the school, rather there is a larger focus on the Olympic sports, with many Team Canada athletes electing to study at the school. However, they are still a strong football school that is consistently in the mix for success.
University of Central British Columbia - UCBC
Location: Kamloops, BC
Mascot: Mountain Lions
Notable Players: DL Rashawn Sutherland (VAN), DL Jared Kendall (VAN), S Nick Palmer (VAN)
Out in the Thompson Valley is UCBC. One of two bigger universities in the interior of British Columbia, the other being the University of the Okanagan Valley in Kelowna, BC. The two schools have a rivalry in many sports, however, as of now, UCBC is the only one with a top-level football team. The Mountain Lions are a pretty tough team, often not having as much talent as Pacific Provincial, UEdmonton, or Alberta Provincial. However, they make up for it with a well-coached team that plays smart and tough. Their defence is often their strength hence many pro-level alumni being defensive stars.
Royal Gardens University - RGU
Location: Victoria, BC
Mascot: Knights
Notable Players: OL Kenny Rudolph (VAN), LB Shawn Anderson (VAN), Daniel Shao Li (VAN)
In the provincial capital of BC, Royal Gardens stands as the top academic school in the west. The school does have connections to Pacific Provincial for research purposes, so there is a good relationship between the schools in general. On the field, Royal Gardens has a long history of football, however, they have not been one of the strongest schools since the early 1900s. The school is certainly more focused on schooling than athletics, in a similar way that Cambridge University of Boston and St. George are.
Alberta Provincial University - APU
Location: Calgary, AB
Mascot: Wranglers
Notable Players: DL Chris Barrett (CGY), DL Roger Barrett (CGY), WR Patrick Early (CGY)
One of the big three schools in the Western Provinces, next to Pacific Provincial and UEdmonton. Alberta Provincial, attracts a lot of talent, always trying to one-up their rivals to the north in Edmonton. Alberta Provincial has evolved a lot with their playstyle, pretty much willing to adapt to the talent that they have at their disposal which has led to a decent amount of talent finding their best traits.
University of Edmonton - UEDM
Location: Edmonton, AB
Mascot: Huskies
Notable Players: DL Steven Montgomery (EDM), WR Nick Spalding (REG), LB Frank St. John (UEDM)
UEdmonton is another of the big three schools. Unlike APU to the south, they are more of a structured team. They tend to stick to their play style and teach a lot of all-around skills to their players. Their philosophy of development leans more into expanding the skill set of the players they have to not be one-dimensional. In recent years, they have been the strongest of the big 3, and are likely to continue that trend.
University of Lethbridge - LET
Location: Lethbridge, AB
Mascot: Miners
Notable Players: OL Matthew Miller (EDM), QB Rusty Lamb (REG), DB Mario Henderson (EDM)
The 3rd Alberta School is one of the smaller programs. The school doesn’t get anywhere near the same level of talent as the two other Alberta schools, but they still sport a solid unit that is enough to stay in the top flight of college football in Western Canada. There's good local support for the school in Lethbridge, having one of the best game day atmospheres in the WC schools.
Saskatchewan Provincial University - SPU
Location: Saskatoon, SK
Mascot: Prairie Dogs
Notable Players: WR Terry Upshaw (WPG), DL Damien Battles (CGY), QB Blair Collins (EDM)
Saskatchewan’s primary school has been one of the best schools for talent in Western Canada throughout history. Many have argued that the school should be one of the big three with the football team they sport. SPU isn’t a massive school in terms of overall student population, but they put together great football teams. The culture of football runs deep in the province, even if their pro team isn’t doing so hot.
Royal Regina University - RREG
Location: Regina, SK
Mascot: Blues
Notable Players: DL Pete Ginger (REG), OL Charles Creighton (EDM), LB Brett Pride (REG)
Royal Regina has a strong rivalry with SPU but is often regarded as the lesser football school. While the football team is still decent, they aren’t as big or consistently good as their rivals to the north. It’s not too surprising that the school is more focused on academics than sports.
University of Western Manitoba - WMB
Location: Brandon, MB
Mascot: Wolverines
Notable Players: DB Kyle Ellerbee (WPG), DB Vern Nowitski (VAN), DL Quinton Hextal (EDM)
UWMB is a similar school to Lethbridge in size. Much like Lethbridge, it does get less talent than the bigger surrounding schools, but every once in a while they can bring up some talented players. The school is built around serving most of rural Manitoba, sometimes being the preferred school over Riel for those outside of Winnipeg. They have a larger focus on agriculture and industry.
Riel University - RIEL
Location: Winnipeg, MB
Mascot: Rebels
Notable Players: LB Claude Clarke (WPG), DB Chris Berrymore (REG), QB Emerson Thompson (WPG)
Riel is a historic school in Canada, primarily for the importance it has played in creating more opportunities for First Nations and Metis people in Canada. The school's name comes from Manitoba founder and Metis leader, Louis Riel. Football hasn’t always been a very big part of the school, with Lacrosse and Hockey being much more popular. However, they still have brought up some strong talent and continue to develop as a football school with connections to the Winnipeg Falcons.
MIDWESTERN CONFERENCE SHAKE-UP
Along with the WCAC joining the Hybrid Football circuit, several other schools will be joining from the Midwest. It had been in the works for a bit, but Louisville State, North Indiana, Indiana Tech, and Daniel Boone are all leaving the Conference of the Midwest (CMW) to join a new Central Hybrid Conference (CHC) along with several schools from the American East Hybrid Conference. Those schools are the University of Western New York (Buffalo, NY), the University of WNY-Rochester (Rochester, NY), the University of Erie (Erie, PA), and Upstate University (Albany, NY). The new conference will sport 8 teams, forming a West and East Division between the new hybrid schools from Indiana and Kentucky, and then the other 4 former AEHC schools from Pennsylvania and New York. Here is a look at the 4 new schools:
University of North Indiana - UNIN
Location: Fort Wayne, IN
Mascot: Cardinals
Notable Players: WR Ed Edwards (IND), DB Jerome Caldwell (OTT), TE Rex Williamson (LOU)
There isn’t much special about North Indiana. The school is about the most average school. They produce typically some decent solid talent and usually have a solid competitive team, however, they have not ever been good enough to contend for any titles. Still, the school is the best that Indiana has to offer.
Indiana Institute of Technology (Indiana Tech) - INTC
Location: Indianapolis, IN
Mascot: Express
Notable Players: OL Gary Bies (LI), S Tom Parrish (PRO), OL Jordan Bryson (MIN)
Indiana Tech is a school built around the rail industry becoming a key school in the development of transportation. Over the years, it has grown to be one of the best trade-based schools in the country. However, they have also expanded their Engineering and Business faculties as well. Indiana Tech is a relatively new football program compared to the other 3 schools. As the school has grown in enrollment, the athletics programs have become significantly stronger. The football program has risen up to be a solid contender with the other schools around and could have a formidable team in the new conference. They typically play a rough and tough style with a lot of players being trained in construction and manufacturing.
Louisville State University - LVST
Location: Louisville, KY
Mascot: Stallions
Notable Players: QB Leonidas Dumont (MIN), DL Lucas Kipling (LOU), WR Taylor Austin (PIT)
Louisville State easily has the strongest connection to the NAAF out of the new schools making the move into the new conference. Many players have desired to play in the NAAF due to the local team in the city. The Louisville Thunder have done their fair share of pitching the league to the students of the school making regular visits from players and personnel. Louisville State was the key factor in the set of schools making the official transition to hybrid football. In terms of talent, the Stallions have been known to bring up a lot of great talent. The focus of the team is often on innovation and creating new ways to beat the other team, never sticking to one style. Obviously, that always-evolving play style tends to lead to a lot of ups and downs, but the Stallions usually have at least one serious contender every few years, even if they aren’t consistent.
Daniel Boone University - DBU
Location: Lexington, KY
Mascot: Pioneers
Notable Players: RB Tyler Kuhn (MIN), OL Clancy Harrison (BUF), RB Yancy Harrison (BUF)
Daniel Boone is one of those schools that often gets lost at the bottom of the standings. They have never really had a strong and contending team, but every once in a while they will have a player or two that make an impact and help the team into a middle-of-the-pack position. The most recent example is RB Tyler Kuhn, who set many school records with his performance. Daniel Boone hopes they can pick it up a bit in a new conference and attract more talent with the new rule set.
With the 4 schools leaving the Conference of the Midwest, 2 new schools will replace them to keep the conference at 12 schools. Iowa A&M and University of Kansas City will be added to the CMW.
HYBRID FOOTBALL SEASON FORMAT
With two new conferences being added to the world of College Hybrid Football a new format will come into play to determine a National (or international) champion. The new format will leave each conference to determine a champion, whether through their own playoff or another format. The 4 teams that are sent as champions will then compete in a National Championship playoff. There will be 2 semi-final matches, and then a championship final.
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