The University of Toronto Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education is expected to announce a new intercollegiate sport model this fall. The model will consist of intramurals (including tri-campus teams), clubs, and intercollegiate and high performance sports. A review of the model was commissioned by Ira Jacobs, dean of the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, in December 2011. Jacobs was appointed dean in July 2010.

According to Beth Ali, director of Intercollegiate and High Performance Sport, the model was reviewed as part of a larger academic planning process. “When a new dean is appointed, the provost’s office requires that the dean creates an academic and strategic plan for the faculty,” she said. The Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education is an integrated faculty responsible not only for undergraduate and graduate programs, but also for the co-curricular programs; so as part of this process, the sport model was reviewed.

The purpose of the review was to understand how the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education could better manage all levels of sport and physical activity programs, while taking into consideration the amount of resources that need to be allocated for each program.

“Each institution is unique,” explained Ali. “The size, diversity, complexity, and heritage that the University of Toronto has as an institution, but also as an intercollegiate program, made it necessary to review and implement the new model in an institution-specific way,” she continued.

Following two phases of extensive consultations, a final report was sent to Jacobs in April 2012. Student athletes, coaches, alumni, staff, and faculty members attended more than 30 in-person consultation sessions, and then submitted feedback and comments via a faculty website.

Numerous criteria were taken into account when deciding upon a final model; these included whether the sport in question had a high risk of injury, the level of experience of the athletes, the average home attendance for the sport, whether the university has hosted an Ontario University Athletics (OUA) or Canadian Intercollegiate Sport (CIS) championship in the past five years, the academic performance of the athletes, and the revenue generated by the sport.

The intramural program will be the next program area to undergo further review and change before the reworking of the sport model is finalized.