LAC LA BICHE - Portage College might not have basketball or volleyball teams in its collegiate sports lineup this year, but the Lac La Biche-based institution recently held court for schools that do.
On Oct. 12, Portage College hosted Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) volleyball and basketball teams from Lakeland College, Keyano College and Concordia University of Edmonton for an afternoon of exhibition matches at the Bold Centre.
Jim Knight, Portage College’s manager of athletics and recreation, said the exhibition games were a success and well-supported by the community, with some local high school students in the stands watching the volleyball and basketball games.
According to Knight, the Lakeland men’s volleyball team beat the Keyano men three sets to one. During the basketball games, the Lakeland women went up against Keyano, winning 65-57 while the Keyano men’s team defeated Concordia by a score of 72-50.
“The attendance for hosting the games was good, everyone in attendance thought the games were well played and the competition was good,” Knight told Lakeland This Week. “It was fun hosting this event, look forward to other opportunities we can be involved in to bring other schools to our community and spend money in our community.”
Knight said the games are part of a continuing conversation about adding other sports under the Portage athletics banner. While the post-secondary institution has never put a basketball team on the court, it did have volleyball teams in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) from 2001-2007 and in the Alberta Colleges Athletics League (ACAL) for a couple of seasons after that.
While there have been recent discussions among college sports officials about the addition of another sport in the Voyageurs athletic department, nothing – including what sport it might be – has been confirmed.
“There are multiple conversations taking place internally and externally about how to make the new sport sustainable in tough economic years,” Knight said.
While it has yet to be officially determined if a new sport at Portage College will be pursued, Knight said it is something he hears about from residents and students on a regular basis.
“When I am out and around the community, I get asked at least five times a month about adding basketball or volleyball to the college,” he said.
Could it be volleyball? The Lac La Biche region, Knight stated, has a very strong volleyball community that includes an adult league, multiple club volleyball teams, as well as the local high schools. While he couldn’t say if Voyageur volleyball will make a return to the community, he did say the sport locally is a good draw.
The college sports boss also said basketball is quite popular too. Knight says he has seen an uptick in the popularity of basketball in the community, especially in the younger generation. Hosting the recent games, he said, was also a chance for people to see what college basketball is like.
Good idea
The addition of a new sport – if it were to happen – Knight says, has many benefits. Not only does it add more students to the campus and local community, but also gives residents another sports team to watch and support.
“When you think about adding a sport you must think that 80 to 85 per cent of those students are possibly coming in would be from out of our immediate service region,” he said. “Adding new sports also give the local youth a vision and dreams to compete at the college level and stay at home for their academic and athletic career.”
The timeline to add a new team to the ACAC roster of sports is November 15 of each year.
When new applications are submitted to the ACAC, Knight continued, they are reviewed and voted on in May of the following year. From the date of application to first competitions in the ACAC, he added, is usually 18 months.