The Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference will have a slightly new look in the 2010-11 season.
At least the basketball and volleyball leagues will.
Keyano College of Fort McMurray has been accepted into the basketball league while Augustana University College of Camrose will compete in the volleyball league.
“They’ll play an exhibition schedule against league teams this year and enter full time in 2010,” explained RDC athletic director Keith Hansen.
Both applications were accepted during the conference’s general meeting in Grande Prairie, which concluded Thursday.
Keyano has been involved in volleyball for several years, but not in basketball. Augustana has competed in basketball while their volleyball has been a dominant program in the Alberta Colleges Athletic League (ACAL).
With the addition of Keyano the basketball’s North Division will have eight teams with only six in the south. As a result Camrose will likely move to the south, which is fine with Hansen.
“It’s a perfect rivalry for us,” he said. “It’s not for sure, and won’t be until the 2010 schedule is announced, but that seems to be the most likely scenario.”
As for the volleyball, there was no indication which division Camrose will play in.
Volleyball will have a familiar look to it this season as it returns to a two-tier system after Christmas.
Teams will play in their North and South Divisions prior to Christmas with the top three teams in each division competing in the Provincial Pool during the second half of the season.
It’s not exactly how Hansen would have liked it, but it’s better than playing strictly in North and South Divisions all season, he said.
“Several schools would have still liked to have the two-tiered system all season while others wanted it to stay as a north-south system,” he said. “This is a compromise. We do get better competition overall and still maintain costs.”
It was also announced at the general meeting that a player, who has competed in the ACAL, won’t lose any ACAC eligibility. As a result RDC volleyball Queens middle blocker Mandy Norris, who played a year with St. Mary’s College in Calgary prior to joining the Queens three years ago, still has two years of eligibility remaining.