MCGILL’S CUTS ARE A WARNING SHOT FOR THE FUTURE OF CANADIAN SPORT

My heart sank.

I was riding the high of Vancouver’s sold-out PWHL home opener — a historic moment for women’s sports in Canada.

And then I read…

“McGill axes swatch of varsity and competitive sports teams in sweeping overhaul” The Gazette

One day celebrating progress in sport, the next — loss.

It felt like a punch to the gut — because cuts like this ripple far beyond a campus. They impact future leaders, communities, and the long-term health of sport in Canada.

McGill University — a pillar in Canadian sport and academics — is cutting 25 teams across 15 sports for 2026–27*. Sixty percent of its varsity and competitive programs… gone. Not because of lack of talent, participation, or legacy but because of budget pressure.

This isn’t just any University.

• McGill has produced 156 Olympians, 34 Olympic medals, and helped write the opening chapters of Canadian sports history.
• They hosted the first ever organized ice hockey game in 1875.
• The first intercollegiate rugby-football game in 1874 vs Harvard.
  A McGill grad (Dr. James Naismith) Invented basketball.
• The track team they just cut? Founded in 1899.

Academically, McGill is ranked #27 in the world by the QS World University Rankings.

Imagine Harvard slashing most of its varsity programs — that’s what this is like for Canada.

This decision doesn’t just remove teams and legacy. It removes opportunities, community, identity, structure, and leadership pathways. Research shows athletes become exceptional leaders — and Canada just lost hundreds of them from a top University.

As someone who was shaped by sport, this hits hard. Sport didn’t just help me succeed. It helped me become.

And now hundreds of young athletes have had that same foundation taken from them.

I’m stunned and it’s not the last announcement like it.

Less than a week later, SFU announced that it has applied to USPORTS. Currently SFU is the only Canadian team in the NCAA. For many complicated reasons, it wishes to move back to USPORTS, one major reason being financial.

With a move to USPORTS (seemingly inevitable) SFU will cut softball, golf, and outdoor track & field in the 2027 school year.

If you’ve ever been shaped by sport, supported by a coach, lifted by a teammate, or steadied by a season that changed you, imagine having that path removed overnight.

We can’t let silence be the response.

Please support your University. Go to games. Donate. Buy merch. Join SHE’S GOT NEXT.

Sport is more than games — it’s opportunity, belonging, and a pathway to leadership. We owe it to the next generation to protect that, for the future of sport in Canada. 🍁

*McGill programs cut: badminton, baseball, fencing, logger sports, Nordic skiing, women’s rugby (not men’s), women’s field hockey, sailing, figure skating, golf, women’s lacrosse, squash, tennis, men’s volleyball and both men’s and women’s track and field.