“Lots to be proud ofβ at Acadia Athletics: Dickie
By John DeCoste
Acadia University ended lastΒ week with four of its varsity teams ranked in their respective CIS national Top-10s β which, according to Director of Athletics Kevin Dickie, is an unprecedented number for the Wolfville school.
The CIS Top-10s released Nov. 13 showed the hockey Axemen ranked #2 in the country, up from #3 the previous week. The basketball Axemen were ranked #3 for a second straight week, and the basketball Axewomen held down the sixth spot in their rankings after a #8 showing the previous week.
In the final CIS weekly football ranking of the season, the football Axemen were ranked #9 and have since advanced to the CIS βFinal Fourβ.
The rugby Axewomen, despite not having a spot in the national Top-10 at the end of the season, competed at the CIS nationals as AUS finalists and ended up sixth.
The rugby Axewomen did make an appearance in the CIS Top-10 earlier this season, for one week, as did the soccer Axemen, making a total of six Acadia teams that have appeared in CIS Top-10s at least once since the school year began in September.
βItβs the most teams Acadia has ever had in the national Top-10 at the same time,β Dickie said.
Combining that with 79 academic All-Canadians β representing 33.5 per cent of the universityβs complement of student-athletes, the top percentage in the CIS β and all our community involvement, βweβre pretty much full steam ahead,β he said.
Acadia has had a number of student-athletes win AUS and CIS Student-Athlete Community Service Awards, most recently womenβs soccer player Alana Fairfax of Somerset, who won this yearβs CIS award for her sport.
All in all, Dickie suggested, βthereβs lots to be proud of at Acadia right now.β
At a school the size of Acadia, he says, βwe have to celebrate our accomplishments when theyβre there. Our varsity teams went 8-0 this past weekend, with the hockey and menβs and womenβs basketball teams all winning twice on the road.β
In terms of university sport, everything runs in cycles, he said, βbut thatβs only part of it. Your ultimate goal should be to sustain a high level of competition, year after year. Itβs not easy, because there are no guarantees.β
At the same time, he said, one thing you can do is to always strive for excellence, whether in athletics, academics or community service.
βThereβs really no reason why we shouldnβt excel in all three – and no excuses why we canβt.β
Dickie feels Acadia is riding a bit of a crest right now, βand a big reason for it is our collectiveness. Working together makes it easier to strive for success. It may sound
corny, but itβs true.β
Moreover, this collective effort, which starts with Dickie and his staff, through the coaches and other staff to the student-athletes, is not only infectious, but βno one has needed to buy into it.β
One of the challenges of operating a varsity athletic program at a small school is funding, but Dickie says that doesnβt need to be a stumbling block or deterrent.
βWe face the same fiscal challenges here as I faced at UNB,β he said. βOnly weβre overcoming it better. Itβs all about how those with less can do more.β
Everything is cyclical, he acknowledged, βbut when you get on a roll, you need to try and maximize that.β
As for whether Acadia is doing that successfully, he replied, βthe success weβre having answers that question. I feel we offer the best undergraduate experience in the country, and you canβt put a price tag on that.β
While there are, and will continue to be, challenges surrounding recruiting, Dickie stressed, βexcellent kids will want to be a part of excellence. The biggest thing in recruiting is trying to convince people youβre different. You canβt do that without increased financial resources, making use of alumni and corporate sponsorship.β
Acadia, he feels, has been doing a better job of that in recent years, and he is hopeful it will continue to improve.
βWeβve definitely turned the corner on the bad times.β