Starting next year, first-time entering student athletes will be eligible to participate and receive an athletic scholarship provided they have been accepted to a member university and have been enrolled on degree-granting courses.

This replaces the previous policy that requires entering student athletes to have an 80 per cent average in their final year of high school, and a 60 per cent average to participate athletically in their first year of study.

Another change for the start of the next academic year is that institutions are required to distribute a minimum of 45 per cent of their total athletic scholarship units (AFA) to student-athletes on men’s teams, and a minimum of 45 per cent of their AFAs to student-athletes on women’s teams.

An AFA is equal to 100 per cent of tuition and mandatory fees for a student-athlete during an academic year. 

"These changes intend to remove systemic barriers impacting a student-athlete’s ability to participate in U SPORTS and receive funding assistance for pursuing their education," said U SPORTS chief executive Pierre Arsenault.

"Our focus is to make university studies and sports participation more accessible.

"For current entering student-athletes participation in U SPORTS depends on their high school or CEGEP grades.

"Therefore, we chose to align participation and scholarship qualification with admission to an institution.

"Between attending classes, studying, practice and competitions, it is difficult for student-athletes to hold employment in-season.

"We are proud to work with our member institutions to ensure equitable opportunities for AFA support.

"We know that the changes adopted this week set all U SPORTS students up for greater success in the classroom and on the field of competition."

U SPORTS is the national governing body of university sport in Canada, representing 56 universities and around 12,000 student athletes.