Algonquin College cuts varsity rugby teams, cites budget pressures

Algonquin College rugby players are expressing their frustration after being told they won’t be able to return to the pitch in the fall.

The Algonquin Students’ Association said it made the decision to suspend the Algonquin Wolves Varsity Rugby program as a result of “financial challenges” faced by the school.

Students on the team say they were caught by surprise and didn’t have any inclination that their sport was in jeopardy.

“We received an email on March 30 regarding a Google meeting just to discuss things. We weren’t provided with any other information,” Emma Khaimovich, a player on the women’s team, told CityNews. “Then on March 31 we all went on to the Google Meet, and they basically said, ‘there’s no easy way to say this, but we’re gonna have to cut the rugby teams due to budget constraints.'”

Even the coaches only found out about the decision just prior to the meeting, Khaimovich said, adding that everyone was blindsided.

“The meeting was about two minutes long, and then they ended it there,” she said.

In a statement to CityNews, a spokesperson for the student association said the decision was difficult and made in response to the ongoing financial challenges to the post-secondary sector.

“As an organization, the SA remains dedicated to Varsity athletics and supporting our Wolves teams, players, coaches, and fans,” they said in an email.  

This is the second time Algonquin College has come under fire this year for its cost-cutting measures. At the beginning of March, the college announced its decision to cut 30 programs in an effort to increase finances.

The decision received immediate backlash from students and alumni who argued for the mostly arts and environment-related courses’ importance.

Even the City of Ottawa spoke to the geographical benefit of the college, stating that nine of the 30 programs on the chopping block directly contribute to the city’s talent pool.

“Without graduates from the (applied museum studies) program, the pool of qualified candidates local to Ottawa diminishes significantly, especially for part-time collections work,” a staff report said about one of the programs.

Like many others across Ontario, Algonquin College has been facing severe financial pressures. The school has said it is grappling with a $27 million deficit for the 2025-26 year, and is projecting a $44 million deficit for 2026-27 if no mitigation measures are taken.

It appears the newest mitigation measure is the rugby team.

Khaimovich said rugby is the only sport that is being cut at this time, and the team was given no reason for why this choice was made. She said the team might not get as much attention at the school as other sports, but that is largely due to the fact that its season is only two months long.

The women’s varsity rugby team, in particular, is known to have earned its spot on the Ontario roster. They have placed in the top three Ontario Colleges Athletics Association (OCAA) Rugby Sevens Championship multiple times. The last time the team won gold was in 2019.

Khaimovich said the teams and their coaches have been discussing ways they can get the team reinstated.

“We’re not going to let this happen,” she said.

The teams have started a petition that has reached over 2,500 signatures and has garnered the support of organizations like Rugby Ontario and other OCAA teams. While the rugby plates have told the students’ association they will raise the money to keep the team running, they have yet to be given the green light.

“But the whole world pretty much seems to be mostly on our side about getting these teams back,” she said. “We just want to put as much pressure on the school as possible to be able to at least sit down and have a conversation with the players to hear our ideas.”