McGill University is facing significant backlash from students and alumni after announcing the discontinuation of more than a dozen varsity and competitive sports teams in a sweeping overhaul of its athletics program.
Administration Defends Difficult Decision
Perry Karnofsky, McGill's director of services, wellness programs and facility operations, has publicly addressed the growing controversy surrounding the elimination of multiple sports teams. In an exclusive interview, Karnofsky emphasized that the decision was more complicated than just financial considerations and followed both a 2024 internal audit and a 2025 external review by KPMG.
"We get it. If I was a student, I'd feel the same way," said Karnofsky, who has worked in McGill athletics for over two decades. "The last thing I want to do is take away sports from people."
Evaluation Process Revealed
The university employed a four-box classification system to assess its sports programs, including three categories used by the RSEQ - Quebec's governing body for university sports - and an additional category for teams outside RSEQ's jurisdiction. Teams were evaluated against similar sports within their classification based on multiple factors including HR workload, financial sustainability, equipment needs, and communications support.
"One of the themes that came out of our audit was there was a need to re-evaluate the way we offer sports and more particularly competitive sport here at McGill," Karnofsky explained.
The athletics department found itself stretched beyond capacity, with Karnofsky noting: "What we found is that a lot of our teams just don't have enough to succeed because maybe we're just too big."
Extensive List of Eliminated Sports
The cuts affect a wide range of sports programs including: badminton, baseball, fencing, logger sports, Nordic skiing, women's rugby, 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.
Student-athletes from affected teams have launched petitions urging the university to reverse its decision. The track and field petition has already gathered over 6,000 signatures since the announcement was made on Thursday.
Consistency and Risk Management Concerns
When questioned why successful, largely self-funded programs like tennis and squash were included in the cuts, Karnofsky pointed to the need for consistent oversight and risk management.
"If you compete under McGill's name, you should follow the same guidelines," he stated. "There's real risk when student-run teams travel on their own. We realized we need a more consistent system."
The administrator expressed personal regret about the decision, particularly regarding tennis and squash: "It broke my heart to tell tennis and squash we can no longer support them."
Poor Timing Adds to Student Frustration
The announcement's timing has intensified student disappointment. Just days before the cuts were revealed, McGill president Deep Saini had posed for photos with top student-athletes being honored on the 2025 President's Student-Athlete Honour Roll.
Ironically, several of the sports programs recognized at that ceremony - including women's track, men's track, women's rugby and men's baseball - were among those eliminated.
William Sanders, a long-distance sprinter who won two medals at Quebec's provincial championships, expressed the frustration felt by many athletes: "When they shook my hand and posed for pictures of my teammates and told us how proud they were of us and what great representatives we were of this school, I wish they had the courage to tell us that they didn't believe these things... and we were soon to no longer be student athletes at this school."
Karnofsky acknowledged the unfortunate timing but defended the recognition ceremony: "That ceremony was to acknowledge last year's award recipients, and it would be a shame not to. Those athletes deserve that recognition from the president."
He added that there would never be an ideal time for such difficult announcements, noting that RSEQ rules required the university to declare which sports it would field next fall by December 1.
