UPEI provides over a quarter million dollars to student-athletes in 2011–12

In the wake of Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) releasing its annual data collection on athletic scholarships, the University of Prince Edward Island announced Friday that it provided $255,019 in athletic awards to student-athletes in 2011-12. This represents a 61% increase over the amount given in the 2005-06 season.

'It's important to let the community know that UPEI does its part in creating opportunities for student-athletes to stay in the province, region, and country while they pursue a quality university education and high-performance sport experience,' said UPEI director of Athletics and Recreation Bill Schurman.

'The increase in the total dollar value of our awards in the last five years is a testament to the quality of Panther Sport, our dedication to recruiting great student-athletes, and the generosity of our donors, alumni, corporate partners, volunteers, and spectators,' added Schurman. 'We compare favourably to, and even outpace, many other CIS institutions-we hope to continue this trend, and even build more support for our student-athletes.'

UPEI's support translates into the equivalent of 44 full-value awards (i.e. covering the cost of tuition and fees), admirable given there were 172 student-athletes in the 2011-12 year.

The gender breakdown of awards at UPEI was 53% to female student-athletes and 47% to male, while the CIS statistics showed a split of 46% female to 54% male.

A further $164,025 was provided to UPEI student-athletes to recognize academic success, financial need, and leadership. Also in 2011-12, an impressive 57 Panthers (over 30% of the student-athlete population) achieved an academic average of 80% or higher and earned CIS Academic All-Canadian honours while competing for their university, demonstrating UPEI's commitment to success in the classroom as well as on the playing field.

'Athletic scholarships play a critical role in keeping our best and brightest student-athletes at home in Canada,' said Pierre Lafontaine, chief executive officer of CIS. 'The impressive total for the 2011-12 academic year as well as the constant increase over the past few years clearly indicate that CIS member institutions are committed to our student-athletes and want to be leaders within the Canadian sport system.'

The CIS athletic scholarship data can be found here