The Carleton Ravens won their sixth straight Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Final 8 Championship on March 20, marking their 12th in 14 years. Though this is great for Carleton and reflects the tremendous amount of work the team has put in, it is not great for the CIS.
A league that has the same champion year in and year out is not exciting for people outside of Carleton. The CIS should investigate implementing certain reforms that can help weaker teams develop into a more elite level to compete with Carleton.
What these reforms could be should be reviewed, but offering better athletic scholarships or placing certain restrictive caps on team funding would be options to consider. Carleton has established such a high-level program that they have essentially monopolized the CIS.
With weaker teams having little to offer, the best players will always go to schools that have the best chance to win and thrive.
Programs at schools such as Carleton, Ryerson University, the University of Ottawa, and the University of Windsor will always be the higher choice while schools such as Waterloo remain at the bottom of the standings. If the CIS can find a way to make the weaker teams a more attractive choice for players, the league itself can become more exciting with more diversity of teams competing in the Final 8.
