The beleaguered Dinos women’s hockey program will have a new home for the 2002-03 season. The Dinos are leaving Canadian Interuniversity Sport to play in the collegiate league with the likes of Mount Royal College and the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology.
"We had two choices here: either cut the program or move conferences," said Dinos Athletic Director Don Wilson on the upcoming move to the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference. "But we made a commitment to the program so we are happy to keep the team.
"Greater interaction between post-secondary institutions is the future," he continued. "You might see schools play in the conference suited to their level of play."
The Dinos finished with a dismal 1–9–1 record in 2001-02 and lost Head Coach Kathy Berg at the end of the season. The team was still suffering from a two-year-old rule change, which decimated the program when Oval Extreme players were declared ineligible for CIS competition.
"We still want to play in the CIS," explained Wilson. "My goal would be to get the program to the level where they can compete in the CIS, and maybe long term we would move back."
The Dinos will play in the ACAC for the next three seasons until the program comes up for review once more in 2005.