After a season on the sidelines due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ACAA made its Return to Play this past September, operating under comprehensive local guidelines set out by all ACAA institutions, with cooperation from member institutions and their student-athletes.

The conference had plenty of reason to celebrate its achievements in the 2021-22 season, as it was able to award championships in every conference sport, along with a number of individual awards.

Athletic Achievements
Academic Achievements
CCAA Hall of Fame Inductees
Acknowledgments
Looking Ahead to 2022-23

Athletic Achievements

The fall season of the ACAA's Return to Play saw minimal interruption in rugby, soccer and cross-country running, followed by the successful completion of the ACAA Soccer Championships hosted by the University of King's College, with the ACAA Cross-Country Championships hosted by Dalhousie Agricultural Campus, and the ACAA Rugby Championship in Fredericton.

In women's soccer, the Holland College Hurricanes captured their second consecutive ACAA banner with a 2-0 victory over the Mount St. Vincent University Mystics, while the St. Thomas University Tommies beat Holland College 2-1 in penalty kicks to capture the school's first ACAA men's soccer title since the 2000-01 season.

Staying on the pitch, the University of New Brunswick Reds continued their run of ACAA women's rugby dominance, downing the University of King's College Blue Devils 62-5 to win their sixth straight conference championship.

Meanwhile, the Mount Allison University Mounties won their second ACAA women's cross-country team championship in three seasons, while the Crandall University Chargers earned the school's first championship of any kind since 2003 in capturing the men's cross-country team title.

While the fall season was relatively free of interruption, restrictions related to the Omicron variant of COVID-19 prompted a reconfiguration of the ACAA basketball and volleyball regular season schedules, along with introducing modified playoff structures featuring games stretched out over one week as opposed to the traditional single-weekend tournament format. 

The restrictions also eliminated the final regular season badminton tournament, instead advancing straight to the ACAA Badminton Championships at Dalhousie Agricultural Campus.

Mount St. Vincent University ran the table on both sides of the ACAA Basketball Championships, albeit in very different manners. The women's basketball Mystics, who had the conference's best regular season record, controlled the pace throughout the week on home court en route to defeating St. Thomas University, while the sixth-seeded men's basketball Mystics had to win a play-in just to make the Championships, then proceeded to eliminate the top three seeds en route to their first ACAA title since the 2010-11 season, punctuated by a win in the dying seconds over St. Thomas University in Fredericton.

The Mystics then added a third 2021-22 banner to their collection with the women's volleyball championship by beating St. Thomas University in Halifax, though the Tommies won the men's volleyball championship, which was contested for the first time in a best-of-three final series where St. Thomas swept the Université Sainte-Anne Dragons.

Meanwhile, the badminton story was completely dominated by University of King's College, as they swept the ACAA Badminton Championships by winning 13 out of a possible 15 matches. The Blue Devils were led by Bryce Mason, who was named the CCAA Men's Badminton Player of the Year as he, alongside partner Sam White, earned a national silver medal at the CCAA Badminton Championships in Edmonton.

Academic Achievements

Considering the challenges and constraints surrounding the last two years, the ACAA could not be more proud of its student-athletes for their perseverance in the classroom, namely the following 41 student-athletes who were recognized as CCAA Academic All-Canadians, which pairs an honours standing with excellence in their sport.

Brett Curtis, Basketball (CU)
Mary MacLean, Cross-Country Running (CU)
Ethan Druart, Soccer (CU)
Melora Cook, Volleyball (CU)
Sophia Hrycak, Cross-Country Running (DALAC)
Jordyn Waines, Soccer (DALAC)
Paytan Ruiz, Soccer (DALAC)
Adrian Bent, Soccer & Badminton (DALAC)
Mariah Putnam, Volleyball (DALAC)
Parker MacLeod, Soccer (HC)
Kazuya Iwasaki, Soccer (HC)
Emily Cormier, Soccer (HC)
Helena Vos, Soccer (HC)
Paige Deighan, Soccer (HC)
Kateia Barenaba, Volleyball (HC)
Ava Beisal, Volleyball (HC)
Jenna MacFarlane, Volleyball (HC)
Sophie Landry, Volleyball (MTA)
Kelsey Crocker, Basketball (MSVU)
Alisha McNeil, Basketball (MSVU)
Tahlia Jones, Basketball (MSVU)
Mitchell Firth, Cross-Country Running (MSVU)
Annika Monroe, Soccer (MSVU)
Elisabeth Heroux-Rhymes, Volleyball (MSVU)
Nicole Rector, Volleyball (MSVU)
Madison Owens, Basketball (STU)
Geoffrey Lavoie, Basketball (STU)
Jessica McWilliams, Soccer (STU)
Kaleigh Roberts, Soccer (STU)
Luke Ewen, Soccer (STU)
Chidubem Nkoloagau, Soccer (STU)
Garret Dickson, Volleyball (STU)
Abby Lanteigne, Volleyball (STU)
Anna Gillies, Badminton (UKC)
Jack Gillies, Badminton (UKC)
Fiona Purdy, Badminton (UKC)
Jack Ronahan, Badminton (UKC)
Anna Dugandzic, Soccer (UKC)
Tia Lovegrove, Soccer (UKC)
Emma Wilson, Volleyball (UKC)
Karlee Duval, Soccer (UNBSJ)
Charlotte Knappe, Soccer (UNBSJ)

CCAA Hall of Fame Inductees

With the 2022 CCAA Annual General Meeting scheduled to be hosted in Halifax next week, the ACAA took precedence in terms of nominations for inductions into the CCAA Hall of Fame, with the following people set to be inducted on June 14:

Jacques Boudreau (MSVU) - Coach
Jason Carlson (MSVU) - Athlete
Bev Greenlaw (UKC) - Coach
Kim Fralick (MSVU) - Athlete
Crystal (MacFarlane) Cernivz (STU) - Athlete
Rick Plato (MSVU) - Coach
Judy Smith (DALAC) - Builder
Ed Welch (STU) - Coach

Acknowledgments

As we look ahead to the 2022-23 season, the ACAA would like to acknowledge the contributions of three of its athletic directors, all of whom have been integral to the conference's progression. 

Mike Eagles, athletic director at St. Thomas University, has served four terms as President of the ACAA, though he recently stepped down from the role at the ACAA's Annual General Meetings, with Holland College athletic director Albert Roche having been voted in as President for an initial two-year term.

As the athletic director at Mount Allison University, Pierre Arsenault was instrumental to the ACAA's growth and operations, with a particular emphasis on eligibility and compliance. We know Pierre will do a great job as he embarks on his new journey as the Chief Executive Officer of U SPORTS.

Finally, Dave Munro, longtime athletic director at UNB-Saint John, has announced his retirement, with Natasha Kelly having been announced as his successor. Dave has been a cornerstone of the ACAA and CCAA for many years, and his commitment to the values and purpose of intercollegiate sport has been steadfast and has been a positive influence for student-athletes and administrators throughout his career.

Looking Ahead to 2022-23

With a full season of competition in the books, the ACAA is ready to hit the ground running for the 2022-23 campaign, with all of its 2021-22 sport offerings coming back, with additions.

After a four-season hiatus, golf will make its return to the ACAA sport calendar, with participating institutions including Crandall University, Dalhousie Agricultural Campus, Holland College, UNB-Fredericton, and Université Sainte-Anne.

Meanwhile, in women's rugby, Dalhousie Agricultural Campus and Holland College will join the ACAA to expand the conference's offering to six squads.

In addition, the 2022-23 ACAA Championship hosts have also been selected:

Cross-Country - Crandall University (Oct. 29, 2022)
Soccer - St. Thomas University (Oct. 28-30, 2022)
Women's Rugby - Determined by league play
Golf - Holland College (Dates TBD)
Badminton - Mount Allison University (Feb. 11-12, 2023)
Men's Volleyball - To be determined via elimination playdowns (Feb. 24-26, 2023)
Women's Volleyball - Mount St. Vincent University (Feb. 24-26, 2023)
Basketball - St. Thomas University (Mar. 3-5, 2023)

Please keep an eye on ACAA.ca for the release of our 2022-23 regular season schedules.