Players with the Lakeland College women’s basketball team will not complete the defence of its national title as the players have called it quits in the face of the firing of coach Chris King.
The players had expressed their support for their coach and placed signs on campus to show support. The parting of ways came in the wake of an internal investigation at the College.
The College is announcing that the season has ended and said it has sent a letter to the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) indicating the women’s basketball team will not be competing for the remainder of the season.
“We have met with the team over the last number of weeks to gather their input on continuing with the season. In the end, it is believed that the decision to forfeit is in the best interest of the team,” says Alan Rogan, director of athletics at Lakeland College.
The college says it has been meeting with the players for several weeks.
“We support the health and wellbeing of our student-athletes and will continue to support them through this transition. They are our main priority,” says Rogan.
The college will honour all second-semester scholarships. Most of the women’s basketball team has returned this semester to continue their studies.
Also, it will look to the 2025-26 season as it seeks to hire another coach and rebuild the program.
The team were joint leaders in the ACAC before the fallout.
