Less than two weeks before McGill24—the university’s annual day of giving each March 11—McGill’s Field Hockey team received an email that changed everything. After submitting their McGill Crowdfunding proposal, they learned the team could no longer participate because they were not managed by a McGill unit. The notice came from someone unfamiliar to the team and offered no alternative path forward.

For Field Hockey, Women’s Rugby, and Track and Field—three of the teams cut from varsity status in November—McGill24 was their largest annual revenue source, where alumni rallied and donations were matched by the university. This year, that lifeline disappeared, and teams were left without any financial structure to support their endeavours next year. 

In an interview with The Tribune, Avery Berry, U2 Arts & Science and forward on the Field Hockey team, explained the financial reality.

“We were basically all self-funded, so [funding from McGill24] was incredibly important to us because it went to keeping us alive [….] It allowed us to stay afloat as a team,” Berry explained.

The news arrived months after the cuts were made, leaving teams scrambling with no clear path to raise funds. For some, like Track and Field, the situation proved even more complex. McGill’s Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams, despite being a Track and Field subsidiary, were not cut. They retained access to McGill24 but were explicitly told they could not share any funds with Track and Field, even though the Cross Country runners are athletes who compete in both seasons. In previous years, both teams crowdfunded as one.

Mia Blackmore, U2 Arts distance runner and Track and Field captain, described the administration’s position in an interview with The Tribune.

“We weren’t allowed to raise money through Cross Country and then use it for any sort of track event, and we weren’t even allowed to use it for an athlete who does distance running in track season and does distance running in Cross Country season,” Blackmore said. 

Teams were encouraged by McGill Athletics to apply for club status with the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) to restore McGill24 access. But after completing the registration process, the promise evaporated in what Alicia Gilmore, U3 Arts and second row on the Martlets Rugby team, described as a bureaucratic runaround.

“[McGill Athletics] were kind of telling us that ‘we still like you guys, we just can’t keep supporting you through this route,’ and then of course they wouldn’t let us do McGill24. It just felt like another lie,” Gilmore said. 

This exclusion stands in stark contrast to the commitment from McGill Athletics when the cuts were announced, which promised that they would be treated as varsity programs through the end of the 2025-26 academic year. 

“It completely contradicts it. As soon as you hear that news, it diminishes you as an athlete and as a team. To now, with just a semester left of the school year, […] it’s difficult,” Berry stated.

For Track and Field, the consequences extend beyond a fundraising day. Unlike Rugby and Field Hockey, which can compete in club leagues next year, McGill Athletics will not sign the forms necessary for Track and Field to compete in Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) or U SPORTS events—the only university competitions available. The sport is an international institution with no barriers to entry and even has external endeavours such as the McGill Olympic Club and a local club for youth development. 

“Even if we raised $100,000 CAD through McGill24, we won’t be able to compete next year, so it doesn’t even matter. Sure, the money is great, but we won’t be able to compete, so there really is no point,” Blackmore said. “All of our athletes do this for a love of the sport. We aren’t Olympians, but we absolutely give 110 per cent every week.”

The financial impact varies by team. Rugby raised $82,000 CAD through an independent campaign shortly after the cuts were announced, eclipsing what they typically made through McGill24. Field Hockey and Track, however, relied heavily on the matched donations and institutional framework. Without it, they face uncertain futures operating with drastically reduced budgets while trying to maintain competitive programs.

Athletes say what stings most is not just the loss of funding, but the exclusionary message it sends. McGill24 continues for remaining varsity teams, including newly added programs. Meanwhile, teams that represented McGill for decades have been removed from the day’s promotion and donor outreach.

“To see that the teams that are now being added in are allowed to be involved in McGill24 feels like too quick a turnover of our varsity status and being replaced by the new agenda that McGill Athletics is hoping to pursue,” Berry said.

Sports Editor Clara Smyrski is captain of the McGill Field Hockey team. She was not involved in the writing, editing, or publication of any Field Hockey-related content in this article.