UAAP mulls new sked with September opening

MANILA, Philippines - The UAAP may have to tinker with its schedule of events and thresh out eligibility issues that may come out once member universities proceed with plans to revise their academic calendars to an August or September opening.

The league usually kicks off with basketball hostilities in July and as the shift in school opening is implemented over the next two years, UAAP action is expected to be pushed to a later date, too.

According to UAAP Season 76 secretary-treasurer Malou Isip of Adamson, any change, if ever, will take effect by Season 78 yet.

“Wala pa namang napag-uusapan sa board, although UST and Ateneo shared their thoughts about that. (If anything, it’s not this (coming) school year pa; it will be in school year 2015-16 and it will be based on the meeting of university presidents,” she said.

Philippine universities are mulling to align their academic calendar with that of their counterparts from Southeast Asia, in preparation for the Asean economic integration by 2015. Under this setup, the academic year will follow a September to June cycle instead of the old June to March.

UST’s representative to the UAAP board Gilda Kamus said the España-based institution will be gradually altering its opening from June to September.

“We informed already the board about it. But it’s not really September right away. The University plans to open in July this year then August the following year and eventually September in the next. It won’t be an abrupt change, but a gradual one,” she said.

With a new school calendar, Kamus said enrollment of student-athletes will be affected and so the league will have to tweak things in the area of eligibility.

“In terms of UAAP, we will make some adjustments especially on eligibility,” she said. “The way we see it now, we’ll probably make arrangements with our respective registrars as to enrollment of the  student-athletes.”

 The UAAP is expected to formally and extensively discuss its action on the impending change in academic calendar by March, after University of the East assumes hosting chores from current host Adamson.