National Collegiate Athletic Association |
CommentApril 28, 1997
Student-athlete view -- Focus Prop 62 debate on athletes' interest
BY KATY ARRIS-WILSON Allowing student-athletes to work during the academic year is the right decision on two counts. One, it allows student-athletes to earn money to cover the financial shortfall currently incurred by all full-scholarship athletes. Two, the work experience itself provides for a well-rounded experience that positions student-athletes for success after college. As every full-scholarship athlete knows, the monthly check provided by the university does not cover all collegiate expenses, no matter how parsimonious a lifestyle one leads. When I was going to school, I was one of the lucky ones; my parents sent me a monthly check to make up for the deficit. Unfortunately, there are many student-athletes who do not have the financial support from home to cover the deficit. The ability to work in the academic year and save money for laundry, occasional off-campus meals and entertainment is not an unreasonable request. Opponents of Proposal No. 62 would acknowledge this and say the answer is to provide a monthly stipend in addition to the full scholarship to account for the difference. Do schools really want to have an across-the-board increase in the cost of full scholarships? Wouldn't the amount vary by geographic cost-of-living differences? But let's talk about another reason why student-athletes should have the right to work. For student-athletes, college is an educational experience in the classroom and on the playing field that ultimately and ideally provides a foundation for a prosperous and enjoyable integration into society afterward. For almost all student-athletes, that postcollege experience involves a job. Allowing student-athletes to work enables them to understand the working world and, in some cases, to focus their chosen college studies. Additionally, it provides student-athletes with some work experience that many prospective employers value. After graduating from the University of Texas at Austin, I took a position as an associate consultant with Bain and Company, a strategic management consulting firm. All of my peers starting at Bain with me had work experience, except me. (As a swimmer, training was more intense in the summer than during the school year, leaving little time for a job.) Fortunately, during the resume-screening and interview process, Bain took into account my athletics experience as a substitute for work experience. Not all companies do this. Additionally, I would argue my transition from undergraduate student to full-time employee was not as smooth as my colleagues', who had the benefit of work experience during college (although I will admit that my athletics experiences transferred into a skill set that my work colleagues did not have). Some merit lies in the opposition to Proposal No. 62 based on work potentially interfering with a student-athlete's studies. This is a genuine concern, but the responsibility for that decision should fall on the student-athlete's shoulders, with input provided by coaches and professors. Student-athletes need to make these tough decisions themselves; it's all part of preparing for life after college and athletics. It is interesting to note that of all the opponents to Proposal No. 62, the majority seem to be concerned with potential abuses related to illicit fund transfer. Given the financial deficit that most student-athletes currently experience, this probably already occurs out of sheer necessity. Others oppose the proposal based on the increased burden to university compliance departments. OK, it's another report that must be filed by the administration to the NCAA. In any event, I applaud the NCAA for passing legislation that is in the best interests of the student-athlete by letting him or her make the ultimate decision. Katy Arris-Wilson was a student-athlete at the University of Texas at Austin, where she was a member of the women's swimming team. Letter to the Editor: More women's strength training neededI am convinced that the higher injury rates associated with women are due to one thing -- lack of proper strength training. Women are performing sports skills at higher and higher intensities without a requisite increase in strength development. We should not confuse skill level with physical preparedness. The responsibility for changing this situation falls squarely in the lap of coaches. As a college, high-school and junior high coach for the last 12 years, I have seen far too many coaches who "don't have time" for proper conditioning, and too many high schools that do not provide equal strength training access to girls. Simply playing a sport is not proper preparation to perform at a high level. Coaches must prepare their athletes carefully. First-year college students should be given time to meet sport-specific conditioning requirements before being asked to perform at a high level. Some athletes will still get hurt, but there is no excuse for current injury rates.
John Drew Opinions -- Broad-base mandate conflicts with revenue demand
Ladell Anderson, former men's basketball coach "If basketball is important and the university depends on the income to run its athletics department, the coach has a problem. He has to have a great year every year.... "If universities were smart, they would cut back on broad-based athletics programs and have five sports for men and five for women. Then they could have a zillion club and intramural activities for everyone. "Colleges today can't afford to have 20 or more programs. The coaches of those other programs don't have their jobs on the line like the coaches of the major sports do.... College athletics depends too much on producing income, and the broad-based athletics programs can't afford it." Discussing college transfers: "Players transferring from one school to another is one of the biggest problems in college basketball today. There needs to be more of a commitment by the student-athletes. "Transferring should not be so easy. The student-athlete should have to sit out for two years when transferring because it can devastate programs.... I had a player once who was one of the best power forwards I ever coached. But he was convinced that he needed to play outside more to develop his game for the pros and transferred. His career basically ended at that point because he couldn't develop those basic skills needed to play outside. The transfer hurt our program and the player.... "With players transferring and leaving early for professional basketball, coaches need to have more of a junior college recruiting mentality. You know that you'll have a player for only a year or two.... "We need to concentrate more on recruiting for a school, not just for basketball. If the school makes a commitment, so should the athlete. It may not even be a strong enough argument to make an exception if the coach leaves after recruiting a player."
James A. Haney, executive director "What is there to learn from this year's firings (of many men's basketball coaches)? Coaches are hired to build successful, winning programs in all levels, particularly in NCAA Division I. What I believe today is that the coach is hired to generate money for the athletics department. Graduation rates, community-service programs and the like help develop and build an image for the athletics department and the university. It sounds academic and collegiate, different than professional basketball. However, Division I basketball is about making money. "For the most part, the educator/coach is gone in NCAA Division I basketball. They remain in other divisions and levels. The relationship between the institution and the coach is strictly business. The coach in many instances has a significant financial package. He negotiated that money. It is defined in a contract. "The university's position is based on a coach developing a program that generates revenue for the athletics department. That is the bottom line, in my opinion. What contributes to generating money? Playing an up-tempo style of play; winning games; attending the NCAA men's basketball tournament and for regular attendees advancing to the regionals, at a minimum; attending golf and other fund-raising events; and playing a tough, nonconference schedule. "Winning games with dwindling home crowds is not acceptable anymore. The overhead costs to operate the athletics department demands that the basketball program generate revenue that was budgeted for the fiscal year. A coach whose team does not live up to the preseason expectations and corresponding revenue projections by the athletics department is on shaky ground. Regardless of past success, the coach must produce revenue for the institution every year. "If he does not produce the revenue and those in power do not believe they can promote the coach and program the following year and meet the athletics department's financial needs, the coach is gone. The promotion and marketing plans of the university and its athletics department have better potential to meet financial needs by introducing a new coach. It is not much different than the NBA teams firing a coach in midseason. Put past disappointments behind and project future success."
Title IX
Editorial "The good news is that women's basketball, epitomized by Stanford University's joyous camaraderie and ferocious athleticism, has become more and more like the men's game. And that's the bad news for anyone turned off by all those me-first millionaires, $75 seats in the peanut gallery and tantrums at referees by grown-up coaches who find something quaintly amusing about the notion of sportsmanship. "But for women in basketball, this could be a golden era in what, by no coincidence, is the silver anniversary of Title IX. The 1972 federal legislation, which prohibits sex discrimination in education, revolutionized women's sports. "Today's 1996-97 NCAA women's championship basketball game takes place 100 years after Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the modern Olympics as 'the exaltation of male sport.' He said, 'It is indecent that the spectators should be exposed to the risk of seeing the body of a woman being smashed before their very eyes.' "It's a shame he never had the chance to see Stanford's Kristin Folkl, Olympia Scott and Naomi Mulitauaopele go for rebounds before his very eyes. "Not until 1920 did the United States send 18 women (along with 331 men) to the Olympics, but they were restricted to diving, swimming and tennis. In 1996, the 10,800 competitors from all nations included 3,800 females in dozens of sports, and the undefeated U.S. women's basketball team. "Fears of unladylike activity strangled women's basketball for generations. Early rules put three offensive and three defensive players on each half of the court, and prohibited them from crossing the center line. Even after the men's rules were adopted, opportunities to play were limited at most schools to the intramurals of the Girls Athletic Associations: No coaching, no cheerleaders, no interscholastic games, no referees, no fans, no respect. "Title IX changed all that. "'Millions of girls and women are now playing and watching a game that calls for, reinforces and celebrates size, power, strength, toughness and aggression,' says University of Oregon author Lauren Kessler ('Full Court Press'). 'They, and the sport's growing number of male fans, too, are learning lessons that directly and forcefully challenge societal perceptions about what it means to be female.' "Now we see not one but two women's professional leagues, millions of TV fans and prospects of paychecks more generous than those deposited by the governor of California. Enjoy the game while you can."
Men's volleyball
Sonny Lewis, state director On why high schools are reluctant to establish boys' volleyball teams: "Administrators don't want to add a team until Ohio recognizes boys' volleyball, and Ohio is not going to recognize boys' volleyball until schools get enough teams playing. We're running around in circles like a dog chasing its tail.... "Administrators don't want to start another team, and I don't think it's because of Title IX. It's an added cost, and another night they have to be there. A school's got one AD, maybe two, and with five sports going on at night, it's hard to cover them all." |