The NCAA News - News and Features

January 19, 1998

NCAA CONVENTION -- Shalala asks Association to work on reducing binge drinking, create opportunities for women

ATLANTA -- U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Secretary Donna E. Shalala told Division I delegates to the 1998 NCAA Convention that while the Association has done good work in a number of areas, progress needs to be made in reducing the amount of binge drinking on campus and in assuring athletics opportunities for young women.

Speaking during the Division I opening session January 12, Shalala -- a member of the Knight Foundation Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics -- noted that the Association has made progress in important areas such as presidential involvement and academic reform.

"I know that the NCAA has heard a lot of criticism in recent years," she said. "But the fact is, the NCAA has been dedicated to protecting the integrity of college sports and the safety of players for almost a hundred years. And that has not changed. Most Americans don't know that overall graduation rates at Division I schools are actually slightly higher for athletes than nonathletes."

Shalala said that the NCAA has a role to play in fighting many risky behaviors that young people associate with athletics. She spent most of her time focusing on binge drinking.

Data from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism shows that almost 90 percent of all college students have used alcohol, and 40 percent of them have indulged in binge drinking. Although a recent study indicates that substance abuse is declining in some ways among high-school students, data

seem to show that binge drinking is becoming a more accepted practice among young people.

"I am here to tell you that we have a problem and that you have a major role to play in the fight against alcohol and drug abuse," she said.

She said that as the former chancellor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, she understands the revenue demands of a Division I athletics program, but she does not accept the involvement of alcohol in the promotion of intercollegiate athletics.

"As you know, right now, advertising restrictions only apply to NCAA championships," she said. "Frankly, I don't think that's good
enough. We need to sever the tie between college sports and drinking. Completely. Absolutely. And forever.

"That's why I believe the time has come for schools to consider voluntary guidelines that say: No alcohol advertising on the premises of an intercollegiate athletics event. No bringing alcohol to the site of an event. No turning a blind eye to underage drinking at tailgate parties -- and on campus. And no alcohol sponsorship of intercollegiate sporting events.

"All institutions of higher learning should follow the lead of (North Carolina), Baylor, Brigham Young and soon Minnesota by saying no to alcohol sponsorship of sporting events."

Shalala praised the National Youth Sports Program as an effective initiative in fighting alcohol and drug abuse.

As for women's involvement in sports, she said the nation has a long way to go.

"I'm going to be blunt about this," she said. "As a country, we have not done enough to keep girls physically active when they're young, nor to open up opportunities for scholarships and participation in intercollegiate sports when they're older."

She said there is enormous national consensus supporting Title IX and "that consensus will not change." No sport, including football, will be exempted from Title IX, she said.

Not only is Title IX morally right, she said, "it is right for the country. Today, many of our nation's leaders come from the ranks of men's athletics programs. But as we train the next generation of leaders, we have to recognize that women will be everywhere, from the courtroom to the boardroom to the oval office."

She said she spoke with Sally Ride, the astronaut who had received an NCAA Silver Anniversary Award the night before, and they agreed that in interviewing young women "you can almost tell if they have been involved in intercollegiate athletics."

She outlined a five-part program for developing women's athletics opportunities that included helping women acquire leadership qualities; providing more parity in funding; forming more public/private partnerships to find and support promising young female athletes; discouraging risky behavior among young women, including use of alcohol, drugs and tobacco; and truly believing in women's athletics abilities.

-- David Pickle