National Collegiate Athletic Association |
CommentApril 20, 1998
Student-athlete view -- Proposal has bad ring for high-school juniors
BY KACY WILLIAMS Most high-school basketball players who are juniors are preparing for the biggest summer of their young careers. However, what many will not be prepared for is the number of telephone calls to their homes in the middle of the year if the Division I Management Council and Board of Directors approve legislation that is under consideration. The proposal, sponsored by the Division I Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet, is composed of six parts that are designed to decrease the number of permissible contact periods during the summer and increase contact during the school year between college coaches and high-school prospects. The membership comment period for this proposal expires May 8. AEC Cabinet members believe these measures will establish a stronger relationship between high schools and universities. They also say that the proposal will offset other individuals' influences on college recruiting. Those are both worthwhile goals, but the legislation fails to consider the experience of high-school juniors. When the date for the first contact period was July 1, I recall anticipating speaking with the coaches who had written to me over the previous two years. At the time, I was participating in the Amateur Athletic Union National Championships in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and I did not think I would hear from any of the coaches until I returned home. Yet they found me. Coaches called me even while I was in another teammate's hotel room. Neither I nor my family were prepared for the number of calls we received -- anywhere we were -- that summer. Speaking on the phone became relatively tolerable for me because, other than the challenge of playing basketball, I had nothing else demanding my attention. I shudder to think of having the same experience in the middle of my school year. After attending classes, taking exams and preparing for the SAT, I would not have relished going home to answer phone call after phone call. Permitting college coaches to contact junior prospects from April 24 through May 15 could impose upon an important part of a student's high-school career. The Division I governing bodies must recognize that permitting one phone call means a student may be bombarded with a series of calls from different coaches throughout this period. The Division I NCAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee objects to this particular part of the AEC Cabinet's proposal. In concern for student-athletes' welfare, the SAAC feels that an April 24 telephone call disregards the academic demands of student-athletes in their junior year and also contradicts the academic-performance standards that the NCAA requires its athletes to meet. As a member of the SAAC, I feel this is a legitimate concern that our legislative bodies must consider. Furthermore, as a former high-school basketball player who participated in summer leagues, AAU competition and summer camps, I challenge the AEC Cabinet to re-evaluate the effect that this proposal will have on individuals outside of the academic environment. Are cabinet members acknowledging that AAU programs begin their seasons well before the school year has ended? If so, then how can they justify that allowing college coaches a phone call at the end of April will really reduce the influence of individuals not involved in the education of these students? Already, the first day of telephone calls has been changed to June 20. With the proposal under consideration, individuals who will be high-school juniors in 1999 may be contacted even earlier. Subsequent proposals could push the date even further into the school year. If changes are to be made in the recruiting process, proposals such as this one must be closely examined from the perspective of a high-school junior. Kacy Williams is a student at Georgetown University, where she participated on the women's basketball team. Letter to the Editor -- NCAA helps to battle eating disordersThanks to the support of the NCAA, the 1998 National Eating Disorders Screening Program (NEDSP) had an extremely successful week that far exceeded our expectations. About 62,000 people attended screenings at 1,100 sites nationwide and 33,000 individuals were screened, more than doubling the number of attendees and nearly tripling the number screened from 1996. The total number of college students who attended was nearly 50,000, and we know that there was a large base of support and participation from athletics departments and teams. In addition, millions more people benefited from the information that was released in the media as a result of NEDSP. We are delighted with the results of the program and want to express our gratitude to the NCAA for helping make 1998 NEDSP possible. In addition to the numbers themselves, we have been overwhelmed by positive comments from our sites about the program materials, as well as the personal impact that the program had on people. Many colleges worked specifically with their athletics departments to hold screenings for the athletes, and some coaches even made attendance mandatory. In addition, some schools obtained the NCAA video about eating disorders and used that as part of their presentation. Many noted that the NCAA's support of NEDSP was the impetus for getting their athletics departments involved. At the University of Evansville, the strength and conditioning coach showed the NEDSP video to all athletes and then passed out information to the students. Michigan State University and the University of Portland both held special presentations and screenings for some of the athletics teams in March. Also, some schools such as Iowa State University, Portland and Northwestern University did special presentations for the coaches before or after the screening week to increase the coaches' awareness of eating disorders and to help them address the issue with their athletes. At South Dakota State University, a special screening was held for the wrestling team, with a presentation focused on the physical and body weight demands of that particular sport. Many schools noted that NEDSP helped them create a partnership with their athletics department that will yield continued presentations and programs for athletes throughout the year. As you can see, collegiate athletics departments and teams nationwide had a great impact on the success of NEDSP this year and we appreciate the NCAA's assistance in connecting us with its member schools and their coaches. Clearly, the NCAA's support has helped us make athletics departments an integral part of NEDSP on campuses across the country. I also want to thank the NCAA for urging its conferences to run public-service announcements during their games in February. Two conferences, the Big Ten and the Pac-10, aired the PSAs during basketball games.
Douglas Jacobs, M.D. Opinions -- Division I championship is ice hockey at its best
Joe Falls, columnist "The winner? College hockey. "Michigan took the NCAA title April 4 with a 3-2 overtime victory over Boston College at the FleetCenter, but the sport itself -- not a major item on the national scene -- stood taller than at any time in its history. "The game was a classic. It was hockey at its best -- fast, clean, hard-hitting, with the emotions of these young players spilling out all over the ice. If this one didn't move you, you are an immovable object. "It made you think back to that day in Moscow in 1972 when Canada, proud Canada, beat the Russians in their own building, and to 1980, when the United States did it to the Soviets in the Lake Placid Olympics. "The game was that good. "You have to be impressed at how well these collegians can play. They are quick, they are smart, and they perform with incredible resolve. Nothing seems to get them down. They play as if everything is possible.... "In truth, college hockey is like soccer -- interesting to those who care about it, but not of much interest to anyone else. If you were in the FleetCenter on Saturday night, all of this is hard to understand. How can anyone not like this game -- total effort and raw excitement from start to finish?.... "What is impressive about the college game is they don't have to muck it up to appeal to the fans. Shooting, skating, stickhandling, body-checking -- wonderful stuff to see. "No goons needed. Thank you, men."
Title IX
James C. Garland, president Reacting to the recommendation of a consultant that the university cut men's track and wrestling to comply with Title IX: "I am very concerned about the impact of the law on men's sports, as it has evolved. Title IX has become a blunt instrument that does not adequately acknowledge the economic realities of intercollegiate athletics. Nevertheless, Title IX is the law and must be obeyed to the best of our ability."
Academic requirements
Perry A. Zirkel, Iacocca Professor of Education "African-Americans constitute just 6.6 percent of the undergraduates at Division I institutions, yet they comprise 46 percent of the Division I football teams and 60 percent of Division I basketball teams. For too many big-time athletics institutions and low-income African-American youths, the message is that the road to success is athletics, not academics. "Relaxing academic standards reinforces, rather than resolves, the problem of racial discrimination. Alternatives abound, all equally distasteful to the colleges and coaches who benefit from this big business. "I propose that for each low-income minority athlete recruited by Division I 'money teams' (basketball and football), the institution and the NCAA equally contribute two full-time scholarships for low-income minority students based on academics, not athletics. Such a solution forces the beneficiaries of big-time college sports to put their money where their mouths are; demonstrates the primacy of academics over athletics; and provides academic opportunities for the athlete's community rather than giving the athlete a salary-like stipend, which is typically suggested by coaches and commentators. "If this proposal resulted in an unintended reduction in the recruiting of minority athletes, the NCAA could adjust it by requiring the contribution in proportion to the athletics budget and allied revenues (TV, bowl game, and sneaker contracts). And, if the recruited athlete doesn't get a sufficient benefit, the proposal could be adjusted to require his academic-scholarship counterparts to help tutor him. "Such thinking may well be radical to the black coaches, their much more numerous white colleagues, and those who deny the pervasiveness of racism in our colleges and in our society. But until proposals are articulated and adopted to change this two-track, color-bound system in what is supposedly higher education, the problem will only get worse."
Drugs and sports
Barry R. McCaffrey, columnist "We have to set the score straight on drugs and sports. "The first step is to reform the institutions of sport. We have to put in place league rules that provide for drug-testing programs and tough sanctions, accompanied by treatment for those who test positive. Most notably, we need to close the NBA's marijuana loophole. Even Charles Barkley, the basketball star noted for his role-model reticence, has called for a two-step system: The first positive drug test would trigger a mandatory one-year suspension and treatment. The second would trigger a mandatory lifetime suspension. "The second step is to better communicate counter-drug values. We need to develop community partnerships between sponsors and leagues to help develop character-building athletics programs, which include drug-free education. We need to educate coaches -- the most important mentors next to parents -- about the dangers of drugs, help them spot the danger signs, and encourage them to work with parents to get at-risk kids into counseling and treatment. "Sponsors, from sporting goods manufacturers to sports networks, need to tell kids not only that they can do it, but that they can do it drug-free. "Most of all, those who believe in the value of athletics must team up to deliver one simple, clear message to our children about illegal drug use: 'Users are losers. Be a winner.' "
GamblingRick Taylor, athletics director Northwestern University Chicago Daily Herald "It purely and simply is betrayal. Betrayal of self, teammate, family, coaches, university and the very game itself."
|