National Collegiate Athletic Association |
CommentJune 15, 1998
Guest editorial -- Schools should use flexibility of Title IX
By James T. Morris
This particular event owes its success to the efforts of those students, as well as to administrators from NCAA schools and the staff, and to the generous corporate support of the Entergy Corporation, the presenting conference sponsor for both years of the conference. American Express Company and Delta Airlines also provided corporate support this year. The result was an experience that obviously benefited the students and set the stage for even more favorable conferences in the future. Immediately after the conclusion of the recent event, we received the following letter from Michelle Doviak, a student-athlete at State University College at Oswego: "I would like to thank each and every one of you for the wonderful time that I had recently in Florida for the NCAA Foundation Leadership Conference -- not only for the new friendships that I made, but for all that I learned. I never imagined getting together with so many other athletes from all over the United States to discuss the issues that each of us face being student-athletes. "I learned so much during those four days. Coming from a Division III school, I didn't think that I would have much in common with athletes from Divisions I or II schools. (But) coming together as a group helped open many doors for myself and others. "I hope that the insights that I received will help me next year when I return to my campus. Spreading this information to the other athletes on my campus will hopefully make being a student-athlete more enjoyable than it already is. "As I have already witnessed, coming together as a group can help bring about resolutions to the issues we face. If each and every one of us who was a participant in this conference goes back to his or her respective university and college and spreads the information to the other student-athletes, then we have accomplished what we have been challenged to do. "Knowing now that we are the leaders for the other student-athletes on our campus, we have to be the ones to get things rolling. What we gained during those four days needs to be shared. I am ready and waiting to return to school so I can get this information out to others. Keeping it to myself isn't accomplishing anything." We share Michelle's enthusiasm for this exceptionally positive event and look forward to enhancing the teamwork that has made it grow so fast and so well. James T. Morris is chair of the NCAA Foundation. Comment -- About Lisa Coole -- "People need to know how real she was'
BY MICHAEL LEE ATHENS, Georgia -- "There's a reason for everything," Georgia assistant swimming coach Harvey Humphries said. "(But) I tell you, I've had a real hard time trying to find a reason for this one. We've lost someone . . . we should never lose."
Coole, a 19-time all-American at Georgia and the 1997 NCAA Woman of the Year, was killed in a car accident May 16 in Champaign, Illinois, the day after successfully completing her first year at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Illinois, Champaign. Georgia head coach Jack Bauerle was in Prescott, Arizona, receiving two national awards when he heard the news. "In the course of 12 hours, it went from the greatest day to the worst for me," Bauerle said. "There was no doubt she was going to leave her mark on something else." Coole graduated in the spring of 1997 with a 3.62 grade-point average and a degree in biology. She was a Foundation Fellow and a member of the Honors Program. She led the Lady Bulldogs to their first Southeastern Conference title that year. "She was one of the best competitors I ever met," said sophomore Kristy Kowal, the current American record holder in the 100-meter breaststroke. "And she always had a smile while she was doing it." Coole did volunteer work for the Athens Area Homeless Shelter and the Salvation Army, was among Glamour magazine's Top 10 College Women for 1997 and received the NCAA Today's Top VIII Award. But "there's so much more," said Barry Wynn, a friend and former teammate. "People need to know how real she was. She was genuine." Kowal, SEC Swimmer of the Year, credits Coole as a big influence on her decision to come to Georgia and an even greater help to making her feel secure her first year. "My first day at practice, she grabbed my hand and said 'You can be my (practice drill) partner.' " Kowal said. "I immediately felt like part of the team." "Lisa was such a caring, compassionate person," said her mother, Nancy Coole. "She always felt that, if you had a talent, you should never think of not giving back." Lisa learned humility early. At a swim meet at age 8, a neighbor made fun of her 26th-place finish. "They finished 25th and told her, 'That's much better.' Her little face just fell," Nancy Coole said. "I told her, 'No matter what you do, don't ever, ever brag.' " Lisa listened, even putting away her numerous awards and honors. In her year at Illinois, she rarely, if ever, spoke of her accomplishments at Georgia. "She didn't want to discuss her awards at all," said Ted Valli, dean of the Illinois vet school. "We heard about most in the news." What most knew about Lisa was her deep love for animals. Her older sister, Michelle, had an allergy that kept Lisa from owning a pet while growing up in Rockford, Illinois. Her apartment in Athens permitted only one cat. Her fatal drive was to Peoria, Illinois, where she finally was to adopt a dog -- a 3-year-old, black greyhound. When her course work at Illinois required experiments on dogs that afterward would be put to sleep, she would not do it. "She thought it was morally and ethically unnecessary," Valli said. "She chose to learn the material from the books." The Coole family has requested that memorials be sent to Noah's Ark Animal Sanctuary in Rockford or to the University of Georgia Foundation, designated for the Lisa Coole Memorial Swimming Scholarship Endowment. Reprinted with permission from The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution. Opinions -- NCAA faces more complexity in policing college sports
Editorial "Earlier this month, a federal jury ordered the NCAA to pay $67 million in damages to some 1,900 assistant coaches, following a judge's ruling that it had violated antitrust law by imposing a salary cap on the assistants. The cap was a part of efforts to keep the costs of sports down. The NCAA is appealing. "The world of intercollegiate athletics is increasingly the gateway to opportunity -- to either a career in professional sports or, more realistically, an education. Some of its leading figures are making big money, a lot of it from manufacturers of athletic gear. The temptations are everywhere to build better teams, wink at academic standards, up the gate, win the big TV contracts and gain invitations to bowl games. "Sitting uneasily on this squirming sack of dollars is the NCAA, itself a creature of the schools, which is supposed to maintain some degree of order so they can compete on a relatively equal basis. Its present discomfort is evidence that the policing of college sports is getting to be an ever more complicated business, one in which the chief cop -- the NCAA -- may well need some legislative help (as in the antitrust case) and is certainly going to be spending a lot more time in court."
Academics
Michael F. Adams, president "I would opposed anything that takes us backward in the area of academic standards. I think it's too early in the process to be changing the rules again."
John Rawlings, editor "I recently was invited to participate in a three-day seminar devoted to sports ethics sponsored by the University of South Florida. While there, I asked a couple of people associated with college sports departments what percentage of scholarship football and basketball players at Division I programs actually work at being students in a meaningful way. The response was about 10 percent, give or take a few guffaws."
Western Athletic Conference
Editorial Discussing the decision of eight institutions to leave the 16-member Western Athletic Conference: "Yes, the WAC is unwieldy. But big is the order of the day in modern athletics conferences. The Big Ten, the Southeastern Conference and the Big 12 are hardly small, tidy groupings. So what was so special about the WAC's problems? "Also, the eight fare-thee-well schools were not the only ones faced with travel costs. As the easternmost conference member, Rice probably traveled farther than any WAC school. But it didn't complain. "Nor did other small private schools like Southern Methodist and Texas Christian, which may feel the travel expenses more directly than large state universities like Utah and Colorado State University. "The presidents of all 16 WAC schools are meeting this week in California. We hope greater clarity will emerge from these sessions for Southern Methodist, Texas Christian and Rice. "Meanwhile, NCAA higher-ups should give the rebellious eight a tongue-lashing. Otherwise, their breakaway move sends a signal that the NCAA has no power to govern its own."
Editorial "The only upside (to the WAC's 1994 acceptance of six additional institutions) was a marketing ploy. The WAC claims with validity it is the biggest conference in the country. After the 1998-99 schedules are completed, the nation's largest league will collapse just three years after its bizarre birth.... "The next year will be an eventful one. Unfortunately, it won't change the basic premise of today's college athletics: The rich will get richer and the poor, poorer."
Golf equipment
Ron Sirak, writer Discussing the attempts of the United States Golf Association to regulate equipment: "What about the USGA adopting separate standards for competitive use and for recreational use? Not likely. "The USGA likes the idea of a unified game in which everyone plays the same courses and the same equipment by the same rules. "And the industry likes being able to market its products by saying this is the same equipment the professionals use. "The most troubling number for the industry is that the average drive on the PGA Tour has increased from 260 yards to 269 yards in five years. "The most troubling number for the USGA is that the average handicap of a recreational player has dropped only from 16.8 to 16.6 since 1981. "The most troubling scenario for golf is that it will end up in court, further testing the patience of its fans like baseball, basketball and football did."
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A total of 370 student-athletes, among the best and the brightest that college athletics has to offer, met May 25-28 to develop their leadership skills and discuss major areas of interest.
At 3 p.m. June 3 at the University Chapel in Athens, friends and family celebrated the life of Lisa Coole, who touched them with her humble personality, competitive spirit and warm smile.