National Collegiate Athletic Association

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The NCAA News -- January 18, 1999

Athletes interact with administrators

Division II forum attempts to build a mutual understanding of issues

SAN ANTONIO -- Division II continued its innovative ways with student-athlete involvement by devoting half of its Issues Forum to administrator-athlete communication.

The format developed by the students for the January 10 forum was creative and the dialogue produced a meaningful list of issues.

But what is most important is that athlete-administrator trust in Division II appears to be good and getting better.

Certainly, the improved climate is not by accident. Division II has devoted major time and energy into making communication happen. That fact is not lost on the student-athletes, who recognized Division II leadership (in particular outgoing Management Council chair Lynn Dorn) for following through on the commitment that was made to student-athlete involvement when the Association restructured two years ago.

"We haven't had to hold them to that promise because they have taken the initiative and (done what they said they would)," said Todd Henne, a Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representative from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. "That's why we're all sitting here today -- because they care what we have to say, because we think we have something to say and also to hear something back from you."

The exercise at the Convention involved getting administrators and student-athletes to identify what they think are the key issues facing each other group.

Some of the student issues identified out of the face-to-face dialogue were:

  • Money.

  • Integration of athletes into the student body.

  • Academic support -- is it what athletes expected when they came to college and is it enough?

  • Are recruiting promises fulfilled?

  • Gender equity.

  • Practice time.

  • Time commitment out of class, keeping in mind that many Division II athletes have to work to make ends meet.

  • Gambling.

  • Whether it is appropriate to involve student-athletes in fund-raising to supplement the institution's operating budget.

  • Travel issues relating both to comfort and safety.

  • Why is championships per diem so much larger in Division I?

  • Safety issues, such as the one involving baseball bats.

    One theme that showed up among several groups was the intolerance that certain faculty demonstrates for student-athletes.

    "We asked the question, 'Are student-athletes discriminated against simply because they are athletes?'" said Gerald Shields, faculty athletics representative at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. "Everybody at the table said an emphatic 'yes.'

    "We have to work harder to educate -- and I'll say it as a faculty member myself -- our faculty to understand the contract that we make with students when we bring them into our universities and expect them to compete for us athletically."

    Henne told the group of about 400 that the Issues Forum was the third part of a coordinated effort to identify issues and improve communication. The first two were the Division II Student-Athlete Summit, which is conducted each summer, and the NCAA Foundation Leadership Conference, which takes place in May.

    "Coming here and being part of this forum shows your commitment to Division II athletes and to Division II in general," Henne said. "I noticed that none of the other divisions are having a forum like this, and I think that shows we are taking the lead in this area."

    Others, including those in high places, agree. Arend D. Lubbers, chair of the Division II Presidents Council, sat in on the Issues Forum and came away impressed.

    "What is encouraging to me is that I think in Division II we're beginning to include students in our deliberations in a way that will be important for the division because it isn't tokenism and it isn't total control. It's student opinions and views well-expressed and influential.

    "What's happened in the student committee may be one of the significant developments in Division II."

    -- David Pickle