At colleges and universities throughout the nation this year, individuals with vitae that can be measured by the foot will assume the duties of institutional chief executive officer. They will be marvelously prepared for their new jobs in every conceivable way, except for one.

Almost none of them will have an understanding of intercollegiate athletics.

They may know a bit about the athletics operation on their own campuses, but unless they have previously served as a faculty athletics representative or in some other athletically related capacity, they likely will have no understanding of intercollegiate athletics.

Patricia P. Cormier, president of Longwood College and chair-elect of the Division II Presidents Council, believes it is time to put an end to that oversight.

"This is a serious hole, a missing link in the preparation of individuals for the presidency," she said. "Those coming up the education ladder learn about collective bargaining, conflict resolution, personnel, strategic planning and many other things, but there is nothing on intercollegiate athletics, even though it is a very important component on almost every campus in this country."

The NCAA does have an apparatus in place to educate the presidents of new member institutions, but that is quite different from Cormier's issue, which is the education of individuals who are new to being institutional CEOs.

In too many cases, she said, the first involvement of CEOs in NCAA affairs occurs at an advanced level. Regardless of when it occurs, a new president has few ways to learn about intercollegiate athletics other than by full immersion after assuming office. "If you haven't had that baptism by fire," she said, "you don't know what you need to know about intercollegiate athletics."

Arend D. Lubbers, president of Grand Valley State University, former chair of the Presidents Council and a charter member of the NCAA Presidents Commission in 1984, was raised on a college campus at which his father was president. He was caught up in college athletics at an early age, but he knows his experience is not the norm.

"Athletics would not be on a president's 'high-on-the-consciousness list' when he takes office," Lubbers said. "But at some institutions it should be."

Cormier believes the NCAA, and Division II in particular, can address the situation by conducting sessions for new presidents at the annual Convention and at other times throughout the year.

"Presidents never are going to get into compliance details," Cormier said, "but they do need to know that there is such a thing as compliance. And they do need to know that there is such a thing as a student-athlete advisory committee."

One element working in favor of the idea is that higher education already has a number of avenues for educating new presidents. For example, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities has a New Presidents Academy, which Cormier believes might be modified to include an intercollegiate athletics segment.

"What so many presidents know is what they read in the newspaper," Cormier said. "But we have a governance structure that fully involves all of our presidents, and to that end, it is important for us to take a leadership role."

-- David Pickle

Presidential issues

In July 1997, Division II Presidents Council Chair Adam Herbert defined areas in which presidents should be involved on a national basis: Gender equity.
Diversity.
Student-athlete welfare.
Division II expenses.
Division II philosophy.
Student-athlete involvement in the governance process.
Legislative deregulation.