ORLANDO, Florida -- In keeping with the Division III emphasis on student-athlete welfare, the division devoted a significant amount of time to an issue of concern to many student-athletes and athletics administrators in Division III: building positive relationships among student-athletes, coaches, faculty and administration. The January 7 forum featured a thorough panel presentation followed by extensive roundtable discussions.

Ann Die, president of Hendrix College and chair of the Division III Presidents Council, introduced the forum, which is the first time the division has taken such an approach toward an issue.

"This is our first forum to feature participants from all aspects of the athletics department," she said to the members in attendance. "It is our hope that such inclusion will provide a perspective that perhaps you have not heard before."

Appleton discussed the role of athletics in Division III, which he said should be the foundation for such relationships. "Our athletics, done right and well, are an important part of our educational mission. The development of educated persons should be at the core of our athletics endeavors," he said. "I think we should be very deliberate in figuring out how athletics on our campuses can contribute to developing educated persons."

Barnes and Huchthausen addressed the role of athletics in Division III from a student-athlete perspective, and they also discussed how the conflicts student-athletes face with coaches and faculty can often be avoided.

"Far too often, practice times and class schedules conflict with each other and student-athletes are forced to choose," Barnes said. "Student-athletes need to know where to turn when they need help."

Huchthausen emphasized that building positive relationships on campus "are produced over time as trust develops."

"And trust enables a more honest, and thus more productive discussion," she said. "Frequent interaction is important to building this trust."

Huchthausen noted that the attendance of athletics administrators at games and practices, as well as at campus student-athlete advisory committees, helped facilitate positive relationships.

"We recognize that (administrators and presidents) are very busy people. But attending a team's game or practice, even if it's just once a season, means a lot. It's easy to attend the Saturday afternoon football game, but what about the Thursday night women's soccer game or wrestling match? Student-athletes appreciate it when administrators attend a game or practice."

Springsteen discussed the importance of communication between student-athletes and faculty members. "Even at small institutions, communication can be a problem," she said, noting that Colby-Sawyer had created a written form to aid the communication process between student-athletes and faculty members regarding missed classes.

Walker discussed the role of faculty members in providing student-athletes with a quality educational and athletics experience.

"From my perspective, faculty is at the core of the team -- the educational team -- and that's what we should be about in Division III."

Walker pointed out that parents hold faculty accountable for the educational experience of students -- and student-athletes. "(Parents) hold faculty responsible. They hold me responsible," he said. "If students don't walk across that stage at graduation, or if they don't have the academic skills to function on the job, we are all held responsible."

Walker also encouraged athletics departments to take a proactive approach to the issue of how athletics fits within the educational experience.

"It makes a difference what the coach says about academics. It makes a difference what the athletics director and the senior woman administrator say about athletics," he said.

Team effort

Bassett addressed ways athletics administrators and faculty to work together, and she emphasized that athletics administrators have opportunities to point out how their department values academics.

"Good things always come from interaction and collaboration between faculty and administrators of athletics," she said, noting that athletics administrators should be armed with statistics on student-athlete academic performance.

"State what is to us the obvious: Through athletics experience, student-athletes' educational experience is enhanced."

Al Bean, director of athletics at the University of Southern Maine, discussed the ways that athletics departments could assist students in making the transition to college.

"Student-athletes are coming to our campuses with a lot more issues than in the past. It's getting much more complex," he said, noting student-athletes and all students on campus face issues such as divorce, drug and alcohol use and other issues, even homesickness. Athletics provides yet another way that students can find their niche and seek support.

"Students need to know that we respect them and that we care about them, and that we also have expectations of them," Bean said.

Christa Racine, soccer coach at Drew University, encouraged one-on-one meetings between the coach and student-athletes, called by the coach, to aid in communications with student-athletes.

"I feel that, over the years, the nature of communication between coaches and student-athletes has changed," she said. "The coach today needs to be accountable for maintaining open-minded communication with student-athletes, beginning with recruiting."

Carlyle Carter, commissioner of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, encouraged administrators to remember to include the student-athletes' voices and to listen to them when decisions are made.

"Sometimes we forget to listen. Sometimes we forget to include them. We have to remember that communication is a two-way street and it doesn't work if we don't listen," he said.