Several Division III conferences have decided to take on the task of improving sportsmanship -- one conference at a time.

From seminars and surveys to speakers and special events, these conferences plan to direct their recently awarded Division III Initiative Grant funds toward sportsmanship.

The North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) received its grant to conduct a series of in-person, two-day sportsmanship seminars on the campuses of its 10 member institutions.

"We are pleased and honored that the NCAA has chosen our conference to be a leader in this important issue of sportsmanship in intercollegiate athletics," said NCAC President Robert A. Oden, president of Kenyon College. "We aim to be active in this area and to build on the educational process already in place at our member institutions."

While sportsmanship has improved in recent years, there's still room for improvement, said Dennis Collins, executive director of the NCAC.

"I think it's fair to say that both NCAA football and men's basketball have made major strides in this area since the early 1990s, with work still to be done. We feel that all other sports need to be examined, too, and the series of seminars will allow us to explore sportsmanship will all of our 22 conference sports."

The NCAC has selected Daniel Doyle, director of the Institute for International Sport at the University of Rhode Island, to conduct the seminar.

"We felt it was important for all of our conference constituents to hear the same message in person," Oden said. "The NCAA grant provides that opportunity."

The NCAC chose Doyle partly for his understanding of the unique advantages and challenges of Division III. Doyle is a former successful basketball coach at the Division III level, and he just com-
pleted his first NCAC sportsmanship seminar, this one at Allegheny College.

"It appears to have been very successful," Collins said. "Doyle and his message were very well received."

Doyle met with individuals involved with Allegheny game management, from the game-management staff and coaches who help during their off-seasons to campus security personnel.

It was important for game-management administrators to hear Doyle's message, Collins said, particularly at the Division III level where so many people wear multiple hats and may not be entirely focused on security and game-management matters.

"In Division III, we don't expect trouble," Collins said. "So, sometimes we don't plan for trouble the way we should."

And, Collins said, when it comes to sportsmanship, unruly fans can be a huge problem.

"We can control our student-athletes and our coaches to a certain extent," Collins said of his conference's member institutions. "But the fans and the parents are a little more difficult."

Hopefully, Collins said, some of the seminar participants will include deans of students or other relevant administrators on campus.

"Sometimes when poor sportsmanship occurs, people are looking to the AD or the coach alone to address the issue," he said. "That's simply not realistic, especially when you consider that the student fans in attendance are usually not under the athletics umbrella. It takes a commitment by the entire school to address it."

Collins also pointed out that smaller venues in Division III mean that unruly fans can have much more of an impact.

"We don't really have large stadiums, so if you have some crazies in the stands being unsportsmanlike, people can really hear them," he said. "Coaches, student-athletes and officials can hear them, as can practically every fan there. It means they're more disruptive and the potential for problems escalating does exist."

At Allegheny, Doyle spent the better part of an evening with the student-athletes, first meeting with the captains and then presenting at a large session that evening. Though Allegheny also invited club-sport athletes to Doyle's presentation, it was mandatory for the student-athletes.

On the second day of the seminar, Doyle spent more time with student-athletes and also with coaches. He discussed their role in sportsmanship, as well as the role of the officials.

"We felt it was important to include the coaches because coaches certainly set the tone (for sportsmanship)," Collins said. "If the coach berates the official, it affects the team, it incites the crowd and it also sends the wrong message to the players."

The NCAC will have three more seminars at member institutions this semester, with the remainder of the seminars held next semester. In all, more than 5,000 student-athletes and more than 300 coaches and administrators will hear the same sportsmanship message.

"Sportsmanship is everybody's business," said the NCAC's Oden. "Everybody from the coaches and the players to the administrators, parents and fans -- we can all learn or relearn the principles of sportsmanship. This grant program will help us do just that."

Surveying sportsmanship

What is sportsmanship? Do we know it when we see it? How can we improve it? The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference will be asking those kinds of questions in its comprehensive study on sportsmanship and character in sports.

The primary objective of the WIAC study will be defining appropriate behaviors in a competitive sports setting and also working toward shared responsibilities for modeling positive character in sport.

All nine WIAC member institutions will participate in the study, first by completing surveys to determine current attitudes about sports behavior. Those written surveys, which will be completed by student-athletes, coaches, administrators, faculty members, fans, boosters and officials, already are under way.

"We're trying to define sportsmanship," said WIAC Commissioner Gary Karner. "It can be subjective. So, how do we know when we see it, and what do we do to increase it?"

The overall study goes beyond sportsmanship and into the issue of character, Karner said.

"For example, is it wrong, if you don't have a fast team, to let the grass on the field grow long? How about spraying jerseys with 'Pam'? We're trying to look at a broader picture and really address some issues of character."

The intent of the study is to provide some framework for analyzing solutions, Karner said.

"What we have learned already is that no single seminar, coach, player, brochure, editorial, news story or television documentary alone can make a difference in improving sportsmanship. It takes a concerted effort on the part of individuals, sports organizations and institutions sending the same message and demonstrating appropriate behaviors that will ultimately have the biggest impact," Karner said.

Once the written survey is complete, there will be "Campus Conversations," half-day interactive sessions on each of the nine WIAC campuses to talk about issues dealing with sportsmanship and character. The sessions will include student-athletes, coaches, administrators, faculty members and officials, and they will be conducted by representatives from the Mendelson Center for Sport Character and Culture, which is headquartered at the University of Notre Dame.

"Out of these surveys and these on-campus discussions will come -- we hope -- a body of knowledge on sportsmanship," Karner said. "Part of the discussion will be, 'Where does each person draw the line?' Where do you draw the line as a coach between an enthusiastic environment and one that's hostile? As an administrator, when do I step forward and take care of an unruly fan? Coming out of this comprehensive study, we hope to say, 'Here's what we expect from you: as a coach, as an administrator, as a student-athlete, as a fan.' "

Karner noted that there will be a follow-up study at the end of the program to analyze the results. The Campus Conversations will be completed between December 1 and March 1.

"We're excited about this entire project," Karner said. "It's ambitious, we know that, but we hope to learn a great deal."

One-stop sportsmanship
shopping

The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) hopes to use its unique conference championships structure as a vehicle to disseminate the message of sportsmanship to 10 campuses, 500 student-athletes and 175 coaches all at the same time -- sort of.

Instead of having conference championships at different places and different times, the SCAC has a festival approach. This year at the SCAC Spring Sports Festival, which will take place at Millsaps College, there will be the usual collection of all spring conference championships. There also will be a special opportunity to address the issue of sportsmanship.

"We want to take advantage of the fact that all of our student-athletes, coaches and many administrators -- even the ones who are in their off-seasons -- are there at one place in time," said Stephen P. Argo, SCAC commissioner and also a member of the Division III Management Council. "Sportsmanship is a very important issue, and I see the need to address it on a conference-wide basis."

Plans may include some kind of special tent set up at the festival where sportsmanship materials would be available. It may also include the opportunity for speakers on sportsmanship to address the student-athletes, coaches and administrators who will be in attendance for the championships.

Argo is still planning a variety of ways to increase the numbers of those who will get the message at the festival.

Argo said that whatever takes place will definitely focus on student-athletes and coaches.

"I think in Division III, maybe our student-athletes haven't been in that spotlight before they get to us," he said. "They may not know how to handle the pressure or the visibility that is sometimes present. I think our student-athletes may need to develop their sportsmanship and work on being respectful to fans and to each other. And, certainly, it trickles down from coaches. The kind of behavior coaches model is the kind of behavior you're going to see in your student-athletes."