Members of the Student Athletic Advisory Committee at the State University College at New Paltz are concerned with the proposed amendments to Bylaw 17 in Division III.

We feel that the cuts in the seasons and number of competitions across the board are unreasonable. Because each sport has its own characteristics, it is impossible to treat each sport uniformly. Although some sports currently may not use their season lengths, those that do should not be penalized. Sports such as track and field and swimming and diving traditionally have used their allotted time for individual instruction and progression of skills, which is imperative in ensuring proper technique and safety. This can be done only over time and should not be crammed into 25 days, which is the proposed allotted time for practices before the first competition.

With regard to minimizing competitions to two per week, sports such as baseball, softball, volleyball and basketball traditionally have played two competitions during the weekend and one during the week. Although we agree that missing class time due to athletics competitions goes against the Division III philosophy of being a student-athlete, we believe that with proper planning of academic and athletics schedules, the opportunity for these situations to occur could be minimized. In our opinion, we believe this to be a more effective approach to missed class time than to simply limit the total number of competitions.

Because students who participate in college athletics are exposed to leadership role models, they have a higher tendency to develop greater leadership skills. By cutting the length of seasons, the NCAA would limit the number of contacts student-athletes have with their leadership role models, which would hinder student development.

We as Division III athletes do not receive scholarships. We participate in Division III athletics because we want to. We love to be out there on the fields, tracks, rinks, courts and pools. We work hard in the classroom and in our sport because we want to. There is no motivation other than our own. Shortening our seasons will only take us away from what we want to be a part of while in college.

The New Paltz State SAAC hopes that these concerns will addressed before a final decision is made about Bylaw 17 at the Convention.

The Student Athletic Advisory Committee, State University
College at New Paltz