Academic reform, diversity issues, and fiscal and academic integrity were among topics discussed during the NCAA's 14th annual Conference Intern Seminar January 23-25 in Indianapolis.

The seminar, hosted by the 2002-03 class of NCAA national office interns, was called "Passing the Torch" and served as an unique opportunity for athletics administrators to pass down their knowledge and experience to more than 70 interns from Divisions I, II and III conference offices.

The seminar's goal is to educate national and conference office interns on issues pertinent to the business of amateur and professional athletics and to provide them with skills necessary to pursue careers in those areas.

NCAA President Myles Brand set the tone for the three-day seminar in his welcome address. "This is a golden opportunity to meet and network with people," Brand told the audience. "It's also a good opportunity to get a sense of the whole of the national Association."

In the question-and-
answer session after his speech, participants took advantage of the opportunity to ask Brand about the reform movement in intercollegiate athletics and how the NCAA would monitor progress.

"I think you need to track student-athletes, not individually but as groups, to ensure we've made the right decisions," Brand said. "We want student-athletes to succeed on the field, of course, but we also want them to succeed in the classroom."

Brand, who has reiterated his reform and advocacy platform to various groups he has addressed during his first two months on the job, made an impression with the seminar attendees. Suraj Jagannathan, an intern from the Sun Belt Conference, applauded Brand's emphasis on academics, saying, "Academics is just so much a part of college athletics. If you don't have academics, you wouldn't have athletics."

The seminar also featured other presenters, including keynote speaker Don McPherson, executive director of the Sport Leadership Institute at Adelphi University. Other speakers included Richard Lapchick, director of the sports business management program at the University of Central Florida; Craig Littlepage, athletics director at the University of Virginia; Jean Lenti Ponsetto, athletics director at DePaul University; and Andy Geiger, athletics director at Ohio State University.

In his keynote address, McPherson encouraged interns to redirect their energy toward the big picture of athletics, rather than overemphasizing individual events. McPherson told participants that if they were to become effective athletics administrators, they should not focus on just the spectacle of a championship event, but be truly prepared to enjoy the practice, preparation and myriad of other issues -- good and bad -- that face college athletics today.

"Young people are not being taught about the process," McPherson said. "They are being taught about the event, being taught about results, and now you have to stick them in a system where it's all about process."

McPherson conveyed his passion for college sports to the seminar attendees and delivered personal accounts from his athletics career at Syracuse University and the National Football League.

Marcus Fisher, an intern from Ohio, was moved by McPherson's remarks, saying, "The session had a positive impact on both my short-term and long-term outlook regarding my future in collegiate athletics."

Diversity issues

Lapchick's presentation, called "Bridging the racial divide by working in the world of sports," focused on race issues in college athletics. He urged the audience to take action and become the true heroes of sport.

"Your careers cannot simply be about sport, but about society and what sports can do to make that society better," Lapchick said.

The seminar also featured a panel discussion on diversity. Panelists included Littlepage, Ponsetto and Joyce Wong, athletics director at Eastern Connecticut State University. They were asked to provide insights on their approach to six areas related to diversity, including Title IX, minority hiring practices and American Indian mascot issues. Each member of the panel provided their personal ap proach on how to foster and promote diversity within their athletics departments.

Some of the approaches included Ponsetto's "coaching the coaches" tactic, which she uses to promote positive attitudes toward Title IX. Ponsetto said that by employing this measure, she has noticed that her staff, as well as the entire university, has become more receptive to and aware of issues related to Title IX legislation.

Littlepage focused on preparing assistant coaches for head coaching positions. He said preparation is the key for minority assistant coaches to acquire the knowledge and credentials to compete for a head-coaching position.

Littlepage said he encourages aspiring coaches to foster relationships with faculty, which helps prepare them for one of the major responsibilities of any successful head coach.

Wong urged the future administrators to do their homework, create action plans, conduct thorough assessments and enlist support from other areas within the university, such as students, donor groups and faculty. "Implementing these strategies helps to assess your program thoroughly and track current trends that may affect your athletics department," Wong said.

Testimonials helpful

The interns also attended a variety of professional-development workshops that focused on group dynamics, critical decision-making, presentation skills, résumé writing and interviewing techniques.

Mindy Urick, an intern with the Eastern College Athletic Conference, came away from the seminar with an appreciation for the day-to-day issues facing athletics administrators. "The opportunity to speak with and hear from athletics administrators, former interns and current NCAA employees provided me with the tools necessary to enhance both my personal and professional development," she said.

Tim Wuorinen, an intern from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, said, "After listening to the panelists discuss the various issues, I was able to confirm my desire to be involved with intercollegiate athletics."

To wrap up the three-day seminar, participants heard from former interns who currently are working in athletics administration. The former interns encouraged the participants to keep working hard, find a mentor and continue to network, but most importantly to find their passion.