The following is an open letter written to the Western Illinois University community before the football team's October 4 game against Western Kentucky University. An altercation after last year's postseason game between the two teams resulted in 13 members from both teams being suspended for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Looking ahead to this weekend's Homecoming activities, we write this letter to ask for your help and cooperation. This year's Homecoming football game carries with it a much higher level of emotion and anticipation as our campus welcomes the Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky University. As much as we would like to forget the postgame events of last December, we all have a responsibility to learn from that unfortunate incident.

For the past nine months, the athletics department has focused on appropriate game behavior. The players involved in the postgame incident have been reprimanded and disciplined. The coaching staff and the football team have participated in seminars and presentations addressing personal responsibility. We are confident these efforts will prove very worthwhile, not just for this particular game but for all athletics events through the year.

We were very proud of the conduct of our fans during the Division I-AA postseason game last year. We now ask you, community members and students, again to consider your responsibility as representatives of Western Illinois University. Everyone -- players, coaches, and fans -- has a responsibility to conduct themselves appropriately. It is certainly expected and appreciated that we create a home-field advantage, and we encourage you to be loud and boisterous and cheer for your Leathernecks. A good sport cheers for her or his team. It is poor fan behavior, however, to cheer against our opponents. As a supporter attending the game this weekend, you have the right to cheer your team on loudly. You do not have the right to make physical contact with any player, coach, or game official and you are never allowed onto the field. Please remain in the bleachers at all times. Intimidating actions or taunting directed at opposing student-athletes, coaches or game officials will not be tolerated and violators are subject to discipline and could be removed from the stadium.

The Western Illinois University/
Macomb community is very proud of its football team, and we have every confidence our coaches and student-athletes will represent our community and university with honor and integrity. Last year the campus adopted the theme "Now is the Time....Civility." Saturday's game provides the perfect opportunity to showcase our civility while advancing our efforts at being good sports.

We encourage you to participate in as many Homecoming activities as possible and come out to Hanson Field and support your Leatherneck football team. Thank you in advance for your cooperation. Have a safe and enjoyable Homecoming weekend.

Alvin Goldfarb, President
Tim M. Van Alstine, Director of Athletics
Western Illinois University

Sportsmanship cue comes from coaches' behavior

Too often during intercollegiate sports competition, we see coaches throwing major-league tantrums at officials. This type of behavior is a trend that occurs when the outcome of a game is not in doubt or when there is no gold cup for the winner to acquire.

Why do coaches behave so badly and thus contradict the mission and vision of the educational institutions that they represent? Why is that behavior tolerated by institutional administrators? Is the offending coach aware that such behavior affects student-athletes? These are easy questions to answer.

As a coach, one tries to teach integrity, sportsmanship, courtesy, responsibility, judgment, honesty, respect, perseverance and confidence. At a game the coach must be a calming factor, for he (or she) really becomes the head of the team and a symbol of the educational institution represented.

When student-athletes see flagrant behavior from their coach, they take it as a cue to act up. In law enforcement, this is known as a "broken-window syndrome."

So how do we fix this "broken window" in collegiate sports? There are any number of references to good sportsmanship in the NCAA Manuals and rules books. In September, the Association distributed a "best-practices" document about sportsmanship and fan behavior, a large section of which addressed coach behavior. And in soccer, the NCAA Men's and Women's Soccer Rules Committee proposed a zero-tolerance policy for language abuse for coaches and student-athletes during intercollegiate competition. That proposal is now being considered on an Association-wide basis.

But regardless of the amount of guidance, instruction or advice from the NCAA, it is up to the individual coach to act with civility and be a role model to his or her players. What benefit is gained by criticizing, condemning and complaining so loudly during the game? Also, it is quite likely that this bad behavior did not just arise during the game but rather had its origins in practice sessions, team meetings and other functions. Institutions that ignore such behavior only send a message that the coach's "bad image" is acceptable.

I consider a coach to be like the captain of a ship sailing through rough seas. It is true that sometimes choppy waters drive a coach off-course, but part of a leader's job is to influence people's attitudes and behavior. Therefore, why should a coach behave so poorly?

Several coaches can be heard at almost every game being conspicuously rude, not only to the referees but also to student-athletes for either being slow or committing minor errors. You see them invading the field of play, and once this happens, you also notice the bench personnel invading the field. If sailors took a similar cue from a bad-behaving captain, the ship would sink.

Do administrators condone such behavior? Probably not. Are administrators aware of the behavior during practices and games? I would give them the benefit of the doubt that they're not, for if they were, why would they sweep it under the rug? Sometimes they may consider it a necessary evil and tolerate it as part of the winning process.

Simply put, it is like going through a red light, not at midnight when no one is around (which is still wrong) but rather at noon when it is especially dangerous. It sends a message to student-athletes that bad behavior is all right in order to achieve a goal.

I cannot imagine that athletics administrators with any integrity would accept such a view. Parents certainly would not, since they are paying hard-earned money to the institution in the hope that their sons and daughters will receive a quality educational experience. That educational experience includes learning how to behave properly, both on and off the field.

It's up to all coaches to enhance that experience.

Mohamed Alhamedi, Head Soccer Coach
State University of New York Maritime College