During the NCAA Convention in January, Division III passed Proposal No. 64 and as a result eliminated the safety exception for Division III gymnastics, rowing, fencing, swimming and diving, and rifle.

Losing this safety exception discriminates against these sports by essentially taking away choices and opportunities that other sports still have. As a Division III gymnastics coach of 19 years, I can say without hesitation that this rule discriminates particularly against Division III women's gymnastics and seriously jeopardizes its future.

Unlike most other sports where athletes can easily participate recreationally to keep their edge in the off-season, gymnastics carries with it liability concerns and demands a higher, more specific expertise; thus, gymnastics supervision must take place. Before this ruling, the safety exception gave gymnasts the equivalent of an off-season pick-up game for basketball players. Proposal No. 64 denies this equivalent.

The rule also creates unreasonable inequity in our competitions. Most Division III gymnastics teams (15 total) must compete with Divisions I and II teams because of geographic proximity. Without the safety exception, Division III institutions will train 19 weeks but compete against institutions that train 26 weeks and are able to use their safety exception. Most Division I gymnasts train 35 weeks a year -- almost twice as much training time as any Division III gymnast will receive. Competition is a shallow goal when the playing field is not level.

Further, the safety exception made sense for gymnastics. Although Proposal No. 64 sought to reinforce some "Division III principles," the need for safety and equal opportunity still remains. Safety is safety, regardless of whether the competition is staged in Division I, II or III.

The super-complex nature of gymnastics is such that gymnasts, for safety reasons and to achieve reasonable success, must be able to "stay in touch" or "keep their edge" on skills throughout the year. By not allowing off-season opportunities, Division III gymnasts will not be able to develop in a safe environment. Athletes will now have to accept the reality that "as time goes on I will get worse... simply because my sport is too complex." Without the opportunity to keep their edge, the future collegiate gymnasts will migrate away from Division III programs. Clearly, there is a need for a safety exception for Division III gymnasts.

The NCAA had it right when it created Division III athletics, as it represents the best form of amateur athletics in the country. Division III gymnastics programs have been able to offer the opportunity to gymnasts to improve their skills and compete for their institutions. Most of our students have found this to be the highlight of their collegiate experience. These athletes perform for the love of the sport. Unlike Division I gymnasts, they are not awarded athletics scholarships. These athletes excel because they choose to excel. Proposal No. 64 eliminates our ability to offer gymnasts the choice to excel safely.

Occasionally, Division III programs produce great champions, even Olympians. Such is the case with Derrick Cornelious at State University College at Cortland in 1985. Cornelious was able to win an NCAA title in the vault through hard work, self-commitment and exceptional teaching. Then there was Casey Edwards from the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, an Olympic gymnast who dreamed, grew and trained at a Division III college.

These accomplishments were big victories, not just for the athletes but for all Division III sports. Dreams fuel sports, not "divisions." Dreams of achieving high levels of success drive the soul of dedicated athletes and coaches. They continue because they believe in possibilities ... they simply never stop believing. Proposal No. 64 severely diminishes those dreams for Division III gymnasts.

NCAA Division III institutions sponsoring gymnastics can no longer give student athletes the choice to be truly exceptional students and athletes. For nearly two decades I have been proud to pursue the ideals of the Division III philosophy -- student-athletes committed to excellence in both academics and athletics. I was proud to help develop what I considered to be the "best of the best." Now I am left feeling a little naive, wondering what NCAA Division III athletics is really all about.

Rick Suddaby
Gymnastics Coach
Ithaca College

Athletics icon "Buck" Lai leaves positive mark on college sports

William T. "Buck" Lai, who died recently, leaves an indelible mark on the face of intercollegiate athletics. A college sports pioneer who held senior positions at three Long Island institutions of higher education, Buck was an innovator in college basketball and baseball, wrote influential books and articles on those sports and touched thousands of lives not only on Long Island and in New York City, but all along the East Coast.

Born in Philadelphia in 1918, he was the son of an Asian-Pacific American baseball legend and was a superb student and athlete who earned a scholarship to Long Island University's Brooklyn Campus, where he obtained a B.A. in journalism in 1941.

Buck enlisted in the U.S. Naval Air Corp, achieving the rank of Lt.(SG). When the war ended in 1946, he enrolled at Columbia University, completing an M.A. and an Ed.D. Buck returned to the Brooklyn Campus in 1947, assuming positions of increasing responsibility. He served as baseball coach, assistant basketball coach and assistant director of athletics under the legendary Clair Bee. Upon Bee's retirement in 1952, Buck became director of athletics and chair of the health and physical education department. Among his many achievements as director, he headed Operation Rebound, marking the return of Brooklyn Blackbird basketball to the campus after the scandals of the early 1950s, thereby restoring dignity and integrity to college basketball in New York.

Always blazing trails, Buck made history in 1958 when he hired the first co-ed manager in intercollegiate baseball. In 1962, he conceptualized and led the effort to convert the legendary Paramount Theater into a gymnasium. He also arranged for all home basketball games to be televised on WNYC. He even took on the role of sportscaster, providing play-by-play announcements and commentary during the games and interviewing prominent sports figures like Jackie Robinson at halftime.

By 1964, Buck was appointed university director of athletics, overseeing programs across the campuses. To add to his already full schedule, he served as acting provost of the Brooklyn Campus from 1967 to 1968, seeing the campus through tumultuous times and introducing a program for handicapped students.

A year later, Buck became the director of athletics for the university's C.W. Post Campus. During his time there, he introduced the popular health and physical education major. He left C.W. Post in 1973 to head physical education and athletics at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. There, Buck revised the physical fitness program, adding courses in self defense and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. He then moved to New York Institute of Technology in 1984, where he remained the athletics director until his retirement in 1988.

During his career, Buck served as president of the Metropolitan College Basketball Conference, Tri-State Basketball League and the Knickerbocker Baseball Conference. He also was the first commissioner of the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Football Conference and chair of the NCAA Atlantic Coast Baseball Tournament. The recipient of numerous awards and honors, he was inducted into both the Brooklyn Hall of Fame and the LIU Athletic Hall of Fame.

Buck will be sorely missed. He gave generously to his alma mater, leaving no area untouched by his passionate personal, professional and philanthropic commitments. Together with his wife, Mary, he helped build the university as we know it today. His influence is deeply ingrained in the very fabric of the institution and in the hearts of the athletes he mentored on the field, on the court and in the classroom.

David J. Steinberg
President
Long Island University