Continued efforts to foster a positive environment throughout intercollegiate athletics will get a boost this month when the Patriot League hosts a sportsmanship summit.

Participants from each of the league’s eight schools will gather December 4-5 to discuss strategies and best practices related to promoting good sportsmanship. The two-day summit will be facilitated by Alan Patterson, commissioner of the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference and chair of the NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct.

Joanna Kreps, associate executive director at the Patriot League, said the summit is a result of a directive from the league’s Council of Presidents.

"I know some conferences that have really started to take a look at sportsmanship. The challenge is that everyone knows this is an issue — it’s the hot topic right now — but it’s hard to get your arms around it," she said. "Everybody wants to talk about it, but nobody has a solution. I think we’re one of the few that is tackling it head on. We know it’s an issue and we’re not going to tolerate it anymore. We’re going to make this a priority."

Discussion at the summit will center on four main areas: contest management, fan management, policies and procedures, and specific sports that struggle with sportsmanship issues. Each league member was invited to select five to six representatives from a variety of areas on campus to attend.

Kreps said one key outcome organizers are seeking from the summit is a best-practices document. The league also hopes to emerge with strategies around which a league-wide sportsmanship campaign can be built, as well as a better idea about how the conference office can help member institutions promote sportsmanship and enforce related policies on campus.

Kreps said the league didn’t want to wait until later in the academic year to host the summit because league officials wanted to roll out solutions as quickly as possible.

"We think it’s that important and it’s something our membership is excited about and supports," she said.

When the football teams from West Texas A&M University and Tarleton State University lined up against one another last month, there was a lot on the line — namely a Lone Star Conference title and an NCAA Division II playoff berth. But the high stakes didn’t keep West Texas A&M coaches, staff, players and fans from extending a helping hand to Tarleton State head coach Sam McElroy.

McElroy’s 10-year-old daughter, Madison, has been battling cancer for more than a year. Just before halftime of the November 11 contest, a taped message from West Texas A&M head coach Don Carthel aired on the Jumbotron, introducing Madison to the crowd and explaining the circumstances facing the McElroy family. Then walk-on and redshirt members of the Buffs football squad went through the stands with buckets collecting donations in an effort that raised about $12,000.

West Texas A&M student-athletes generated another $2,000 and team manager Blake Bagwell collected an additional $1,700 during the week leading up to the game to push the total amount to nearly $15,000.

West Texas A&M Director of Athletics Michael McBroom said hearing how much money was raised took his breath away and spoke volumes about not only the people in the Texas Panhandle, but also about how passionate the school’s fans are about the football team.

McElroy said he received a phone call from West Texas A&M days before the game alerting him that the team planned to do a fund-raiser, though he wasn’t sure what, and he certainly didn’t expect the overwhelming generosity that was displayed.

"For their team members, manager and fans who really have no connection to me other than what coach Carthel talked to them about, I thought that was a tremendous outpouring of support," said McElroy. "It was the biggest game of the year. We were playing for the conference championship and a playoff berth. There were a lot of things that needed to be done other than trying to raise money for my daughter. The fans and people who are associated with that university did a tremendous thing for me and my family."

Thanksgiving break came a little earlier for students at Lebanon Valley College this year thanks to a recent gridiron victory over rival Albright College.

In a tradition dating back to at least the 1940s, when the school scores a football win over Albright, students march to the president’s residence and request an extra day off from school. After the Flying Dutchmen downed the Lions, 55-33, November 11, about 400 students, accompanied by the school band and one of the town’s fire trucks, made their way to President Stephen MacDonald’s house to make the request.

Their plea was granted, and instead of holding classes for a half day on November 22, all classes were canceled for the entire day, allowing students to begin their Thanksgiving break a few hours earlier.

Last month’s victory was the Flying Dutchmen’s first over the Lions since 1994. It also secured Lebanon Valley’s first winning season since 1992. The schools have played each other in football since 1898, with Albright holding a 53-30-3 edge in the series.