National Collegiate Athletic Association
NCAA News Archive - 2007
« back to 2007 | Back to NCAA News Archive Index
Sportsmanship panel pushes for lasting effect
The NCAA News
|
The NCAA News
The NCAA Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct Committee spent part of its most recent meeting devising a strategy it hopes will lead to a lasting commitment to sportsmanship throughout intercollegiate athletics.
The committee believes an educational campaign similar to the NCAA’s award-winning anti-gambling initiative “Don’t Bet On It” will anchor the work already being done across the membership to address sportsmanship issues and concerns.
To move forward with the campaign, the committee met with NCAA staff and other representatives during its June 4-5 meeting in Indianapolis. Although the initiative is in the developmental stage, the committee agreed that the final product should include a definition of good sportsmanship and emphasize the role education plays in intercollegiate athletics.
“Sportsmanship is one of the foundational blocks of competition within the NCAA,” said Alan Patterson, commissioner of Conference Carolinas and chair of the committee. “We want to emphasize that in a way that is applicable to everyone and allows us to maintain awareness. We also want to point out various programs and initiatives that institutions, conferences and even divisions are doing so that we all recognize that we have a common goal.”
The ultimate goal of the campaign is to make progress on sportsmanship, said Patterson, who pointed to results from the committee’s recent online survey of athletics administrators, coaches and student-athletes. “Across all divisions, the two expectations were respect and sportsmanship. As we move the needle, we’ll see visible signs of those elements,” he said.
To gauge the long-term effectiveness of the campaign, which will target fans, cheerleaders, mascots, student-athletes, parents, coaches and administrators, the committee will ask the research staff to collect baseline data about sportsmanship this fall and subsequently survey coaches, athletics directors, student-athletes, parents and fans bi-annually.
The committee also noted that although an extensive array of resources may be found on its recently revamped Web page, they are not well known or well used. In addition to encouraging the membership to view the committee’s Web page as a critical resource, the group discussed additional ways to keep sportsmanship “top of mind,” including designing special snap bracelets or setting aside a special day.
In other action, the committee reviewed the criteria for the NCAA Sportsmanship Award, which is presented annually to one male and one female student-athlete. Members expressed interest in recognizing the winners at the Honors Celebration in January.
The group noted that the award’s current nomination deadline occurs before some championships have concluded. Adjusting the presentation timeline may increase the number of nominations, members said. The committee also agreed to increase efforts to educate the membership about the prestige of the honor.
“First, we want to ensure there’s a common perception of the honor as one of the prestigious awards given by the NCAA,” said Patterson, who also called on the membership to watch throughout the year for demonstrable actions that reflect good sportsmanship. “Last year’s award winners did things that were unique and unusual in demonstrating a passion for competing with great respect and sportsmanship.”
The committee believes an educational campaign similar to the NCAA’s award-winning anti-gambling initiative “Don’t Bet On It” will anchor the work already being done across the membership to address sportsmanship issues and concerns.
To move forward with the campaign, the committee met with NCAA staff and other representatives during its June 4-5 meeting in Indianapolis. Although the initiative is in the developmental stage, the committee agreed that the final product should include a definition of good sportsmanship and emphasize the role education plays in intercollegiate athletics.
“Sportsmanship is one of the foundational blocks of competition within the NCAA,” said Alan Patterson, commissioner of Conference Carolinas and chair of the committee. “We want to emphasize that in a way that is applicable to everyone and allows us to maintain awareness. We also want to point out various programs and initiatives that institutions, conferences and even divisions are doing so that we all recognize that we have a common goal.”The ultimate goal of the campaign is to make progress on sportsmanship, said Patterson, who pointed to results from the committee’s recent online survey of athletics administrators, coaches and student-athletes. “Across all divisions, the two expectations were respect and sportsmanship. As we move the needle, we’ll see visible signs of those elements,” he said.
To gauge the long-term effectiveness of the campaign, which will target fans, cheerleaders, mascots, student-athletes, parents, coaches and administrators, the committee will ask the research staff to collect baseline data about sportsmanship this fall and subsequently survey coaches, athletics directors, student-athletes, parents and fans bi-annually.
The committee also noted that although an extensive array of resources may be found on its recently revamped Web page, they are not well known or well used. In addition to encouraging the membership to view the committee’s Web page as a critical resource, the group discussed additional ways to keep sportsmanship “top of mind,” including designing special snap bracelets or setting aside a special day.
In other action, the committee reviewed the criteria for the NCAA Sportsmanship Award, which is presented annually to one male and one female student-athlete. Members expressed interest in recognizing the winners at the Honors Celebration in January.
The group noted that the award’s current nomination deadline occurs before some championships have concluded. Adjusting the presentation timeline may increase the number of nominations, members said. The committee also agreed to increase efforts to educate the membership about the prestige of the honor.
“First, we want to ensure there’s a common perception of the honor as one of the prestigious awards given by the NCAA,” said Patterson, who also called on the membership to watch throughout the year for demonstrable actions that reflect good sportsmanship. “Last year’s award winners did things that were unique and unusual in demonstrating a passion for competing with great respect and sportsmanship.”
© 2010 The National Collegiate Athletic Association
Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy