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NCAA News Archive - 2010

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Jul 7, 2010 9:13:54 AM

For what appears to be the first time in NCAA history, an institutional chief executive will be an active member of an NCAA playing rules committee. The man who has stepped up to the plate is Greg Weisenstein, president of West Chester University.

Rules committees generally are the province of coaches, based on their particular knowledge of their games, and in that sense, Weisenstein is qualified for the role. Although he has three decades of service in educational administration, he also has a little coaching tucked in his vitae.

"I coached South Carolina all-stars (youth league) and then I found myself coaching some programs out in the West," Weisenstein said recently. He was on the staff at Colorado-Colorado Springs and briefly served as head coach of the club team at Montana State.

"I started out by coaching youth baseball, working with young people who were a little bit older," he said. "When there was an opportunity to coach the Colorado Springs program as it was just getting started, I did that. I went from that to inheriting a head coach position, and that's what I did when I needed to step in and help a little bit at Montana State."

Earlier this year, West Chester Athletics Director Ed Matejkovic connected the dots and nominated his president to the Baseball Rules Committee.

"He's been involved in athletics all his life," Matejkovic said. "He wanted to be involved in the NCAA, and we talked about committees and saw the baseball rules opportunity. I told him most presidents didn't get on sports committees, and he said, ‘I'd like to start out with something I know something about and try to get involved.' "

Weisenstein may have known the approach was unusual, but he didn't know it is likely unique. However, now that he knows he's probably the first president to serve on a rules committee, he wears the mantle proudly.

"Well, I didn't know that, but I'm delighted to be part of the rules committee," he said. "Presidents need to take an active role in the NCAA in whatever division their programs are represented, and this is one way to do that.

"I do know quite a bit about the game, having coached it for many years at many different levels. I have an appreciation for the rules and some of the challenges and the debates. And, of course, the big one at the collegiate level is wood vs. metal bats. Whatever I can add to those kinds of conversations from my experience, I certainly would like to."

These days, living in the Philadelphia area, Weisenstein is all about the Phillies, but his long-time loyalties are rooted in the Seattle area, where he was raised. He grew up a fan of the old Seattle Raniers of the Pacific Coast League and even had a brief allegiance to the Seattle Pilots before they packed up their bats and moved to Milwaukee in 1969 after one season. The Mariners finally gave Seattle a permanent baseball identity.

As such, he's partial to a pair of former Mariners who are now Phillies: Raul Ibanez and especially pitcher Jamie Moyer, who continues to get batters out at age 47.

"I love to see Jamie go out there and throw that 78 mph fastball and get them out," Weisenstein said. "He's a great model to try to teach young pitchers that you don't have to throw the ball by a hitter. If you've got some good strategy and a few good pitches and great location, you can do an awful lot. You don't have to have a 90 mph fastball."

The observation reveals a bit about Weisenstein's approach.

"Frankly, I'm much better at refining mechanics than I am at teaching basic skills, and probably better at field strategy than either of the other two," he said. "I could always figure out a way to help my guys manufacture some runs."

Weisenstein is actually the middle link in a chain of baseball-driven family members. His father played the game well and his son Adam was a top professional draft possibility until he was injured. Adam soon will finish his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at Montana State, where President Weisenstein coached 20 years ago.

And then there's his wife, Sandra.

"I told her she probably knows enough about baseball that she could have coached first base for me," Weisenstein said.

She may yet get the chance since Weisenstein would like to resume coaching after he retires.

In the meantime, though, he's got a university to run – and a commitment to improving the national pastime through important committee service.