National Collegiate Athletic Association
NCAA News Archive - 2007
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Guest editorial - 'Front porch' deserves care
From a period before the Civil War to a time just after World War II, the American front porch represented the cultural ideals of family and community.
In his work, “The Cultural Significance of the American Front Porch,” Scott Cook of the University of Virginia writes: “The American front porch...existed as a zone between public and private, an area that could be shared between the sanctity of the home and the community outside. It was an area where interaction with the community could take place.”
Clearly, our country’s intercollegiate athletics programs, their accompanying athletics facilities — and most importantly, the student-athletes themselves — represent the cultural ideals of the recently resurrected American front porch. Our intercollegiate athletics programs operate as a very public zone between our immediate campus family and a larger community that includes alumni, fans, supporters and business interests. It is on this “front porch” that the interaction with many different communities of interest takes place.
Because of the enormous impact our college and university athletics programs can have as the “front porches” of our institutions, we as presidents must ensure that our athletics programs represent the true ideals and philosophies of our institutions.
Over the course of the past 10 years, I have witnessed firsthand the transformation of Rhode Island College’s intercollegiate athletics program under the leadership of Athletics Director Donald E. Tencher. The dramatic changes implemented under his tenure have had, and will continue to have, a significant impact on the public persona of our institution, not only on the campus or within the state, but regionally and even nationally.
I have watched business and civic leaders nod with approval as they listen to the athletics and academic accomplishments of student-athletes who balance the rigors of both sets of responsibilities without the financial safety net of an athletics scholarship. I am struck by a sense of satisfaction when I turn on the 11 o’clock news and learn of a big victory on the road. I am touched when I hear that our student-athletes spearheaded a drive to raise funds to support the victims of hurricane-ravaged areas. I am proud when our basketball team — in some cases wearing borrowed ties and blazers — walks into a gathering of alumni to hear spontaneous applause and words of admiration. Along with a thousand others, I am stirred with excitement and exuberance as our softball team gets the final out to clinch our first conference championship.
As has been said many times in many places, Division III student-athletes want to compete, to excel, and to distinguish themselves both on the playing field and in the classroom every bit as much as their peers in Divisions I and II. The impact of Division III athletics programs are of great significance to our campus families and to the communities in which these institutions are based. They have a far-reaching effect from admissions to alumni, and they compete for and with significantly less financial reward but perhaps a great deal more philosophical reward.
Bill Reynolds, a sportswriter for The Providence Journal, once wrote that “if you’re looking for purity in college sports, go look in Division III; you won’t find it anywhere else.”
Surely, the front porch of our grandparents is alive and well in Division III.
John Nazarian is president of Rhode Island College and is a member of the Division III Presidents Council.
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By John Nazarian
Rhode Island College
Rhode Island College
From a period before the Civil War to a time just after World War II, the American front porch represented the cultural ideals of family and community.In his work, “The Cultural Significance of the American Front Porch,” Scott Cook of the University of Virginia writes: “The American front porch...existed as a zone between public and private, an area that could be shared between the sanctity of the home and the community outside. It was an area where interaction with the community could take place.”
Clearly, our country’s intercollegiate athletics programs, their accompanying athletics facilities — and most importantly, the student-athletes themselves — represent the cultural ideals of the recently resurrected American front porch. Our intercollegiate athletics programs operate as a very public zone between our immediate campus family and a larger community that includes alumni, fans, supporters and business interests. It is on this “front porch” that the interaction with many different communities of interest takes place.
Because of the enormous impact our college and university athletics programs can have as the “front porches” of our institutions, we as presidents must ensure that our athletics programs represent the true ideals and philosophies of our institutions.
Over the course of the past 10 years, I have witnessed firsthand the transformation of Rhode Island College’s intercollegiate athletics program under the leadership of Athletics Director Donald E. Tencher. The dramatic changes implemented under his tenure have had, and will continue to have, a significant impact on the public persona of our institution, not only on the campus or within the state, but regionally and even nationally.
I have watched business and civic leaders nod with approval as they listen to the athletics and academic accomplishments of student-athletes who balance the rigors of both sets of responsibilities without the financial safety net of an athletics scholarship. I am struck by a sense of satisfaction when I turn on the 11 o’clock news and learn of a big victory on the road. I am touched when I hear that our student-athletes spearheaded a drive to raise funds to support the victims of hurricane-ravaged areas. I am proud when our basketball team — in some cases wearing borrowed ties and blazers — walks into a gathering of alumni to hear spontaneous applause and words of admiration. Along with a thousand others, I am stirred with excitement and exuberance as our softball team gets the final out to clinch our first conference championship.
As has been said many times in many places, Division III student-athletes want to compete, to excel, and to distinguish themselves both on the playing field and in the classroom every bit as much as their peers in Divisions I and II. The impact of Division III athletics programs are of great significance to our campus families and to the communities in which these institutions are based. They have a far-reaching effect from admissions to alumni, and they compete for and with significantly less financial reward but perhaps a great deal more philosophical reward.
Bill Reynolds, a sportswriter for The Providence Journal, once wrote that “if you’re looking for purity in college sports, go look in Division III; you won’t find it anywhere else.”
Surely, the front porch of our grandparents is alive and well in Division III.
John Nazarian is president of Rhode Island College and is a member of the Division III Presidents Council.
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