>Athletics and Education
Sunday, November 13, 2011 at 03:52PM
With the scandal at Penn State in the news for the last week, my thoughts turn to the importance of athletics in the educational experience and how closely a school's reputation is tied to the success and honor of its athletic program. Right or wrong, a college or university's athletic program is a key element in a prospective student's choice of institution, whether the student is an athlete, fan, spectator or just wants to attend an institution with a proud history and positive reputation.
First some reflections on the value of athletics in education.
The UVM men's soccer team come to an abrupt and shocking end last weekend. For me as a UVM fan, spectator and team parent, the game was a painful reminder of the educational value of athletics. Hosting the first round of the America East play-offs, UVM (tied for #2) faced a lower seeded team (Albany #6). UVM had beaten Albany 3-1 just a couple of weeks ago. Yet UVM lost the game 3-2, the victim of two own goals in the last 4 minutes of the game. In case you don't know soccer, an "own goal" occurs when a team inadvertently knocks the ball in its own goal, giving its opponent a point. It happens rarely, and it's always tragic. UVM was up 2-1 until the last 4 minutes of the game when they scored two points for Albany. Classic heart breaker. Perhaps it was the shock of witnessing this sudden change of fortune for young men I care about that crystallized the lessons of athletics in my mind. Success isn't something you can plan out and follow a checklist and accomplish through dedication and discipline - success requires a bit of magic on top of all that. Success can go away at any moment so don't take it for granted. Leading through failure is much harder than leading through success. Student-athletes start out as youngsters and grow into women and men who can face and lead through physical and mental challenges, and work through whatever success, failure, injury, emotion, injustice, hard luck, disappointment, joy, bad decisions and test of skill the day may bring. Athletics teaches dedication, perseverance, goal setting and team work. Athletics is part of a school's educational mission and a school's athletic program reflects on the school in an important and valid way. Coaches in many cases are the most influential educators on campus for the student-athletes in their programs, guiding them through all four years of their college experience, contributing to their academic performance and helping to frame their career goals. A large portion of any school's student population participates in the athletic program as athletes, fans, spectators or event staff. The athletic program sets or at least reflects the tone of each respective campus culture. I appreciate that my work with higher education includes the athletic component of education.
We advise colleges and universities on immigration for coaches hailing from other countries. We also help colleges with athletic compliance, a most interesting topic that touches many aspects of campus life, some more obvious than others. A recent letter from Congressman John Conyers, Jr. to Congressman Lamar Smith, Chair of the Judiciary Committee, highlighted a few aspects of athletic compliance that he would like Congress to address. Congressman Conyers wants Congress to take an interest in recent transfers of colleges from one NCAA conference to another, because conference re-alignments may have adverse repercussions for smaller colleges and historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). He points to the use student-athletes' likenesses for commercial purposes, the subject of litigation, as an area ripe for regulation. He bring up due process concerns with respect to NCAA bylaws and athlete injuries, also the subject of litigation. And he points out price fixing concerns that have been raised about NCAA athletic scholarship rules. He quotes from the most recent report of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics issued last month: '"The pursuit of television contracts and slots in football bowl games, together with the quest to win championship tournaments in basketball, have had a destabilizing influence on athletics programs… [T]his model could lead to a loss of credibility not just for intercollegiate sports but for higher education itself."' He urges Congress to "again take the lead when no other entity appears to have the authority or standing to act to protect the interests of athletes, their families, smaller colleges, and HBCUs." I have to agree that protection of collegiate athletics is a worthy issue to Congress to take up.
Back to the Penn State situation. It's never been more clear that athletics is integral to the credibility of higher education. Penn State has taken a beating in the media and the court of public opinion. Penn State grads all over the nation are stunned and appalled, either at the allegations or the treatment of Coach Paterno or both. And the attention hasn't even turned to potential NCAA ramifications. The NCAA President issued a statement saying that the NCAA is taking a wait and see approach while criminal and civil proceedings move forward, as those take precedence over any NCAA action if violations of NCAA rules are discovered. It's not hard to imagine that after the dust settles in the criminal and civil proceedings, the NCAA could sanction Penn State's athletic programs generally or at least its football program. The General Principles of NCAA Division I expressly state that employees, former employees and volunteers for member institutions must act with honesty and sportsmanship at all times to "represent the honor and dignity of fair play and the generally recognized high standards associated with wholesome competitive sports." The examples of possible violations listed in the rules don't include allegations of turning a blind eye to a predator pedophile grooming victims through athletics - but it seems safe to assume that would fall under the catch-all for violations not specifically listed as examples. I certainly can't think of anything more damaging to the image of "wholesome competitive sports."
Leigh Cole
On November 18, 2011, the Washington Post reported that the NCAA has informed Penn State that it will review how the University handled the Sandusky situation. The NCAA's letter to Penn State is quoted as saying that NCAA rules require coaches or athletic staffers must '“do more than avoid improper conduct or questionable acts. Their own moral values must be so certain and positive that those younger ... will be influenced by a fine example. Much more is expected of them than of the less critically placed citizen."'
Leigh Cole
The Washington Post reports that Syracuse University, another athletic powerhouse, has fired its long time assistant men's basketball coach in strikingly similar circumstances.
Leigh Cole
On December 13, 2011, the NCAA issued a letter to the higher education community saying every campus must be vigilant and have standards for behavior around its programs and premises, and every campus should have protective policies and a system for anonymous reporting of child sexual abuse concerns.