Athletic Council
Annual Report 1999-2000
The 1999-2000 Athletic Council consisted
of: Kate Leavitt (Chair/Fall 1999, on leave Spring 2000), Greg Pfitzer
(Fall 2000, Chair/Spring 2000), Tim Brown, Pat Oles, Phyllis Roth, Eric
Weller (Fall 1999, on leave Spring 2000) Rory McVeigh (sabbatical replacement,
Spring 2000), Beau Breslin (sabbatical replacement, Spring 2000), Dave
Kovall (student representative), Jessica Ehrlich (student Representative),
Lisa Barringer (athletic department intern).
The Athletic Council met monthly throughout
the academic year 1999-2000 to discuss issues related to the scope and
level of competition in intercollegiate, club, and intramural sports;
eligibility rules; establishment of priorities for athletic programs;
and other matters brought to its attention by members of the college community.
In particular, the Council's agenda centered on three areas of concern:
1) adherence to guidelines for regulating sport activities as established
by the College and the NCAA.; 2) consideration a Rock Climbing Wall initiative
brought forward by the Outing Club; and 3) improving facilities availability
and upkeep.
I. Guidelines for Sports Activities.
With regard to the first area of concern,
Guidelines for Sport Activities, the Athletic Council discussed the effectiveness
of various pre-season orientation programs for student-athletes, finding
that the Athletic department and special groups like the Sports Awareness
Club were successful generally in guiding new athletes and their parents
in the eligibility policies of the College and the NCAA.
The Council also ratified an Intercollegiate
Athletic Mission Statement, reaffirming the College's commitment to competitive
athletic experience as an integral part of a liberal arts education. To
this end, the Council had extensive discussions regarding scheduling guidelines
for collegiate sport activities, especially those related to weekday games
and matches, as well as matters of notification of absences and allowances
for missed work. The Council remains committed to policies that emphasize
the primacy of the academic mission of the college and that encourage
students to participate as fully in intercollegiate sports as their class
schedules will allow. The Council considered ways in which student-athletes
could minimize the effects of missed class time, in which coaches could
keep faculty better informed about potential scheduling difficulties,
and in which faculty could be clearer in instructions to students and
coaches about tolerances for missed work resulting from athletic contests.
The Council also reviewed material related
to the redistribution of course offerings through the academic day. In
an effort to relieve the crunch of courses between the hours of 10:00
and 2:00, the College has encouraged faculty members to offer more courses
either earlier in the morning or late in the day, a decision with some
impact on the scheduling of practices and games. The Council also discussed
briefly the impact reconfiguration may have on the scheduling of classes
and athletic events.
In particular the Council is concerned with
the elusive " TBA, 4th credit" associated with many newly reconfigured
courses. Traditionally student-athletes have tried to minimize class absences
by avoiding courses with late-day or evening meeting hours, precisely
the hours many faculty now plan to use for laboratory or film opportunities
associated with the TBA-4th credit. Because these hours are not identified
on the master schedule, student-athletes cannot anticipate as well as
they would like which courses are best suited for their schedules. The
Council hopes to monitor the situation over the upcoming terms and to
work with the offices of the Registrar and Dean of the Faculty to find
ways to better inform students of their classroom obligations before registration
in any given term.
Finally, in the category of guidelines, the
Athletic Council reviewed the NCAA Self-Study to which the Athletic department
will be directing its attention over the next semester. These guidelines
relate primarily to contest scheduling, student-athlete eligibility, medical
and athletic training, and NCAA drug testing, and it will be used by the
College to help frame the athletic department's approach to creating policy
and procedures in subsequent years. Among the many sub-topics discussed
by the Council was gender equity in team sports, an area in which we seem
to be doing well at Skidmore, and student-driver policies in the wake
of several accidents involving traveling teams at other universities.
II. Climbing Wall.
The committee spent a good deal of time discussing
a Rock Climbing Wall proposal brought forward last year by the Skidmore
Outing Club. This student-driven initiative resulted in the presentation
of a significant written proposal for a climbing wall as well as in meetings
with representatives of various wall climbing conversion companies to
explore costs and wall sites. In addition, a student representative from
the committee met with members of the Board of Trustees to make a case
for the wall. The students have argued that such a wall would enhance
the quality of athletic life on campus and would serve as an excellent
recruiting tool for the college.
As with many things associated with athletics,
costs have proven a major impediment. Estimates for a wall are in the
$300,000 to $500,000 range. The Athletic Council discussed at length fund
raising issues, the identification of potential donors, and the place
of the climbing wall in the Development Office's list of priorities. Some
on the Athletic Council view the costs as prohibitive and consider further
discussion of the matter counterproductive; others continue to hope either
that costs can be reduced or that monies can be found to bring the project
to fruition. Some on the Council question whether less expensive and long
postponed athletic projects should be bypassed in favor of such an expensive
wall, while others argue that the costs and quickened pace of the proposal
are justified by the strong demand on the part of many students for such
a facility. The Athletic Council, which serves only an advisory function
in the matter, arrived at no real consensus but may continue to discuss
its feasibility in the coming term.
III. Facilities Availability and Upkeep.
The Council reviewed a number of issues related
to the availability and upkeep of athletic facilities. Many faculty, staff
and students have complained over the years about the closing of certain
facilities (especially the pool and weight room) during those periods
when students are not on campus and when, therefore, student monitors
cannot be found to supervise. In 1999-2000, for instance, the pool and
weight room were closed for four weeks at the end of the summer, for a
month and a half between the end of the first term and the beginning of
the second term, for several weeks during Thanksgiving and Spring breaks
and for four weeks between the end of the second term and the beginning
of summer programming.
Those who depend on these facilities at times
when students are not on campus feel as if they are being held hostage
to student-work schedules. The Athletic department has worked hard to
find student-workers to patch in during the longest of these intervals,
but the Athletic Council continues to seek ways to institutionalize such
coverage so as to avoid the need to scramble every time such a break occurs
in the schedule.
The Council also involved itself with the
Facilities Services debate on campus, focusing its attention on the upkeep
of athletic facilities. As with many constituencies, the Athletic department
had numerous complaints with the maintenance record of the Marriott folks,
especially related to the neglect of locker rooms, gym floors, and equipment.
Despite meeting weekly with facilities supervisors to discuss problems
in these areas, the Athletic department was still unsatisfied with the
results, as were a number of student and faculty groups who appealed to
the Athletic Council for help. These complaints were forwarded by the
committee to the appropriate parties with some improvements as a result,
but the Athletic Council will continue to monitor this work in the coming
year, looking for still more progress.
Next Year.
Apart from these particular initiatives,
the Council also reflected more broadly on its mission with regard to
the entire campus community. The Council intends to widen the scope of
its work to deal more directly with the needs not only of student-athletes
but also of non-varsity team athletes, intramural participants, club sport
members and faculty/staff recreational users of the facilities. Students
affiliated with the rock climbing wall plan to bring a new proposal to
the Council, and members of the committee will continue to look at scheduling
matters related to reconfiguration and post-season play. Greg Pfitzer
will begin his second year of service in the Fall and serve as chair for
another semester (Fall of 2000) to be replaced by a new chair in the Spring.
Eric Weller will serve for one remaining semester in the Fall to be replaced
for one term by Mary Correa in the Spring. Viviana Rangil begins her three
year term in the Fall as well.
If you have any questions about this annual
report, please direct them to the summer 2000 liaison for the committee,
Greg Pfitzer.
Respectfully submitted,
Greg Pfitzer, Chair, Athletic Council
|