SKIDMORE COLLEGE

Annual Report, 2000-2001

The Athletic Council for 2000-2001 consisted of the following
members: Greg Pfitzer (chair and faculty representative), Viviana Rangil
(faculty), Eric Weller (Fall 2000, faculty; replaced in Spring 2001 by
Mary Correa, faculty), Chuck Joseph (for the Vice-President of Academic
Affairs and the Dean of the Faculty), Don Hastings (for the Dean of
Student Affairs), Rebecca Booker (student,'03) and Ned Merrick (student,
'02). Tim Brown, Athletic Director, served as an ex-officio (non-voting)
member of the Council and was replaced during his sabbatical by
Assistant Athletics Director, Katherine De Lorenzo. Committee meetings
were attended regularly as well by student interns Mary Meager and Scott
Backer and by Women's Basketball and Softball Coach, Erika Gillis.

The committee is charged in the faculty handbook with recommending
to the Vice-President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty
policies regarding the Skidmore athletic program, "including the
determination of the scope and level of competition in intercollegiate,
club, and intramural sports; eligibility rules; establishment of
priorities for the athletic program; and such other matters as may be
brought to the Council's attention by the Athletic Director or by any of
the constituent groups of the college community."

The Athletic Council met monthly (and on occasion twice a month)
throughout the academic year 2000-2001 to discuss issues related to the
faculty mandate outlined above. Below is a brief summary of the most
important of matters discussed in the first and second semesters.

NCAA Self-Study

The Athletic Council spent time in its fall meetings discussing the
"NCAA Division III: Institutional Self-Study Guide to Enhance Integrity
in Intercollegiate Athletics." The study is designed to assist colleges
in assessing the role of athletics in an institution's educational
mission. It contains many thought-provoking questions related to
"Institutional Purpose and Athletics Philosophy," "Principles of
Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct," "Institutional Control and
Accountability of Athletics Program Finances," "Sports Medicine," etc.
The Athletic Council reviewed and endorsed answers provided by the
Athletics Department to questions posed in the guide and helped
formulate institutional responses to broader, all-college issues.

An area of concern prompted by these discussions and carried over
into regular business of the Council was gender-equity. Skidmore
completed a Gender-Equity Survey in 1998, addressing matters of
participation in sports by male and female students, revenues and
expenditures in equity categories and coaching assignments by gender.
While Skidmore is in compliance with NCAA standards and Title IX
requirements in most areas, members of the Council expressed concern
about two important areas of non-compliance: 1) the disparity between
the men's baseball facilities and the women's softball field, and 2) the
number of women's coaches who are two-sport coaches as opposed to their
counterparts who coach just one sport. Presentations were made in the
late winter and late spring by members of the Athletics Department to
the Administration about these deficiencies. There will be a review of
athletic programming by the College next fall, so no action was taken on
these matters this year, but the Athletic Council feels strongly that
both issues must be prominent in the discussions in order to ensure that
gender-equity balances are being maintained.

The Athletic Council also met to discuss and recommend to the
Athletic Director positions on matters to be taken up by the NCAA
Division III Presidents and Management Councils at its annual meeting in
January, including end-of-season tournaments and commencement conflicts,
out of season workouts, and approval of a financial aid compliance
process.

Strategic Planning Initiative

The Athletic Council participated in the strategic planning
initiative, beginning with a special planning roundtable devoted to
Athletics in November and continuing with a response to the President's
call in April for consideration of three long-range goals associated
with the planning process: 1) to reinforce and enhance student/faculty
relationships; 2) to strengthen the spirit and experience of community
and diversity, and 3) to closely link the learning and living elements
of the student experience. The Athletic Council recommended that the
College encourage a better understanding of the relationship between
class work and athletic participation; better communication among
students, coaches and faculty about scheduling conflicts related to
athletic competition, and a broader consideration of budget issues
associated with Athletic Department equipment and operating costs. The
Council would also like to find ways to encourage more members of the
Skidmore community to support intercollegiate athletics as well as to
encourage faculty, staff and students to value exercise as an important
part of a healthy lifestyle and the daily work regimen. To this end the
Council urged the College to do more to encourage faculty and staff to
use the sports facilities, including expanding the hours that exercise
areas are available and supporting wellness programs and exercise
classes where possible.

Academic Eligibility

Much of the spring term was devoted to consideration of a proposal
made by Jon Ramsey for "Clarifying and Modifying Academic Eligibility
Standards for Skidmore Student Athletes." Dean Ramsey has been working
for a number of years on this proposal designed to help students
"balance the commitments of time and discipline required for academic
and athletic success." The report raises important issues relevant to
the work of the Athletic Council and asks questions such as: "Exactly
how will we apply NCAA Division III eligibility policies when a student
athlete is in serious academic jeopardy--that is, either on 'probation'
or not meeting 'minimal continuation standards'?" "By what means, and by
whose authority, will we decide on an individual athlete's eligibility
to practice and compete?" and "What is the best balance of time
commitments between a student's academic and athletic endeavors? What is
the best strategy for achieving academic success when the student
athlete is in serious academic jeopardy?"

The committee discussed at length these important questions and
recommended to Dean Ramsey that he continue with the practice that is
currently operational by which the records of individual students in
academic difficulty are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and where
determinations of eligibility are made by the Dean of Studies office in
compliance with NCAA guidelines in consultation with the Athletics
Director. However, members of the Council felt strongly that any
provision that would declare a student/athlete ineligible for
intercollegiate athletics because of academic difficulties should be
applied to all students and in all other areas of co-curricular life.
The Council is in agreement that intercollegiate athletics should not be
singled out as the only area of co-curricular restriction, when, in
fact, there may be other activities that are equally distracting to
students (athletes or non-athletes) in academic difficulty. Hence, while
the Council acknowledges the need for academic standards for
eligibility, it requests that such standards be applied to all students
evenly and with respect to all areas of co-curricular activity under the
College's control.

It should be noted that this position represents a compromise of
sorts for members of the Athletic Council. Some on the committee
believed that students should not be restricted in any endeavors
(athletic or otherwise) despite academic difficulties. They argued that
students should take responsibility for their own actions, and that
ultimately at Skidmore (as in life outside Skidmore) it is the students
who must decide how they will spend their time. In addition, they are
concerned that any such restrictions might violate fundamental student
rights. Others on the Council believed that academic standards should
determine eligibility for intercollegiate sports as a first step toward
reducing distractions for students in academic difficulty and that the
minimum standard for participation should be raised. Once a student
drops below a certain standard, these others argued, he or she should be
excluded automatically from intercollegiate athletics independent of
other areas of co-curricular activity. The Council's compromise position
on the Ramsey proposal recognizes that decisions on these matters can
and should be made on a case-by-case basis but insists that an even
standard be applied across the board.

Non-Varsity Sports

The Council was involved as well this year in discussions of
non-varsity sporting activities. It considered a proposal from the Ski
Club for varsity status and in the process revisited arguments for a
women's varsity hockey team. Members of the Outing Club put forward
suggestions for kayaking clinics and renewed discussions of a climbing
wall, while others in the community called for improvements to the
fitness room in the sports facility. On this latter note, it was
reported by Chuck Joseph that the budget for maintenance of equipment in
the fitness room was tied (somewhat inexplicably) to the intramurals
budget, a line too small to handle maintenance and replacement costs.
The result was many complaints from users of the fitness room about
equipment that was not maintained well. Fortunately, a substantial gift
was given to the college by a donor late this spring providing funds to
purchase and maintain equipment for the fitness room.

Pool and Weight Room Availability

The Athletic Council received many e-mails concerning the
availability of the pool and weight room during times when students are
not on campus. During breaks when students leave campus during the
academic year (for lengthy periods of time in December, January, May and
August), these athletic facilities often are closed to recreational
users. Part of the problem is the lack of available monitors when
students are not on campus. In addition, facilities such as the pool are
budgeted through the Athletics department until the end of classes only,
while Special Programs does not assume responsibility for them until
summer school begins. While these stretches of time are convenient for
doing maintenance on a facility like the pool, they also constitute long
periods of inactivity and unwarranted closure. Employees of the College
who are working during periods when students are not on campus and who
depend on these facilities year round, feel as if they are being kept
from them unfairly. Members of the Athletics Council plan to continue to
challenge aggressively these policies of closure, because they reflect
so importantly on questions of access and ownership of college-wide
athletic facilities.

So, it was a busy but productive year for the Athletic Council. If
you have any questions about this annual report, please direct them to
the summer liaison for the Athletic Council, Greg Pfitzer. Viviana
Rangil will be chairing the committee for the 2001-2002 academic year
and Phyllis Roth will be the new faculty representative replacing Eric
Weller/Mary Correa, both of whom served the Council wonderfully this
past year.

As outgoing chair, I would like to thank interns Mary Meager and
Scott Backer for taking detailed minutes at our sometimes convoluted
meetings. In addition, on behalf of the Athletic Council, I would like
to extend best wishes to Katherine De Lorenzo and Erika Gillis who will
be leaving Skidmore after this semester. Their hard work on behalf of
the Athletic Council this year was appreciated greatly.

Respectfully Submitted

Greg Pfitzer, Chair (2000-2001)