Foundations of Research and Inquiry in Intercollegiate Athletics

The first foundational idea is relating to a quote posted in our classroom. This quote being, “While no single conversation is guaranteed to change the trajectory of a career, a company, a relationship or a life- any single conversation can.” This was apart of the fierce conversations curriculum model. The further we discovered the curriculum, the more and more this stood out to me. It is so important in our profession and in life to realize the impact conversations can have on others. You have no idea when something you say is going to stick out in the mind of those around, either good or bad. A single conversation is what someone might remember about you the rest of his or her life.

The second foundational idea that I will take with me throughout my course of study is related to Professor Pat Dobel and SUNY Binghampton. In his blog, and in conversations our cohort was able to have with Professor Dobel, it was made evident the impact athletics has on academics. The president of SUNY Binghamton, bought into the idea of fame, and let corruption lead the way for her university. She valued athletics more than academics and thus let athletics have a negative impact on the education of student-athletes. She is not the only one. We also read about academic corruption caused by athletics at the University of Michigan from Dr. Kihl’s articles. In that case, arrangements were made to write student- athlete papers and assignments. This is also an incidence when athletics negatively affected the education of student-athletes. Academics and athletics are not two separate entities, but are intertwined in the success and failure of athletics.

These two foundational ideas are ones I will carry throughout my journey in intercollegiate athletics. I will build on my professional communication skills and understand further the importance of words. It is also very important to remember the impact that athletics has on education to avoid corruption and scandal. In intercollegiate athletics, we must always remind ourselves that they are student-athletes. Student comes before athlete.

Education as a Moral Endeavor

I believe the purpose of education is to enrich minds and to continually challenge your beliefs. Without challenging your beliefs and ideals, individuals would never grow. The purpose of education is to create knowledgeable, healthy citizens who can contribute to our society. The purpose of athletics in education is to prepare students-athletes to be knowledgeable and healthy citizens, who’s values and beliefs lie in teamwork. Education can prepare these individuals to contribute to society during and after their athletic endeavors have come to a close.

As well as developing my thought on the interplay of intercollegiate athletics and higher education, I was able to gain great insight on leadership from Herbie Hoffman and Peter Fewings. The basic structure of leadership is based on growth of respect, empowerment of others and consideration. There is an exchange of leadership between players and coaches. We all learn from each other. Empowering others truly leads to a more successful team, and a team of individuals who look out for each other, who work together and who strive for the same goals.

Another topic discussed in Education as a moral endeavor was the moral implications involved in intercollegiate athletics. There are gender, race, and economic issues entwined into intercollegiate athletics. This class has sparked my interest in academic special admission student-athletes. I have realized that college admissions are a balance. Equal opportunity seems to be purely based on higher academic success on the surface. As the issue is explored more in-depth it become apparent that race and socio-economic opportunities play a huge role in these issues.

Sociology of Education has significantly increased my understanding of morality issues, and given me the drive to further explore and improve moral issues in intercollegiate athletics.

Budget and Financial reporting for Intercollegiate Athletics

Week three was based on Budget and Financial reporting for intercollegiate athletics. Going into this class I was very weary of the information I would learn. I had no background in budget or finance and was hoping to make it through the week. Not only did I learn the basics of accounting, I learned how to apply this information into the intercollegiate athletics field.

The biggest assets to my professional development in the budget and financial reporting class was the end of the week project in which we were to lay out a financial improvement plan. I choose to work with the facilities at Pacific Lutheran University and break down the costs in order to build a new athletics facility. I researched projected costs, set forth a building plan and constructed a means to fundraise the money. This project gave me hands on experience as to how budgeting and accounting information could be used. Not only did I gain insight into the knowledge I had received, I walked away from the class with a project I can showcase with my budgeting and accounting skills on display. I now have confidence in my skills in budgeting and finance and will be able to put these skills to use in the intercollegiate athletics industry.

Student Populations and Experiences in Higher Education

Week four of our summer session gave us the opportunity to both explore the “American obsessions” with sports and to dig deep into real issues in intercollegiate athletics. The book “game on” opened my eyes to the realities of youth sports. “Game on” talks in-depth on youth soccer training. In American society, three-year-old children are lined up on the soccer field repeating drills, specializing in sport shortly after they learn to walk. These children grown up believing they are the next soccer stars, and parents do nothing but further push their children to be the best. Is pushing your children into drills at the age of three the best thing? Fast forward to world cup soccer. The US teams struggle in one part of their game. They struggle with a lack of creativity. In comparison, looking at European teams, they win games with their ability to react to the situation, to be creative. This can be related directly back to training at a young age. In European countries, children are not participating in regulated sports to the degree that American children are. Europeans children are not specializing until much later in their youth. This leads these children to develop creative ball handling skills, to be able to adapt to situations outside of regulated drills. I aspire to be a collegiate softball coach. This related directly to coaching tactics. The point being, student-athletes must be given the chance to learn on their feet, to learn the flow of the game and to adapt to pressure situations. Having student-athletes compete in the same drills over and over again gives them nothing but the ability to perform under those exact circumstances. We are at a crossroads in athletics both at the youth and collegiate levels. As intercollegiate athletic leaders we must take steps to better develop our athletes. To take a step away from the playing field and consider what is best for their health, creativity and athletic skills.

Legal Issues in Higher Education

“Legal issues in higher education” was a very interesting class. Not only did we learn an overview of the legal system, but also constitutional law, contracts, the National letter of intent, negligence and the NCAA and its rules and regulations. I had two definite highlights from the week. The first was the contract negotiation exercise we did in class. The group I was in was a high playing coach who wanted a raise and was not very willing to negotiate. This made our negotiation process difficult. I noticed that even after the exercise there were strong feelings from both sides of the table on the negotiations. A huge aspect of negotiations is the attitude you take going into them. With the right attitude, negotiations can be made. If you are not willing to work and coming to an agreement, your job is made that much more difficult.

The second highlight of the week was when the sports agent came and talked to us. I did not have much previous knowledge on Sport’s agents and it was very interesting to hear how his job works, and how to work with the NCAA to be compliant. The temptation is so great for gifted athletes to use agents while they are still competing and it was interesting to hear an agents take on this. It was also encouraging to talk with an agent who valued the rules and regulations set forth by the NCAA. Overall the legal week was a great week. I learned a ton of new information and am able to better negotiate the world of intercollegiate athletics.

Development and Fundraising in Intercollegiate Athletics

Development and Fundraising brought wisdom from the great Andy Gieger. “Friend raising” was the theme of this class, and a topic that got brought up again and again. “Friend raising” is my take away point from the class. Fundraising is not easy to do. Simply asking for money will not get you very far. The idea of “friend raising” is to gain lifelong friends of the athletic department, and that is where the funds come from. Brynn Malloy spoke in depth about the different types of “friend raising” they do at the University of Montana. They have tailgates at the football games, and community wide poker events. The development office is routinely on the phone with its donors, continuing their friendships. The donor panel that was brought in pushed this point home as well. They value the effort the staff at the University of Washington puts out to help them feel comfortable. Donating their money is about an experience; it’s about feeling apart of something bigger than them. Development and fundraising is about customer service, it’s about creating great experiences for every individual involved. If you create lasting memories, they will return and your friend raising soon turn into fundraising.

Human Resources in Intercollegiate Athletics

During week 7 of our summer course schedule, we took a class on human resources in intercollegiate athletics. This course covered a wide gamete of topics and discussions. The most interesting aspect of the class was the papers we wrote each night and the discussions that took place the following day. These papers were on topics such as religion, homophobia, hazing diversity and student rights. Discussions were had as to whether a coach has the ability to limit student-athlete access to social networking sites and whether player’s missing practice time for religious beliefs should be penalized. Through discussions in class I was better able to formulate my opinions on these subjects, and in particular the two listed above. I believe that a coach/university does have the right to monitor and limit content that can be put on social media sites. Student-athletes do not always realize the spotlight they are in and the amount of people looking up to them. They do not always realize that they represent something much bigger than themselves. A student-athlete cannot compete for their university one day and have pictures of them involved in controversial activities the next posted on their face book pages. Student-athletes have an influence on people that, and the influence they make must be controlled. The second topic that I was very interested in is was on whether a student-athlete should be penalized for missing practice due to religious beliefs. I belief the answer to this is yes. A student-athlete is a part of a team. Every team member is must be held to the same standards. A fair penalty is missing playing time, just like any other team member would if they missed practice. The current student-athlete generation is one, which has been coddled since they were young. We cannot make exceptions for every student-athlete that steps on the field. They are apart of a team; something bigger than themselves, and something that must be an even playing field for all. Week 7 gave me the ability to address issues, which are commonly brought to leaders in athletics. This course has helped to better prepare me for the future.

Sociology of Education

Sociology of Education was the theme for week 8. This class tied all that we learned throughout the entire summer together. It gave us the opportunity to reflect, and develop our own agenda’s as we move up in the world of intercollegiate athletics. The end project for the class was based on the Youth Activities Project. This project enabled us to gather information on youth activities throughout our community. It gave us a sneak peak into the effect social class has on youth’s ability to participate in sports. In the Seattle area, basketball and soccer are highly accessible for all youth. There are wide ranges of teams available and you can spend as much or as little money as you want. Activities like rowing and tennis were much more exclusive. Generally, these sports are exclusively for youth whose parents can support a large monthly payment to an organization. The costs add up and soon these sports become only for the well off.

Although soccer is widely available to any youth, it does not mean that these youth will get equal opportunity everywhere. “Select” or “Elite” teams are now the normality in soccer and generally your only path into a college scholarship. It is rare that a soccer athlete can compete at a high enough level to earn their way to college without thousands and thousands of dollars being spent in the process. Soccer, at high levels and in college can then be labeled as a “privileged” sport. This is also the case with softball, baseball and golf. This troubles me, as we should be creating a world where the underprivileged have the same opportunities as everyone else, especially in youth sport. Yes, we have gone in a positive direction with the amount of youth sport activities available, but in a negative direction in the availability of these activities to all social classes.

Events and Facilities-Marketing and Communications

Although we have not yet finished our course work for these two classes, I have learned a great deal. I have had the opportunity to expand my knowledge through both the extended weekend and the conversations, guests that we had and through course reading and class assignments. The social media panel was very interesting during our extended weekend. Up until this point I have stayed away from twitter, but after the social media panel I realize that if utilized right, can be a great tool in the intercollegiate athletic industry. As part of an assignment, I spent the day observing a marketing employee at a UW football game. That was my first time working in marketing and I learned a great deal. Event management is something that is very relevant for every career path in intercollegiate athletics. I am eager to complete the facilities assignment where we are to walk around and assess the risks of buildings. It will be very interested to see how small things can create huge risks and liabilities for organizations.