Most college athletic departments today work hard to integrate their world into their campuses' academic world. But they often face a major roadblock. They do not get a seat in the faculty senate because these are typically reserved for professors.

Such was the case at San Diego State University--until Head Softball Coach Kathy Van Wyk stepped up to the plate. After applying to join the University Senate a year ago and being turned down since there wasn't a seat description that included coaches, she convinced faculty members to revisit their rules.

"We were organized around major academic units, which athletics is not," says Senate Secretary Bill Eadie, a Professor of Journalism and Media Studies at SDSU. "But we felt that athletics is a part of the university and we should really have at least one athletic voice to provide some perspective.

"We wondered whether the creation of the seat would be controversial, because we've had some fairly serious debates about the role of athletics in the Senate--particularly in hard budget times," he continues. "As it turned out, when we debated the proposal to add the seat, nobody really objected."

Coming off her sixth NCAA Division I tournament appearance in the last 10 years, Van Wyk has been preparing for her first Senate meeting in September by reviewing past meeting minutes. "It will be educational for me, and I hope I can add some perspective to the Senate meetings as well," she says. "I think more coaches need to take part in the overall university, see how things are run, and know what kinds of decisions are being made and why."