SPECIAL FEATURES
Wheels on the Track
Minnesota recently welcomed a new group of athletes to high school track and field: those in wheelchairs. The Minnesota State High School League, after getting requests from parents of disabled athletes, passed a rule in February allowing wheelchair athletes the opportunity to participate in their own division in the shot put, 800 meters, and 1600 meters.
All Set For Sand
By Von Mitchell Just around the dune, it's coming! After several years of discussion, sand volleyball makes its official NCAA debut this spring. Fourteen Division I schools have announced they will field a team, with a few more possibly joining the beach party in time for the 2011-12 season. Also, one NAIA squad will also be up and running.
Reacting to Mistakes
By Dennis Read A big part of an athletic director's job is managing coaches, and that sometimes means handling the aftermath of a coach's mistake. We take a look at responses by administrators after their coaches have taken a wrong turn.
Northwestern Joins "It Gets Better"
By Dennis Read The Northwestern University athletic department has produced its own "It Gets Better" video, which supports lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students.
50 Twitter Tips for Student-Athletes
By Tom Satkowiak The Associate Media Relations Director at the University of Tennessee, who is also the Sports Information Director for men's basketball, provides this comprehensive list of Twitter tips you can share with your student-athletes.
Concussion Legislation Breakdown
By Patrick Bohn As the dangers of concussions become more apparent, many states have passed legislation outlining formal concussion policies. In addition to policies governing removal from games and return to play, a majority of states are now requiring schools to produce materials for parents to educate them about the dangers of concussions.
Ithaca College Abandons Mascot Search
By Patrick Bohn Ithaca College has been in existence since 1868. But in all those years, the school has never had a mascot. This year, that appeared poised to change, as the school embarked on a months-long mascot search. However, an inability to come to a consensus on the mascot forced the school to abandon the search, with Ithaca President Tom Rochon writing that the search "served as a wedge issue to divide us."
An Interview with Butch Miller
By Von Mitchell As a two-year all-conference outfielder in the mid-1990s, Butch Miller helped Mesa State College on the diamond. Now finishing his second full year as Athletic Director at Mesa State College, Miller has helping the school blossom into a regional and national contender at the NCAA Division II level in several different sports.
States of Change
By Patrick Bohn As high school athletic association across the country wrap up annual meetings and conventions, a spate of changes have dotted the landscape. Here's a rundown of some of the most significant developments.
Advice for Coaches: A Blueprint
Athletic Management contributor Dr. David Hoch, CMAA, recently retired as Athletic Director at Loch Raven High School in Baltimore County, Md. Not one to just sit around, Hoch went to work writing a coaching guidebook titled "Blueprint for Better Coaching." We recently sat down with Hoch to talk about the book and his views on the coaching profession. A former coach and long-time mentor to coaches, Hoch shares his thoughts on getting started in the profession, dealing with adversity, and how to avoid common pitfalls and mistakes.
How the Home Team Wins
By Kevin Wittner What kind of implications does a home football game have for a city? When I conducted an independent study of the University of Arizona football team's impact this past fall, only one element was analyzed: The program's economic impact on the city of Tucson. Here's what I found.
Texas TV Deal
By Patrick Bohn The University of Texas' groundbreaking $300 million, 20-year television deal with ESPN has generated considerable praise for the financial windfall it could create for the university. However, it's also fueled plenty of discussion about competitive balance, and the even bigger gap between the haves and have nots in big-time college athletics.
A Message For Parents
By Kenny Berkowitz
In an effort to curb parental over-involvement, the Connecticut Association of Athletic Directors (CAAD), Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference, and Connecticut High School Coaches Association produced a 14-minute video entitled "Parenting Your Student-Athlete." Last August, copies were sent to every athletic director in the state, and in the two months since it was posted to the CAAD Web site, the video has received more than 4,000 hits.
Pinning Down New Fans with Social Media
By Patrick Bohn In today's evolving landscape, coaches can no longer rely solely on traditional media outlets. At Cornell University, Head Wrestling Coach Rob Koll has taken matters into his own hands, using Facebook to generate publicity for his team.
Bat Debate Update
By Abigail Funk While November's chill signaled the end of another Major League Baseball season, the debate over bats at high school and collegiate levels remains hot. From a legislative proposal in California that called for a metal bat moratorium to a survey of college coaches that revealed they prefer aluminum to wood, the involved parties are as split on the issue as ever.
Stepping Up In a Competitive Market
By Brian Gerrity At the University of Hartford, we share the Connecticut athletics market with a major NCAA Division I institution, six mid-major Division I universities, several minor league baseball franchises, minor league football and hockey teams. Here is how we're carving a niche in a region that's bursting with athletics and entertainment choices.
Playing With "Re-Purpose"
By Dan Cardone As athletic directors, we know what it means to be resourceful. Our position requires a constant commitment to finding ways to get the job done. Being "re-purposeful" is different. It requires looking at things from other angles so that greater results can be achieved.
Raging Bull of Little Rock
By Patrick Bohn University of Arkansas-Little Rock Associate Athletic Director Gary Hogan has no qualms about taking on unique challenges. So when the opportunity arose for him to put on the gloves for a boxing match against former MLB American League MVP Jose Canseco and help raise money for a local GED center in the process, Hogan jumped at it. Then the 60-year-old jumped Canseco, beating him on a decision.
Catching Up With The Head Hurricane
By Kyle Garratt Kirby Hocutt's resume reads like that of someone 20 years older than he is. The 38 year-old University of Miami Athletic Director took over in South Florida in February 2008 after three years in the same position at Ohio University. In this interview, Hocutt talks about the lessons he learned from the great men he's worked with, being a young athletic director in a big program, and cleaning up the image of Miami's football program.
NCAA Cabinet Re-evaluates Recruiting
By Dennis Read Every year brings a slew of proposed rules changes to the NCAA Division I manual, which is already 431 pages long--with countless pages to cover recruiting. This year, the Division I Recruiting Cabinet hopes to create a set of streamlined regulations that won't need to be tweaked annually.
Great Expectations
By Dr. David Hoch, CMAA While some schools may have a specific written code of conduct for their coaches, our philosophy is a little different here at Loch Raven High School in Towson, Md. Our approach involves several components that are seamless and pointed toward a singular goal--guiding our coaches to be great role models and professionals.
A Do-It-All AD
By Kyle Garratt At Bradshaw Christian High School in Sacramento, Calif., Athletic Director Mike Ruble has built a budding powerhouse that started with a freshman class of 17 kids. As Boys' Head Basketball Coach and Girls' Head Basketball Coach, Ruble's fingerprints are all over the program's success.
Binghamton Under Fire
By Mike Phelps As a result of the controversy swirling around the Binghamton University men's basketball program, a four-month investigation into the university's athletic department was conducted. The investigation cost nearly $1 million in State University of New York (SUNY) Research Foundation money and resulted in a 102 page report.
Lenoir-Rhyne Launching Lacrosse
By Kenny Berkowitz When Neil McGeachy, Athletic Director at NCAA Division II Lenoir-Rhyne University, began the process of adding men's and women's lacrosse, he started with the same series of questions he asks when considering any new sport: "When students are searching for the right college, is a new program going to help make up their mind? Will the addition of a new sport tip the scale? Will it make our institution more attractive to a larger group of student-athletes?" With answers in the affirmative, college lacrosse is set to welcome its two newest members in spring of 2011.
Shooting for the Stars
By Lee W. Watson Interested in bringing more attention and recognition to your league, school, athletic program, and student-athletes? If so, consider hosting an all-star basketball game. Here is a 10-step plan to help get you started.
Q&A with Brooks Royer
By Kenny Berkowitz As the starting shortstop for the Rhodes College baseball team, Brooks Royer distinguished himself as a very solid player, hitting .305, fielding .903, and helping lead the Lynx to a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Eastern Division crown in 2008. But his impact off the field has been just as significant. In this interview, Royer talks about his experience on the NCAA Division III Management Council and the NCAA Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
Split on the Uprights
By David LaVetter, Ph.D. While some people may view tearing down football goalposts as an accepted custom, recent legal cases should spur administrators to revisit their policies.
Handshakes and Fisticuffs
By Kyle Garratt When the NCAA and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) named the first round of college football games "Respect Weekend" and encouraged teams to shake hands before each game in a show of sportsmanship, they probably didn't envision what would actually follow. The first game of the college season ended with a player punching one of his opponents, several teams declined to shake hands, and many were not shy to voice opinions for and against the pregame formalities. As it turns out, would-be friendly handshakes can turn quite volatile.
Controlling Social Media
By Mike Phelps With the explosion of social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, many teams, schools, conferences, and leagues have been working to develop guidelines and standards for how to best use and regulate these innovative tools. The Southeastern Conference (SEC) recently made headlines with the release--and re-release--of its latest policy, perhaps the strictest set of guidelines yet.
Ex-Athletes Sue The NCAA
By Mike Phelps The NCAA has found itself on the defensive recently, as several former collegiate athletes have filed class-action lawsuits against the governing body, video game maker Electronic Arts, and the Collegiate Licensing Company, claiming the groups are illegally profiting off the images of college football and basketball players, particularly as they're used in video games. While players' names are not used in the games, the characters bear striking resemblances to their real life counterparts, down to uniform numbers, heights, weights, and home states.
Coach-Athlete Boundary Lines
By Abigail Funk Males have been coaching female athletic teams for a long time. But a few recent headlines have some concerned administrators and parents questioning the dynamic created when an adult male is in a position of authority over teenage girls.
All A-Twitter
By Dennis Read The latest craze in social networking is spreading 140 characters at a time. From coaches and teams to entire athletic departments, Twitter is taking college and high school athletics by storm. Here's what athletic administrators need to know about this emerging technology.
Q&A with Jeff Hathaway
By Mike Phelps
Between daily meetings, serving on the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament Selection Committee, and managing the ins and outs of a high-profile athletic department, University of Connecticut Athletic Director Jeff Hathaway doesn't have a ton of free time on his hands. But could he spare a moment for the President of the United States? Sure.
Prayer Appeal Denied
By Kenny Berkowitz At East Brunswick (N.J.) High School, Head Football Coach Marcus Borden made national headlines by resigning from his position after being told to stop kneeling or bowing his head while his team prayed. In the four years since, he’s taken his fight all the way to the Supreme Court, which refused to hear the case in March. That leaves the school district’s ban firmly in place. But where does it leave other coaches?
Roundtable Discussion: H.S. National Champs?
In April, several of the country’s top high school boys’ and girls’ basketball teams will travel to Bethesda, Md., for a postseason tournament that event organizers envision as a potential first step toward the creation of a national championship. The idea, however, has encountered criticism from coaches and athletic directors. A panel of AthleticManagement.com contributors weighs in on the issue.
An Ounce of Prevention
Education and awareness are the keys to keeping MRSA at bay. They are also the solution to protecting your athletes from other health risks.
Question Of The Day
By Abigail Funk Each year we query administrators from various levels of athletics across the country about one specific aspect affecting their job or athletic department. This time we ask: How are you keeping increased travel costs from busting your budget?
Q&A with Warde Manuel
By R.J. Anderson
This month, led by Director of Athletics Warde Manuel and Head Football Coach Turner Gill, the University at Buffalo is making its first-ever bowl appearance. In just three years at the helm, Warde has led Buffalo to improbable heights, cultivating a culture now steeped in academic and athletic success.
The Bills to Fund the Skills
By Dennis Read For years, there’s been a debate raging over competitive equity between richer and poorer school districts. And while there’s no easy fix—after all, for every winner there has to be a loser—the search continues for the best way to bridge the socioeconomic gap that separates athletic programs.
Q&A with Jeff Schemmel
By Abigail Funk When Jeff Schemmel told his family and friends he was contemplating leaving his successful law practice in search of a college that needed an athletic director, they were surprised, to say the least. But sports has been a part of Schemmel’s life for as long as he can remember, and a career in athletics just seemed like the natural thing to do. Today, you can find a satisfied Schemmel serving as Director of Athletics at San Diego State University, where he continues an administrative career in athletics that now spans 20 years.
Finding a Rhythm
By Mike Phelps With school back in session, there is no shortage of headlines about automated external defibrillators (AEDs). This month Athletic Management examines AED news from around the country.
Ready and Waiting
By Mike Phelps As President-Elect of the NFHS, Ennis Proctor, Executive Director of the Mississippi High Schools Activities Association (MHSAA), is set to begin what he calls “one of the highlights" of his 45-year career. In this interview, Proctor discusses his career, the challenges he has encountered in Mississippi, and issues facing the NFHS.
Heat Check
By Abigail Funk More and more athletic programs are using written policies to govern practices and workouts in the hot, humid months. From getting everyone on board to deciding what rules to set, there are several critical steps to a successful policy-making process.
Growing the Women’s Game
By Kenny Berkowitz Athletic Management takes a look at grassroots marketing efforts that have provided attendance boosts for a handful of NCAA Division I women’s basketball programs.
Can Turf Fields Pose Health Risks?
By Dennis Read Athletic directors are used to watching contests played on their schools' fields. Now some are seeing battles being fought over them. Recent reports of high lead levels in a few synthetic turf fields have roused critics with concerns about the technology’s safety. However, industry leaders strongly stand behind the safety of their products, countering that there is no evidence linking synthetic turf to illness or environmental damage.
A Recipe for Safe Events
By Jay Hammes Violence erupting at a high school sporting event is every athletic director's worst nightmare. Jay Hammes, Athletic Director at William Horlick High School in Racine, Wis., shares tips for making events safer and more secure.
NCAA D-III Stands Pat, Issues Remain
By Michael Vienna In March, the NCAA officially ended its discussion of creating a division or subdivision to address the growth of Division III, instead recommending a more broad-based approach in responding to the Association's continuing growth. Michael Vienna, Athletic Director at Salisbury University, shares his take on the discussion, including some ideas for moving forward.
Ready for Action
By Abigail Funk One of the largest facilities of its kind, the Boo Williams Sportsplex is set to open in Hampton, Va., in March—less than one year after breaking ground on the project.
A Sharp Facility
By Nate Dougherty Herb Rhea, Head Athletic Trainer at Jenks (Okla.) High School, talks about the health and fitness center that was recently constructed at his high school. The facility, which contains an underwater treadmill, also houses a physical therapy clinic run by a local hospital.
Lessons From the Journey
By Brian Gerrity Contributor Brian Gerrity, currently completing a fellowship at Springfield College, shares a few of the lessons he’s learned while pursuing a career in athletic administration. These teaching points are great food for thought for up-and-coming administrators, and important reminders for established veterans and leaders in the profession.
Football Debates Early Signing Date
By Nate Dougherty To address this acceleration of the recruiting process and alleviate the pressures on both student-athletes and coaching staffs, many coaches and administrators believe football should institute an early signing day for National Letters of Intent. This would allow athletes to make a binding commitment before the current February signing date and put the recruiting process behind them, possibly even before they begin their final season of high school football. But the idea is a contentious one, with strong beliefs held on both sides, and even supporters of an early signing period disagree on when one should be held.
Battling Booze and Body Paint
By Laura Ulrich No high school contest would be the same without an enthusiastic student cheering section. Passionate, creative teenagers putting everything they’ve got into backing their school’s team on a Friday night are central to the high school sports experience. But for administrators, that unbridled enthusiasm often comes with a side of worries. This fall, two trends in high school fan behavior have been making headlines: alcohol and body paint.
Q&A with Joe Dean, Jr.
While moving into NCAA Division I can hardly be called routine, it's far from unusual. Most every year, schools decide to make the move and suffer through the difficulties of the transitional years. In 1999, Birmingham-Southern College was one of those schools as it began the switch from NAIA to NCAA Division I. Eight years later, Birmingham-Southern finds itself at the beginning of another transition--one without recent precedent. Birmingham-Southern is now moving to Division III.
Q&A with Robb Vessely
The start of a new school year brings a host of new beginnings. From students to teachers to staff, people are embarking on new ventures. It’s a safe bet that few athletic administrators are facing bigger changes than Robb Vessely. After spending the last 13 years as an assistant athletic director at several Midwestern colleges including Ball State University, Indiana University, and Illinois State University, Vessely is now the Athletic Director at Eastern Hancock High School in Charlottesville, Ind., enrollment 345. Not that the small-town life is completely new to Vessely, who grew in a small town in northern Indiana and whose father is the athletic director at Indiana’s North Judson-San Pierre High School. Still, Vessely’s work day promises to be a lot different at Eastern Hancock than it was at Illinois State. In this interview, Vessely talks about why he made the move, the differences between high school and college athletics, and what he hopes to accomplish in his new setting.
Intern Insider
By Brian Gerrity Brian Gerrity is a 2005 graduate of Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. At Bates, he was a two-year captain and a 1,000-point scorer for the men's basketball team. In 2006-07, Gerrity worked at Yale University as an intern in the varsity sports office, where he acted as contest manager for Yale's nationally-ranked women's soccer and women's hockey programs. Gerrity has accepted a fellowship to attend Springfield College in the fall of 2007 to pursue a master's degree in Athletic Administration. In August 2006, I accepted an internship to work in the athletic department at Yale University. Though I was treated as an equal and expected to perform important duties, the staff never lost sight of the fact this was a learning experience and my first taste of working in college athletics. During my time as an intern, I learned how an athletics program operates, the keys to getting hired for a permanent position, and some very valuable information about athletics as a whole. My goal for this blog is to share those lessons with others who have similar career aspirations.
Views From the Top
The 2006-07 athletic season at Jesuit High School in Portland, Ore., was the type most athletic directors can only dream about. Five of the school's teams won state championships, five more finished as runners up, 16 teams won Metro League titles, and a slew of other team and individual earned accolades. The entire year was topped off in June when Jesuit was named the nation’s top athletic program by Sports Illustrated. Athletic Director Mike Hughes credits the program's success to a tight-knit coaching staff and a focus on team rather than individual accomplishments. It’s a philosophy he personally follows by calling on the school’s two previous athletic directors—now serving as assistant principals at the school—for help in guiding the program. Jim Naggi (Athletic Director from 1993-2000) and Chris Smart (Athletic Director from 2000-2005) form a link of experience dating back to the school’s first year as a co-ed institution and help Hughes maintain a continuity that’s spurred much of the program's success. In this interview, Hughes, Smart, and Naggi talk about how they work together, their philosophy on three-sport athletes, and getting coaches to cooperate with one another.
Hokies Regroup in Wake of Shootings
By Michael W. Goforth Michael W. Goforth is Director of Athletic Training for Virginia Tech Athletics On April 16, the institution I call home was attacked by one of its own. At 7:15 a.m., a student killed two of his fellow students in West Ambler Johnston Residence Hall. At 9:01 a.m., he mailed a package of writings and videos outlining his actions to NBC News. Two hours after the first shooting, that student chained the entrance to Norris Hall and proceeded to go on a nine-minute, 170-round killing spree that ended with him taking his own life. When he was done, 33 were dead, 25 were wounded, and an entire community was left devastated by another senseless act of violence. There’s no doubt the events of that day will change our university and its students, alumni, and staff forever. As a school that values its athletic programs and our role in the overall student and community environment, we in the athletic department were all left with a desire to contribute in some way to the healing process and help the community get back on its feet.
Draft Prospects Schooled on APR
By Laura Ulrich In early April, as the NCAA Division I Men’s Championship basketball tournament draws to a close, coaches and fans have traditionally watched very closely to see which players would declare for the NBA draft. In recent years, another group has also been interested—athletic administrators concerned about their teams’ Academic Progress Rates (APR).
Sharing One Shining Moment
Paul Griffin, Senior Associate Athletic Director at Georgia Tech, is a Co-Chair of the Game Management Committee for the 2007 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Final Four. In the days leading up to the Final Four, Athletic Management talked to Griffin about his role in making one of the most popular weekends in sports come off successfully.
Preventing MRSA
To help in the fight against MRSA, Athletic Management is offering five free posters you can download and use in your athletic department facilities. View Posters »
