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Changes in Drug Testing a Burden for DIII Athletes

"There have been plenty of embarrassing moments in the sports world. Take, for instance, Diana Ross missing her ceremonious penalty kick as part of the disastrously gaudy 1994 World Cup opening ceremonies. Or take Steve Smith scoring the winning goal in game seven of the 1986 conference finals … for the other team. Oh, and who can forget the infamous 1982 Cal-Stanford football game where the band rushed the field to celebrate Stanford’s victory a little too early, allowing Cal to score a last second touchdown and win the game.

What could I possibly imagine to be the embarrassing moment to top all those? Something so traumatizing it need not involve anything more than a cup, a bathroom stall and a complete stranger. That is, being asked for a urine sample for a drug test and being unable … to perform. It’s a lot of pressure. Too much pressure. Stories of athletes taking hours while teammates wait on the bus can make the most unabashed athletes worry.

Unfortunately for DIII student-athletes like me, this embarrassing moment could become a lot more common. Every year student-athletes at Swarthmore and elsewhere are asked to sign a series of documents that give the NCAA permission to drug test. As fall athletes already know, though, this year the forms are a little different."

- by Hannah Purkey, Swarthmore Phoenix

Digging for a Cure

The Centennial Conference women's volleyball athletes and coaches have joined together for the third straight year to raise money for Breast Cancer research. The teams will use the dig totals from selected matches to raise money for Living Beyond Breast Cancer (LBBC). LBBC offers various programs to help those fighting the disease and also provides information and support for family and friends. If you are interested in donating, please contact a team member or the head coach. The dates that the teams have chosen to use its dig totals for this worthy cause:

October 4 - Bryn Mawr, Johns Hopkins
October 9 - Muhlenberg, Washington
October 11 - Dickinson, Swarthmore
October 18 - Franklin & Marshall, Haverford
October 22 - Gettysburg, McDaniel, Ursinus

Thank you for your support!!!

NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Conference

The 2008 fall NCAA Division III Student-Athlete Leadership Conference is scheduled for Oct. 3-4-5 in Pittsburgh, Pa. Attendance is absolutely free! The NCAA pays for airfare or mileage, shuttle transportation, lodging (Friday & Saturday only) and meal costs; rental car fees are not reimbursed. Hotel expenses (excluding incidentals) and airfare are billed directly to the NCAA. Additionally, the NCAA will reimburse reasonable meal expenses associated with travel upon provision of a reimbursement form and expense receipts.

Division III is committed to student-athlete well-being, a key priority of the Division III Strategic Plan. The divisional leadership conferences are designed to encourage student-athletes to become confident change agents on their campuses and in their communities and to provide a forum for student-athletes, coaches, administrators and faculty to build partnerships, develop leadership skills, and discuss Division III issues that impact student-athletes. As part of the divisional leadership conferences, participants from the same institution or conference office will work together in teams. They will use information presented at the leadership conference to develop plans for projects that can be implemented with the support of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and other campus leaders to promote positive change. This jam-packed, weekend conference allows Division III attendees to not only become change agents, but have fun and make new friends while doing it!

The deadline for registration is September 1. Interested? Contact your institution's Director of Athletics for more information.

It's Not an Adventure, It's a Job

by Bill Pennington, New York Times

"A few months into her first year at Villanova, Stephanie Campbell was despondent.

As a high school senior in New Jersey, she had been thrilled to receive a $19,000 athletic scholarship to play field hockey at Villanova University, a select, private institution outside Philadelphia. But she had not counted on the 7 a.m. start of every class day, something required so she could be in the locker room by noon to prepare for a four-hour shift of afternoon practices and weight-lifting sessions. Travel to games forced her to miss exams and classes. There were also mandatory team meetings, study halls and weekend practices.

She was overwhelmed."

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Recruits Clamor for More From Coaches With Less

by Bill Pennington, New York Times

The country’s celebrity college football and basketball coaches lead nationally ranked teams on television, controlling a bevy of full scholarships and a sophisticated marketing machine that swathes college athletics with an air of affluence. They are far from typical.

More common is the soccer, lacrosse or softball coach who sits in a closet-sized office beside a $100 air conditioner and a 12-inch TV, trying to figure out ways to buy the best athlete possible for the least amount of scholarship money, which can be as little as $400. A jack-of-all-trades, this coach has a job that requires the skills of a stock portfolio manager, labor lawyer, headhunter, family counselor and soothsayer.

“There have been days when you feel like a used-car salesman,” said Joe Godri, the baseball coach at Villanova University. “I’ve always been completely honest, but you can’t get away from the fact that the process can be crazy. You pump up a kid so much to come to your place, and when he agrees, you say, ‘O.K., and what I’ve got for you is 25 percent of your cost to attend here.’ “And no one believes you, but that’s a good Division I baseball scholarship. You have to convince his parents that you’re being really fair.”

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Expectations Lose to Reality of Sports Scholarships

by Bill Pennington, New York Times

At youth sporting events, the sidelines have become the ritual community meeting place, where families sit in rows of folding chairs aligned like church pews. These congregations are diverse in spirit but unified by one gospel: heaven is your child receiving a college athletic scholarship. Parents sacrifice weekends and vacations to tournaments and specialty camps, spending thousands each year in this quest for the holy grail. But the expectations of parents and athletes can differ sharply from the financial and cultural realities of college athletics, according to an analysis by The New York Times of previously undisclosed data from the National Collegiate Athletic Association and interviews with dozens of college officials.

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Division III Membership Issues

Here are a couple of podcasts that you might find interesting concerning the possibility of a membership split within NCAA Division III.

Inside Higher Ed talks with Emily Pankow of Luther College, chair of the NCAA Division III SAAC, and Kayla Hinkley of the University of New England.

NCAA Double-A Zone talks with Myles Brand, president of the NCAA, and Dan Dutcher, vice president for Division III.

NCAA Convention Recap

The 2008 NCAA Convention has come to a close and the nearly 900 Division III delegates certainly will remember this gathering in Nashville for what did happen ... and what did not. The Centennial Conference improved to 2-0 all-time in proposed legislation as Proposal 4, placing limitations on text and instant messaging, was adopted by a 362-72-2 vote. But that was one of the only highlights for the CC, as a number of other Conference votes were in the minority as "more permissive" legislation was adopted. One of these proposals changes the first permissible starting date for basketball contests from the Friday before Thanksgiving to November 15. The Centennial Conference has not officially adopted this legislation and will meet today to discuss the CC's course of action. The Centennial SAAC suffered a defeat, as the membership adopted limitations on the use of male practice players during the traditional segment of the playing season. The Conference students did not wish to see any limitations that would hamper smaller squads. And the national SAAC was defeated in its attempt to require the presence of at least one person certified in first aid, CPR and use of an AED at athletics activities. Read more on the Convention in this story from the NCAA News

Swarthmore SAAC Conducts Holiday Food Drive

The Swarthmore College Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) sponsored its First Annual Holiday Food Drive. The food donations collected during the drive were donated to the Bernardine Center in Chester, a local organization that assists low-income Chester residents.