The Centennial Conference and the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Associate Executive Director Robert A. Lombardi, in conjunction with four other NCAA Division II and III conferences, announced the initiation of the START program at the Pennsylvania State Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (PSAHPERD) annual convention recently.
START stands for Students of Today Are Referees of Tomorrow, with a goal of recruiting new officials in all sports on the collegiate campuses as well as increasing opportunities for scholastic officials to advance to the intercollegiate level.
Member institutions of these conferences will be offering classes to become a registered sports' official with Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association or their sister association in each member institution's respective state throughout the Middle Atlantic Region.
Working in conjunction with the Centennial and the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association are the commissioners of the Division II Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) along with Division III Capital Athletic Conference (CAC), Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) and Middle Atlantic States Collegiate Athletic Corporation (MAC).
"This program will enable students to learn about what it takes to become an official and give graduates of START the opportunity to begin working games immediately," stated Steve Ulrich, Executive Director of the Centennial Conference.
The initial courses are to be offered during the spring semester at several college campuses.
The pilot program offered by the Centennial Conference will aim to recruit officials for baseball, softball, boys lacrosse and girls lacrosse on the first three Thursdays of February, 2009 (2/5, 2/12 and 2/19).
The three sessions will run approximately 75 minutes, beginning at 6 p.m. in the Steinman College Center at Franklin & Marshall College. Although the program is primarily for students from any college or university, others interested in becoming scholastic, and potentially collegiate, officials are encourage to attend.
At the end of the third meeting, students with proper college ID will be offered the opportunity to take the PIAA officiating test for that sport free of charge. Non-students may take the PIAA test at the regular $30 fee.
Those that pass the test will be assisted in contacting local officiating chapters so they can begin officiating PIAA sanctioned events (and other intramural, youth or recreation league events) as soon as possible.
Other pilot programs are tentatively scheduled to be offered at York College of Pennsylvania (CAC), Cabrini College (CSAC), DeSales University (MAC) and Lock Haven University (PSAC).
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
End of the Recruiting Rainbow Isn't Always Gold
After investing so much time and money in a sport, an athlete makes their college choice. Sometimes it's a dream fulfilled; sometimes it's disenchanting.
You might have perceptions about the world of athletic scholarships, but chances are they don't match up with the complex realities. This Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune series aims to debunk some of the myths about scholarships and explain who gets them, how much money they get and what price some athletes ultimately pay.
PART I: Parents and athletes who think they are in line for a full ride often learn the realities of the scholarship are just as elusive as the scholarships themselves.
PART II: A look at life as a student-athlete and the role of money in NCAA Division I, II and III.
PART III: Several steps can help an athlete get a scholarship, but even the best-laid plans can change in a hurry.
You might have perceptions about the world of athletic scholarships, but chances are they don't match up with the complex realities. This Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune series aims to debunk some of the myths about scholarships and explain who gets them, how much money they get and what price some athletes ultimately pay.
PART I: Parents and athletes who think they are in line for a full ride often learn the realities of the scholarship are just as elusive as the scholarships themselves.
PART II: A look at life as a student-athlete and the role of money in NCAA Division I, II and III.
PART III: Several steps can help an athlete get a scholarship, but even the best-laid plans can change in a hurry.
Friday, November 21, 2008
College athletes cluster majors at most schools
When the NCAA adopted new rules in 2003 intended to improve graduation rates of athletes, critics countered that under pressure to keep athletes progressing toward a degree, schools might cut academic corners to help the athletes stay eligible to play.
Teams now can lose scholarships and access to postseason play if enough athletes are not on track to receive a degree or do not graduate.
But giving athletes a more meaningful academic experience also was part of the new rules' intent, NCAA president Myles Brand told USA TODAY for a story in 2003. However, Syracuse University athlete Dylan Malagrino, who had headed the NCAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, expressed concern that "coaches and academic administrators in the athletic department might be strongly encouraging students to take easier majors or to choose a major and never switch."
Graduation rates have improved as the rules have phased in over the past few years. Whether that has been due to students taking easier majors has not been studied.
To study the extent to which athletes disproportionately group in particular majors, USA TODAY chose five sports, selected to give a mix along gender, revenue-generating and seasonal lines: football, baseball, softball and men's and women's basketball. USA TODAY reviewed media guides and school websites at 142 schools — the 120 Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) schools and 22 Division I schools with standout basketball teams over the past few years, based on USA TODAY coaches' poll rankings. The result: a list of about 9,300 upperclass athletes on the team rosters during the 2007-08 school year.
- USA TODAY
Teams now can lose scholarships and access to postseason play if enough athletes are not on track to receive a degree or do not graduate.
But giving athletes a more meaningful academic experience also was part of the new rules' intent, NCAA president Myles Brand told USA TODAY for a story in 2003. However, Syracuse University athlete Dylan Malagrino, who had headed the NCAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, expressed concern that "coaches and academic administrators in the athletic department might be strongly encouraging students to take easier majors or to choose a major and never switch."
Graduation rates have improved as the rules have phased in over the past few years. Whether that has been due to students taking easier majors has not been studied.
To study the extent to which athletes disproportionately group in particular majors, USA TODAY chose five sports, selected to give a mix along gender, revenue-generating and seasonal lines: football, baseball, softball and men's and women's basketball. USA TODAY reviewed media guides and school websites at 142 schools — the 120 Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) schools and 22 Division I schools with standout basketball teams over the past few years, based on USA TODAY coaches' poll rankings. The result: a list of about 9,300 upperclass athletes on the team rosters during the 2007-08 school year.
- USA TODAY
College athletes studies guided toward 'major in eligibility'
Steven Cline left Kansas State University last spring with memories of two years as a starting defensive lineman for a major-college football team. He left with a diploma, credits toward a master's degree and a place on the 2007 Big 12 Conference all-academic team.
He also left with regrets about accomplishing all of this by majoring in social sciences — a program that drew 34% of the football team's juniors and seniors last season, compared with about 4% of all juniors and seniors at Kansas State. Cline says he found not-so-demanding courses that helped him have success in the classroom and on the field but did little for his dream of becoming a veterinarian.
"I realize I just wasted all my efforts in high school and college to get a social science degree," says Cline, who adds he did poorly in biology as a freshman, then chose what an athletics academic adviser told him would be an easier path.
His experience reflects how the NCAA's toughening of academic requirements for athletes has helped create an environment in which they are more likely to graduate than other students — but also more likely to be clustered in programs without the academic demands most students face.
Some athletes say they have pursued — or have been steered to — degree programs that helped keep them eligible for sports but didn't prepare them for post-sports careers.
"A major in eligibility, with a minor in beating the system," says C. Keith Harrison, an associate professor at the University of Central Florida, where he is associate director of the Institute of Diversity and Ethics in Sports.
- USA TODAY
He also left with regrets about accomplishing all of this by majoring in social sciences — a program that drew 34% of the football team's juniors and seniors last season, compared with about 4% of all juniors and seniors at Kansas State. Cline says he found not-so-demanding courses that helped him have success in the classroom and on the field but did little for his dream of becoming a veterinarian.
"I realize I just wasted all my efforts in high school and college to get a social science degree," says Cline, who adds he did poorly in biology as a freshman, then chose what an athletics academic adviser told him would be an easier path.
His experience reflects how the NCAA's toughening of academic requirements for athletes has helped create an environment in which they are more likely to graduate than other students — but also more likely to be clustered in programs without the academic demands most students face.
Some athletes say they have pursued — or have been steered to — degree programs that helped keep them eligible for sports but didn't prepare them for post-sports careers.
"A major in eligibility, with a minor in beating the system," says C. Keith Harrison, an associate professor at the University of Central Florida, where he is associate director of the Institute of Diversity and Ethics in Sports.
- USA TODAY
Athletes' academic choices put advisers in tough balancing act
B. David Ridpath has a confession to make. As the athletics department's compliance director and liaison to academic services for athletes at Marshall from 1997 to 2001, he often told athletes to avoid tough majors if they wanted to play their sports.
"Academic advisers say that all the time," he says. "You'd do it in more subtle kinds of ways, but I have directly told kids myself, 'You can be in this major if you want to be, but if you want to play football, or want to play basketball, you may want to look at this major.' And that's what happens."
These days Ridpath is an assistant professor of sport administration at Ohio University and a member of the Drake Group, a national network of faculty members and others who advocate broad reform of college sports, particularly in terms of academic integrity.
"These kids are getting steered into these less rigorous majors, or majors with friendly faculty," Ridpath says. "I do admit I did it myself, and I'm ashamed of it, and I wish I'd never done it."
A USA TODAY study of the majors of juniors and seniors in football, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball and softball at 142 of the NCAA's top-level schools shows athletes at many institutions clustering in certain majors, in some cases at rates highly disproportionate to those of all students.
- USA TODAY
"Academic advisers say that all the time," he says. "You'd do it in more subtle kinds of ways, but I have directly told kids myself, 'You can be in this major if you want to be, but if you want to play football, or want to play basketball, you may want to look at this major.' And that's what happens."
These days Ridpath is an assistant professor of sport administration at Ohio University and a member of the Drake Group, a national network of faculty members and others who advocate broad reform of college sports, particularly in terms of academic integrity.
"These kids are getting steered into these less rigorous majors, or majors with friendly faculty," Ridpath says. "I do admit I did it myself, and I'm ashamed of it, and I wish I'd never done it."
A USA TODAY study of the majors of juniors and seniors in football, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball and softball at 142 of the NCAA's top-level schools shows athletes at many institutions clustering in certain majors, in some cases at rates highly disproportionate to those of all students.
- USA TODAY
Friday, October 31, 2008
D-III: Football's Purest Form
Here is an article from the San Antonio Express-News on Division III football. We hope you enjoy it.
"On a sunny afternoon this fall, Sul Ross State quarterback Monte Morales completed 13 of 25 passes and ran for a touchdown as the Lobos beat Howard Payne 17-0 at Alpine's Jackson Field.
Less than 24 hours later, Morales started an overnight shift at High Frontier, a residential school for teenagers who are, according to its Web site, “experiencing a wide range of emotional, behavioral and educational problems.”
Morales works at the center, which is between Alpine and Fort Davis in the mountains of West Texas, three nights a week. And takes a full course load at Sul Ross. And practices every day with the football team, makes the bone-wearying bus trips of the American Southwest Conference and manages to have a small sliver of a life outside school and football.
“I'm dragging pretty much the whole week,” he said wearily. “It's pretty rough.”
But for a lot of young men, if they're going to play NCAA Division III football, it's life."
Read the complete story
“The whole point of Division III is that student-athletes can be real student-athletes and put academics first,” he said. “They can make education the highest priority while continuing to play sports.”
"On a sunny afternoon this fall, Sul Ross State quarterback Monte Morales completed 13 of 25 passes and ran for a touchdown as the Lobos beat Howard Payne 17-0 at Alpine's Jackson Field.
Less than 24 hours later, Morales started an overnight shift at High Frontier, a residential school for teenagers who are, according to its Web site, “experiencing a wide range of emotional, behavioral and educational problems.”
Morales works at the center, which is between Alpine and Fort Davis in the mountains of West Texas, three nights a week. And takes a full course load at Sul Ross. And practices every day with the football team, makes the bone-wearying bus trips of the American Southwest Conference and manages to have a small sliver of a life outside school and football.
“I'm dragging pretty much the whole week,” he said wearily. “It's pretty rough.”
But for a lot of young men, if they're going to play NCAA Division III football, it's life."
Read the complete story
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Get Conference Championship Results on Your Cell
Given the success of our football scores program, you can now get Centennial Conference championship results instantly sent to your cell via Twitter. Register with Twitter ... send the message "follow CCplayoffs" to 40404 ... and you'll receive scores from the championship events Don't want that many text messages on your phone ... get them off the web just as quickly. Click on the above link to find out how.
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
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
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
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
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!!!
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!!!
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