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Date Posted: 11/ 2/15 6:32:03pm Mon
Author: the last indian
Subject: The role of athletics at a University

My guess is that most of our facility would like us to be like Harvard. Well, is so perhaps,they should look at this (many of the same points were made by the young student athlete at Colgate in an open letter to the faculty.

Wouldn't it be refreshing to hear a Colgate President express similar thoughts.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/Rdf6dPIaMH4

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Replies:

[> Re: The role of athletics at a University -- Oldtimer, 11/ 2/15 9:35:19pm Mon

I would like to think that as the captain of the Notre Dame swim team and a member of a family that was totally committed to Notre Dame swimming our next President is the perfect person to educate our faculty and get them to recognize what the President of Harvard, our search committee and everyone else who watches these things already knows. Alums of Private Universities love winning teams and give more the more those teams win. People fail to realize how good Ivy League sports have gotten...it clearly has not been achieved without a lot of thought. The positive impact on giving to Notre Dame, Duke and Stanford (there have been numerous articles and a 60 Minutes segment in the last several years on the huge financial benefit Stanford's commitment to stellar sports teams has triggered(read football)) was hard for the Ivy's to miss. Their full rides for students whose families earn less than $50-60K are the total equivalent of athletic scholarships and they take advantage of it along with sports endowments. A Princeton friend of mine has joked that their left tackle position is endowed as is most of the rest of the offensive line. With the Patriot League now able to award scholarships to good athletes who are also very good students but not necessarily needy enough to merit a need based scholarship, the playing field has been leveled. Hopefully the faculty will soon understand that the idea of having to settle for the dumb jock will be a thing of the past and the endowment will grow in tandem with our success on the playing fields and with the success of our student athletes in life after school...


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[> [> Re: The role of athletics at a University -- Steve, 11/ 3/15 1:03:30am Tue

Oldtimer,

I agree fully and wholeheartedly with every word of your post!

What everyone might as well understand is that the Ivys and other top schools have developed a winning model: to be the best at everything they do (within reason), and that inspiring alumni, training students, endowing their colleges and impressing everyone along the way is they key to success and setting new standards.

There is no zero sum game for winners. Everything is possible. They stretch and exceed themselves, and inspire others who over time will get the message unless they are too stubborn or conflicted to get it- ever. (We all know people like this.)

The fact is that the world is full of winners and potential winners who can achieve whatever it is that they set out to do. That includes prospective student-sthletes, smart parents, enlightened and trusting faculty and administrators and far-sighted trustees. These families know where they are going and could care less about negativity. We want them at Colgate.

Success breeds success and I have long felt and believed that Colgate, which has so much to be grateful for: the magnificent campus, our loyal alumni and parents, our unique size for a top 20 D1 liberal arts college, and the quality of its grounded traditions. We have little to no baggage either that would inhibit Colgate delivering on its mission. Of course it's up to the trustees to articulate what that is, the administration and faculty to deliver it, and Colgate supporters to fund it.

In terms of athletics, we now have a platform that is delivering what was wanting in past years and that platform must improve. For example, the Class of 1965 Arena, Beyer-Small '76 Soccer Stadium, Buttita Varsity Weight Room, Trudy Fitness Center and Glendenning Boathouse are big assets that have cleared the path towards our current success. They were pipe dreams only 15 years ago. The next phase of improvement for our physical plant and students' achievement is the repurposing of Starr and renovations to Reid which would maximize its usage with the move of 6 teams to Class of 1965 Arena.

I am looking forward to participating in that project when it's announced. And come July hearing what the new president can do for us.

Go 'gate!


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[> Re: The role of athletics at a University -- Gate Raider, 11/ 3/15 1:23:31pm Tue

Well said, Steve. It is not a cliché to say Colgate is unique and a special place in the hearts of many. There is much to be proud of and more to come.


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[> [> Re: The role of athletics at a University -- the last indian, 11/ 4/15 9:20:57am Wed

The point of posting this that the Ivies, and Harvard in particular, think athletics are important for their institutions. They want to excel on the athletic fields as well as in the class room. 1200 students participate in intercollegiate programs at Harvard. They saw what Stanford's excellence of their athletic teams had helped Stanford and motivated alumni to donate to the school.
Hopefully some one on the hill will take note. Hopefully our new president gets it.


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