In November Spelman College, an historically black college for women in Atlanta, announced it was eliminating its NCAA Division III intercollegiate athletics program. Citing a desire to serve more students with the resources now dedicated to athletics (roughly $900,000), Spelman’s president announced a plan to focus on beefing up fitness, wellness, recreation and intramural programs […]
Power- Use, Abuse and Accountability
In this episode of Perspective on Athletics we look at power and what it means, especially for intercollegiate athletics and coaches. The recent media coverage of Rutgers University’s handling of men’s basketball coach Mike Rice once again raises issues about power and authority of head coaches. The Spider Man Doctrine Our 8-year old son has […]
Rutgers’ Example A Case for Assessment
The unfortunate part of the Rutgers men’s basketball situation is not the embarrassment it brings to the University, the coach or the athletics director. The most tragic element is that student-athletes were put into such a situation in the first place. USA Today writer Christine Brennan wrote an opinion essentially calling for the Athletics Director’s […]
The Best Parental Advice I’ve Ever Heard
John Wooden is a personal hero of mine for many reasons. But the one thing that sticks out in my mind is advice that his father gave him upon graduating from grade school. As the story goes, his father provided three keys to being successful in life: Don’t Whine Don’t Complain Don’t Make Excuses Pure genius. […]
Getting the most out of student-athlete surveys
Do you regularly collect feedback from your student-athletes? More and more senior administrators are asking to see evidence of athletics’ impact on student learning. This comes as a response to accreditation, budget justification or simply a campus commitment to assessment of student affairs units. Institutions are looking for more accountability. This is a good thing for […]
Gut Check: Decision-making and Managing Up
There seems to be two types of people: those who crave information and those who rely on intuition and ‘feel’ for situations. Which one are you? And, which one is your boss? When it comes to making decisions neither approach is exclusively effective. Sure, there are plenty of examples of data crunching that reliably predicted […]
Transparency- Minimizing (Mis) Interpretation
Transparency has been a buzzword in business for many years. But what does it mean and how transparent are you in leading your department or organization? Why is transparency important? It builds trust, in the leader, in the department and its mission, objectives and values It strengthens a team or community because trust is at […]
Effective Leadership: Rules vs Structure
I hate rules. Not because I am a rebel, an egomaniac or disrespect authority. I hate rules because they stifle creativity, innovative thinking and decision-making. (My apologies to all compliance coordinators out there. It’s nothing personal). With proper vision, communication and accountability providing organizational structure, rules can be minimal. The problem is that most people […]