In this episode of Perspective on Athletics, we discuss the issue of enrollment management and the role athletics plays. Many small campuses are tuition dependent, if not tuition driven, institutions. In other words, hitting enrollment targets plays a critical budgetary role for the entire campus. The relationship between athletics and admissions departments can make or […]
Independent Investigations- The true cost of not knowing.
An independent investigation of the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay men’s basketball program provided several inconclusive conclusions, but one that rings loudly for all athletics directors and coaches is: “3. The lack of a clear standard for conduct by coaches, and the sharply disputed facts, make it difficult to evaluate the charges that Coach Wardle […]
Why You Should Scrap Your Mission Statement
Most mission statements are useless. Organizations spend time crafting and word-smithing statements that they want to use as a guiding force for the people that work there. However, few organizations get beyond words on a web page or a printed piece of paper. Some even print glossy color posters of their mission statement and hang […]
Five Keys for Focus and Action
We all get busy, in fact overwhelmed, at times with multi-faceted jobs and increasing workloads and expectations. It’s easy to fall into a state of paralysis if you don’t have an effective way to manage all of your projects and tasks. Plus, when are you supposed to work on the big picture items in your […]
The State of College Sports Today
The December 11, 2011 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education published a powerful headline on its cover: “What The Hell Has Happened to College Sports? And What Should We Do About it?” The article and commentaries came in the wake of the Penn State issues, but really was the climax of several high profile […]
Find The Pulse of Your Student-Athletes
Anecdotes Aren’t Enough Do you know what your student-athletes really think and feel about their athletics experiences? The student-athlete experience is widely considered a vital component to a successful athletics program. Yet few programs have evidence of how their program impacts student-athletes. Everybody’s got a story to tell about a student-athlete achieving success, but is […]
Campus Insider: Do your student-athletes fit in?
At most small colleges, athletics plays an instrumental role in recruitment, admission, retention and graduation for the whole student body. Athletics also impacts the feel of a campus, often in terms of school spirit and pride. But do student-athletes fit in with the rest of their classmates? Are student-athletes engaged in campus activities and opportunities […]
Survey Says… What, Exactly?
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. The old adage “ask a silly question, get a silly answer” […]