Summer is officially almost here. Very soon are the 7-10 days of the year that athletics administrators can exhale, unwind and (dare I say) relax. But, next year is right around the corner and fall sports will be in full swing. It’s time to review your “I wish I would have…” list. You know, it’s […]
Compromised Virtue: Where do we go from here?
Athletics’ virtue has been obliterated by one scandal after another played out publicly in various media. If one thing can come from all of the recent media coverage of alleged coach “abuse” of student-athletes, it should be that we all need to pay more attention to what it happening within athletics programs… even if there […]
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 […]
Little League, Puppies and Leadership
Our eight-year old son just started his Little League season and I offered to help coach. We also recently welcomed a female Chesapeake puppy to our family. Both of these situations have offered great reminders of three effective leadership principles: 1. Create the vision. Clarity of purpose is essential. Your vision of success must be […]
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 […]
Spelman College- Missing the Boat on Athletics
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 […]