Refereeing

Both of my daughters are good athletes and both have been active at the school and the community level. I encourage them to pursue both athletics and the arts, in addition to their core academic studies, as part of a well rounded education that will serve them well in the years ahead. My involvement, growing up, with athletics was, however, more limited. I played softball and was for a number of years, part of a bowling league. I was a better bowler than softball pitcher but there was no chance in either case that my number or shirt would be retired.

I also considered learning how to be an umpire or a referee but ultimately didn’t pursue it. I did realize at an early age the key role played by individuals who serve in these important capacities. A few weeks ago my younger daughter came home, after one of her community games, and talked at length about the referees for game she had just played. She indicated that the kids on her team, as well as the coach, were upset at how biased the referees were in officiating at the game. Rules violations made by the other team were ignored while every violation and even some non-violations were singled out for her team. I have also witnessed, at other games, what I have thought to be some bias in officiating (not at the college level) but also realize that my knowledge of the rules and at times my less than total focus on the game may cloud my objectivity. I also understand that the more informal the league and the younger the kids playing (often with referees that are just a few years older) the more likelihood that there will be errors.

Errors happen but if there is biased officiating, it needs to be reported and corrected. We all know that cheating is a major problem that permeates many schools and levels of education. We all do everything we can to limit academic dishonesty so that the work we judge is the student’s work and not the result of someone else’s efforts. Biased officiating tells kids that results may not be based on effort or skill but rather on manipulation and distortion. Biased officiating is clearly cheating with the rules of the game differently and selectively applied. Neutrality and even-handedness need to be the baseline for referees and umpires.

I am a strong advocate for not looking the other way when there is academic dishonesty in any form. The message and the response need to make it clear that cheating is not acceptable and the penalty must reflect the seriousness of the academic dishonesty. Refereeing needs to be kept at the highest standards possible even if that requires more training. There is an important life lesson in losing a game if you have been outplayed by your opponent. But losing because the playing field wasn’t level is a life lesson that causes our kids to question the fairness of the system and also gets them to question whether their effort is worth it when the result is based on other factors. I know this is also an important life lesson, but for me, especially when it comes to our kids, I would like us all to demonstrate that such problems and failures of the system are relatively few and far between.

Athletic Success

This past Tuesday evening, February 15,  was special for a number of reasons.  Hofstra played William & Mary in a great basketball game with a last second overtime victory by Hofstra.  For the last ten minutes of the game, all eyes were riveted on the court with great basketball, great drama; and (especially since I am a Hofstra person) a great conclusion.   But equal to the game, was the halftime happening.

Was it a halftime Superbowl type of show that captured my attention?  Not at all.  There was no show; instead this time was used to recognize the athletes who earned at least a B or better GPA in the previous year.  The group recognized included more than 50 % of our athletes with a significant presence by every team, and 10% of the athletes who were recognized had perfect 4.0 (A) grade point averages.  I was enormously proud of each and every athlete who earned GPAs between 3.0 and 4.0.

Being an athlete requires tremendous discipline.  Being a good student and a good athlete besides requires much more discipline.  Many of our students who are athletes, as well as many of our students who work at one or more part-time jobs or are active in volunteer and other co-curricular work, all demonstrate that discipline that will serve them well for the rest of their lives.  Time management is an enormous skill.  Without it, even the smartest person or the best athlete may not succeed; with time management it is far easier to fulfill your potential.

When I started in higher education, athletics and scholarship were often viewed as the oil and vinegar.  They simply didn’t mix; there was no intersection.  There were very few conversations. And no scholar athlete recognition event.  Many faculty viewed athletes in a less than positive light; and a significant number of coaches viewed academic s as a distraction to their top talent.  Thankfully, for the most part, the world has changed and continues to change.

Thanks to the efforts of the NCAA, thanks to a more student-centered philosophy of education, thanks to a new breed of coaches, thanks to a world where stereotyping is less the norm, we now find much greater collaboration and cooperation between academics and athletics.  And nothing could be better for the students involved.  Being on a team is a great experience but at the end of the day, very few college athletes enter the pros.  It is therefore especially important that they succeed as students so that they graduate and have more options available to them.  As faculty, administrators, and staff, we get great pleasure from our athletes and as faculty, administrators, and staff we have an obligation to our athletes and all our students, to see that they succeed and graduate.  There is still work to be done in this area but nights like last Tuesday convince me we continue to make great progress.  The goal is in sight and team work can get us there.