College Committees – Athletics – End of Year Report

Report of the Behrend Committee for Athletics
2022-2023 Academic Year

Members

P. Stuczynski (BUS); A. Hollinger (ENG); A. Sullivan (HSS); A. Simpson (SCI); T. Yates (BUS); B. Johnson (ENG); L. Mangel (SCI); B. Streeter; C. Brown (SAAC Pres); Thad Johnson.

Purpose:

The Athletics Committee is tasked with advising and monitoring athletic standards related to the educational function of the college and the University. It approves athletic schedules, considers eligibility of students for intercollegiate athletics, and helps promote a sound academic climate for the intercollegiate athletic program. The Athletic Director and the Faculty Athletic Representative (appointed by the Chancellor) serve as ex-officio members of this Committee. Members of the intercollegiate coaching staff, other than the Athletic Director, are ineligible to serve on this Committee.

Meetings:

  • February 16, 2023 – 2:00-3:00 p.m. (Zoom)
  • March 31, 2023 – 10:15-11:00 a.m. (Zoom)

Charge 1

  • (Standing Charge) Approve athletic schedules, eligibility of students for intercollegiate athletics, and continue to promote a sound academic environment for the athletic program.
    • Action Item: This has been handled by Chuck Brown and the Athletic Department; review by committee should occur in Aug/Sep for the 2023-2024 Academic Year.
      • Scheduling and eligibility in accordance with Policy 6730
      • Student-athletes cannot miss more than eight days per semester
      • Student-athletes are eligible with GPA ≥ 2.0; 2-3% are ineligible

Charge 2

  • Review ways to increase interaction and communication between faculty, coaches, and athletes. [COMPLETE and ongoing]
    • Action Item: Contact Directors to plan School-sponsored engagements
      • Select School-sponsored events for home games in early Fall
    • Action Item: Appoint or solicit faculty liaisons for each sports team
    • Action Item: Streamline faculty access to athletic schedules
      • Faculty can import Athletics events through Outlook Calendar; we can provide specific instructions if there is interest among Behrend Faculty Senate.

Charge 3

  • Increase opportunities for students to socialize around athletics such as intramural sports.
    • Action Item: Advocate for participation in Erie Hall events/activities.
      • Consider organizing informal pick-up games or friendly student-faculty competitions.

Charge 4

  • Coordinate with athletics to determine optimal scheduling guidelines for student-athletes and their academic programs.
    • Action Item: This is negotiated between Athletics and the School schedulers. Member of Athletics committee should be in attendance next year.

Committee Synopsis – 2022-2023 Academic Year

Our committee struggled to find common times to meet during the spring semester, but we were able to brainstorm a plan for the next academic year.

  • Charge 1 was accomplished by the Athletics department prior to the start of the academic year; consequently, the Athletics committee is not typically involved in this process. We collectively agreed that the committee should review these plans so that we are able to relay this information to Faculty Council.
  • Charge 2 involved a broad assessment of the communication between athletics and academics, with the goal of improving interaction between the two. We proposed two initiatives toward this goal: i) coordinating at least one School-sponsored event/giveaway by each of the four Schools and ii) establishing a faculty liaison system for each sports team. We are aware that the School of Engineering has piloted this idea and we hope to encourage participation from the other three Schools next year. For the faculty liaison initiative, Chuck Brown received information from a contact at Penn State Harrisburg, who has successfully implemented a “Faculty Athletic Mentor” program (details in link above). We intend to discuss the feasibility of this program at the beginning of the next academic year.
  • Charge 3 involved brainstorming ideas to increase student engagement in athletics. We viewed the newly renovated Erie Hall as a perfect hub through which we can increase student interactions and physical fitness. Although Erie Hall only recently opened, we encourage the ‘23-24 committee to use this resource and consider organizing student-faculty competitive events (e.g., dodgeball, 3v3 basketball, pickleball tournaments, etc.).
  • Charge 4 was added this past year; however, it was determined that scheduling process is negotiated between School schedulers and the Athletics department. Given that many faculty advisers receive conflicting information regarding scheduling constraints for student-athletes, we feel that a representative of the Athletics committee should be in attendance or receive a report next year.

Admittedly, much of the work we accomplished this semester involved brainstorming ideas for next year. We determined that two of our charges are procedurally performed by the Athletics department and School leadership; thus, our role as faculty representatives is largely oversight as requested. We have significantly more control over Charges 2 and 3, although they are broad in scope. We concluded that Behrend could benefit from a faculty liaison program similar to the one adopted by Penn State Harrisburg: this is something that could be introduced as soon as next fall. The completion of Erie Hall has also provided new opportunities for fitness-related activities that might appeal to students and faculty. We suggest that ’23-24 committee investigates organizing/advocating events that encourage interaction between students and faculty.