Values should guide college athletics

By Mark Putnam

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With increasing regularity, we are made aware of scandals in intercollegiate athletics. A few even push athletes beyond reasonable limits sometimes resulting in tragedy.

As the regulations evolve with greater specificity and clearer interpretation, the creativity of those seeking an advantage keeps pace. It's disappointing.

How did we ever get to this point? Where are the days when we engaged in intercollegiate competition for its wholesome appeal and benefits to students?

Perhaps a history lesson is in order.

Frederick Rudolph, a well-regarded historian during his years on the faculty of Williams College, authored “The American College and University: A History (1962, 1990).” Rudolph chronicles the earlier days of football as it emerged among students at our colleges and universities.

Despite the objections of a few of higher education's noted leaders, the rise of football was inevitable, seemingly without reasonable boundary conditions, Rudolph writes. The game encouraged such a will to win that undergraduate and graduate imagination found its way around any traditional sense of ethics. Efforts to regulate the sport had difficulty keeping up with its growth.

Eighteen Americans died playing football in 1905. From the White House, Theodore Roosevelt thundered that if the colleges did not clean up football, he would abolish it by executive order.

Today, intercollegiate athletics is a highly professional and sophisticated enterprise. The NCAA was established in 1906 as a response to this late 19th and early 20th century history of athletic competition fraught with moral and physical peril. Yet with all the policies and regulations, rules and officials, why do we still find ourselves encountering the misjudgements of individuals who are determined to find a way to win no matter the cost?

Perhaps the only thing that can overcome the shadow side of athletics is a determination to make choices consistent with our values - where athletes and coaches set their sights first on being students and educators.

I was honored to participate in the activities related to the 50th anniversary of Ron Schipper's arrival at Central College as a football coach. It was remarkable to hear so many stories from alumni in general and former football players. The experiences these alumni valued most were times when he taught them lessons in attitude and character. He cared about much more than the game, though he was driven to win. Rather, he seemed to understand the lifelong role he would play in shaping the lives of students, who also happened to be athletes.

Our President Emeritus, Ken Weller, also inspires me as I consider the importance of my role and responsibility in supporting our student-athletes and coaches. Ken's national leadership in the development of the NCAA Division III Philosophy Statement continues to be referenced as steadfast commitment to a set of values passed down from generation to generation.

In Division III, athletics exist for the benefit of the participant, not the spectator. Importance is placed on learning, teamwork, sportsmanship and character.

Intercollegiate athletics can strengthen an academic community. History tells us that colleges and universities were first brought together in a spirit of cooperation around athletics to ensure that educational ideals were upheld. Many opportunities for collaboration have followed.

Institutions of higher education also have experienced a sense of unity and an expression of school spirit that has been a healthy and enjoyable byproduct of our athletic programs. The experiential learning opportunities available to our athletes provide a means for developing a sense of interdependence as a team, self-motivation as a competitor, and resilience as failure only leads to greater success.

It's time we call our society back from the celebration of winning at the cost of our values. Division III has the formula. Let's spread the word.

Mark Putnam became the 21st president of Central College in Pella on July 1, 2010. Comments: president@central.edu