Academics should precede athletics
Campus Times
April 11, 1997
by Scott Harvey
Assistant Sports Editor
Imagine, the University of La Verne, a small town school with an NCAA
Division I athletic program that dominated local universities in every sport.
It might be a dream to some coaches and alumni at La Verne, but it is something
that should be left for bigger, more financially-sound institutions to deal
with.
Everyone on campus would love to see the La Verne program rise above
other local programs and place itself among the elite Division I schools
in California, but the simple fact should remain that the true heart of
La Verne lies in academics. Although the men's volleyball team has enjoyed
the chance to go up against NCAA Division I teams such as UCLA, UC Irvine
and San Diego State, the focus of the athletic program at La Verne should
be to instill a sense of academic integrity and overall well-roundedness
into its athletes.
I was talking to a member of the men's basketball team recently and
the subject of athletic scholarships kept coming up. He disagreed with the
La Verne policy of giving no athletic scholarships, saying that the administration
does not allow athletes to win games, because of the lack of real talent.
I responded with a simple question; what about recruiting? The true challenges
of the individual sports programs are to recruit students who not only have
the talent to make an impact on a sport, but make a stronger statement in
the classroom.
All-around talent, isn't that what life is all about? So what if ULV
games do not appear on ESPN's "Plays of the Week" or that the
school gets skipped over in national rankings? The real emphasis of ULV
should be on the accomplishments of its academic programs. For example,
the debate program, although small in representation, has not only won national
awards for excellence, but have recently been mentioned as one of the better
debate universities in the world. Now, that is accomplishment!
I also recently overheard a conversation between two men's volleyball
players where the subject, all so familiarly, turned to academic scholarships.
One guy seemed to be almost yelling what he had to say, so it was not hard
to overhear what he thought. He argued that volleyball should be the exception
to the La Verne scholarship rule, because the teams compete against Division
I universities and lack the talent to compete.
Not only was this guy wrong, but he had totally contradicted the success
of the volleyball team. Although they have struggled this year, the Leopards
had a come-from-behind victory against UC Irvine which boosted the team's
spirit and its ranking.
A great example of how the policy of not giving athletic scholarships
works can be shown by the La Verne football program. For the last five years,
ULV has been the team to beat in the Southern California Intercollegiate
Athletic Conference, and by other big schools as well. The way the coaching
staff builds the success of the program directly on recruiting. In fact,
almost twice the amount of time that the Leopards spend on the field, the
coaches are at high school and community college games, looking for that
ultimate student-athlete who will better the program.
Some might say that students should want to play for the team with the
most exposure, most talent and most money. But students should also want
to be part of the best environment possible. Some might also argue back
saying that the best environment is a winning environment, which is true.
But being a winner on the court or field is truly not as important as being
a winner in the game of life. That is the true test of the college student
and at ULV, the students pass the test with the utmost class.
Scott Harvey, a sophomore journalism major, is assistant sports editor
of the Campus Times. He can be reached by e-mail at harveys@ulvacs.ulaverne.edu.