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January 2012, CSBN Columnists
Insulation vs. Involvement: Five Action Steps for Every President
There is nothing easy about running a college or university these days. The fiscal pressures brought about by the economic troubles facing the country have exacerbated the situation. Presidents certainly have their hands full and the resulting financial allocation decisions can be difficult and painful. In this type of climate, many presidents leave the athletics departments to sink or swim on their own.
For some presidents, their involvement may simply be limited to appearing at a few “marquee” events throughout the year. If you ask them a substantive question on a team or specific aspects of the athletics program or experience, they would not be able to provide a substantive answer even though athletics has its own drop down menu on the institution’s web site. Instead, they may only know the teams that they have and a number that appears on a financial report associated with the athletics department. Obviously, this is a generalization and some presidents take a much different and more involved approach to athletics. However, with all the issues facing the CEO of an academic institution, it is easy for a president to gradually become insulated from the real world of the student athlete, coaches, the athletics department staff and the overall role that athletics plays in the life of the college or university. In short, what is missing from this equation are two things: perspective and presence.
These two concepts are the foundation for decision making about anything to do with the athletics department. Unless the president truly understands the issues that confront the operation of an athletics department on a daily basis, it is virtually impossible to make an informed decision on any aspect of the program. This is not to say that the CEO must understand all the details, nuances and issues associated with all aspects of the athletics program (or any issue) because that would be impossible given the CEO’s other obligations elsewhere on campus. Instead, a core level of knowledge and exposure to a variety of the issues will better inform the CEO’s decision making. In other words, by becoming slightly more involved in athletics, the institutional decision making can be sharpened.
With that as the context, there are five actions that every president should take.
Walk through every locker room and facility. A personal tour reveals everything. The president, who has not done this before or who has not done it in a few years, will quickly see the true financial state of the athletics department. Maintenance and upkeep inevitably wain as the years pass and the financial choices become tougher. Comparisons on the basis of teams and gender can easily be made. In legal and NCAA speak, the president can quickly assess gender equity and student-athlete welfare issues as the locker rooms and facilities are reviewed. For institutions that do not receive the ever increasing amounts of television revenue, the challenge of maintaining quality locker rooms and facilities quickly becomes apparent. In the end the president must see and understand these things because they are the face of the institution to the student-athletes, their parents, the athletics staff and every other institution’s team that arrives for a competition. The president needs to know if the quality of the locker rooms and facilities are consistent with and reflective of the quality of the institution as a whole.
Walk in the shoes of the student-athlete. If no one else understands the academic pressures and conflicts imposed upon student-athletes, the president must understand them. To do so, the president must be directly exposed to the life of a student-athlete. The president should meet with a team for its 6 a.m. strength and conditioning session and then reconvene for its practice session from 4 to 6 p.m., and then see how quickly the president can shower, change and make it to the dining hall. In the middle of the week, the president should travel with a team to a competition at another institution. The idea of a four- to six-hour bus ride just to get to a competition is an eye-opening experience. Similarly, at even the large institutions, the geographic spread of conference members now creates exceptionally long travel days involving connections at airports. In either case, the president must personally experience the impact of the travel on the student as a student and the student as an athlete. While traveling with the team, the president should elicit the student-athletes’ views on the impact of traveling on their studies, the relative level of flexibility and understanding shown by professors for their travels, how they deal with missed class time and tests, the issues around class registration and scheduling in general, as well as for particular majors and a myriad of other issues confronting student-athletes. The discussion will certainly be illuminating.
Sit in on a detailed meeting on the athletics department budget. The president should understand the choices that are being made based on the limited financial resources that are available to the athletics department. The president needs to understand what is and is not being funded and why (particularly after having toured all of the locker rooms and facilities).
Identify and offer to meet with prospective donors. Many presidents wait for the athletics director to suggest a meeting with a prospective donor who is being cultivated for an athletics related gift. While that will always happen, every institution’s president should be identifying one or more athletics related donors on an annual basis and initiating the contact with them. The president’s involvement conveys a message of support for and commitment to the athletics department and is a recognition of the importance of athletics to the institution.
Interact with student-athletes, parents, coaches, and staff. The statements that “It’s hard, I just don’t have the time” or “I have other commitments” are not reflective of a leader. A true manager and leader finds the time (even though it may be limited) and makes choices so that he or she can have a presence and gain a critical perspective. At the same time, the presence of the president tells everyone involved in athletics that the president cares about and supports the program. Rest assured, everyone will talk about the president being at a practice or a game. Heck, I still remember many years ago how as a freshman cross country runner at Notre Dame, a priest came out of the administration building and joined a group of us as we jogged to practice. He made his way to front and center of the group, asked a bunch of questions and received candid responses about our experiences as freshman as we jogged along. Three things jumped out at me then and now about that experience. First, he was the president of the University (Father Hesburgh) and he did not hesitate to join in and interact with a group of freshman runners even though he was in his priestly attire. Second, he had time for us even while we were running and he was truly interested in our thoughts and suggestions. Third, he led from the front.
Remember, involvement is always better than insulation. The institution will be better off and people will never forget it.
Timothy J. O'Brien, J.D. is a partner with the law firm of Libby O'Brien Kingsley & Champion, LLC, where he focuses his practice in the areas of Sports Law, Labor/Employment Law and Litigation. His expertise in Sports Law includes advising college and university athletic departments across the country on legal issues ranging from Title IX to drug testing. As a trial attorney, Tim has also represented universities on Title IX litigation matters.
For more than 20 years, he has also represented management clients on a wide variety of labor and employment issues including wrongful termination and discrimination claims, wage claims, and class actions.
O'Brien began his career as an attorney serving as a Captain in the Judge Advocate General's Corps (U.S. Army) from 1984-1988 and has been active nationally in sports law matters with the American Bar Association's Sports Law Committee and as co-author of a monthly column on college sports law issues in College Athletics and the Law.
He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and the New England School of Law. He currently serves on the boards of directors of the United Way of York County and the Education Foundation of the Kennebunks. Tim is a partner in the O'Brien Sports Group. He can be reached at tobrien@collegesportsbusinessnews.com