Varsity Sports
Wiped From the Slate
BY. JESSICA DIFFER
What is the role of athletics in liberal
arts education? That is the question that the Hollins Clean Slate Athletic
Review Team set out to answer in 2004. The team, which was made up of several
Hollins faculty including Director of Athletics, Lynda Calkins, Vice President
of marketing and Enrollment management, Julie Sowder and Acting Dean of
Students, Alison Ridley, was charged with the task of researching Hollins
athletics and create a plan to improve the quality of Hollins Athletics.
Based on the findings of the
review, cross-country, volleyball and field hockey will be demoted from varsity
status. Basketball, soccer and lacrosse continue to hold varsity status, as
does the winning equestrian team. This decision might seem strange to some
considering that the volleyball team had a better season than the
basketball team this past season, but the reasons are clearly outlined
in the review.
The team members compiled data
based on student participation, athletic trends and cost analysis. They found
that several factors were contributing to the problems within the athletic
department. The most apparent conflict is the lack of support for
intercollegiate sports. There is no time set aside specifically for the purpose
of athletic practice, so teams often struggle to find time to practice as a
team. They also found that there was a growing student interest in sports not
currently offered at
In addition to the changes in sport
status, the team recommended that predominantly qualified full-time coaches
staff intercollegiate sports, as they found a correlation between the presence
of full-time coaches and team success. This will lead to the dismissal of
part-time coaches, particularly those who do not teach at
On the surface these seem like
practical changes. There is even a stipulation that states that sports that
have not achieved varsity status can exist as clubs and request funding from
SGA after two years. That is where the problem comes in for the athletes who
wish to participate in these sports. According to Alison Ridley and Hollins
University President Nancy Gray, there isn’t any money for club sports.
Senior and SGA Vice President, Lisa
Bower submitted a petition before the student senate in response to the Clean
Slate Review. The proposal asked the administration to make a “financial and
philosophical commitment, which will relieve both SGA and the athletic clubs of
some of the financial uncertainty that the review has created, while also
legitimizing and ensuring the ongoing success of club teams at our
institution.”
Essentially, the petition requested
that the university provide one-third of the cost for club athletics. Despite
the fact that students were willing to work with the administration on this
petition it met with opposition from Alison Ridley who informed students that
in order to cover the projected costs, tuition would have to increase more than
the annual projected amount.
Effectively the administration has
placed the burden of team sports onto the Student Government Association at
Hollins. Annually SGA is responsible for allocating close to 175,000 dollars
through the Treasury Board, but all of that money is dependent upon SGA dues.
If SGA has to provide funding for athletics it is going to directly effect the
funding available for the other organizations on campus. Athletics are
infamously expensive due to the costs of team uniforms and equipment, and SGA
will be the soul source of funds for these clubs.
“I would have handled clean slate
in a much more collaborative spirit than it was and had continued to be dealt
with,” said Bower.
Hollins feels that the interest of
the students was represented by the two student members of the Clean Slate
Review Team, Sally Beazlie and Margaret Hopkins who serves as the Athletic
Association Chair. Noticeably absent from the team were members of SGA, the
very organization that will be fiscally responsible for funding the sports
demoted from varsity status.
Great job…just some repetition up there, but otherwise, I
still like this story. Good Luck! Congratulations on graduating!!