Dependability In The Athletic Department

The University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, which is only 45 minutes from Detroit, is a public higher learning institution that was founded in 1817. The University of Michigan is considered to be one of the best colleges in the country.

What are the differences in athletic administration between interscholastic and recreational sport programs? What is the importance of having a mission statement in any sport program?

It all started with an email seeking freshman male in his coaching and administration program. The 2012 graduate of UConn’s Sport Administration and coaching program, William Aloia, says this future success as the Associate Athletic Director for The College of St. Rose started out by almost” falling into his lap”. The New Jersey native began his undergraduate experience with two Division-I parents, and like an abundance of people he knew that working in sport was something he wanted to do. Previously a part of the Kinesiology department under the late Joe Marrone, Will jumped on the opportunity posted through an email and started his freshman year as a basketball manager for the very successful UConn’s basketball program. He explains how this experience “opened his door up”. Will states; “once I started at UConn working with the women’s basketball program and being around collegiate athletics at such a high level it’s really something in itself, and unbelievable experience. I knew it was for me, I didn’t know which part for sure, but I knew this was something I wanted to do.” What Will realized very quickly realized about working in sport is that often times it is a thankless job. However, that did not stop him from finishing his undergraduate career as a four-year manager for the basketball team. The motivation for Will early in his career has been a two-dimensional illustration of success.

Overall, I would say that my career goal of becoming a high school athletic director has not changed. I very much enjoyed the tasks and environment of working in an athletic department. The only downside that I observed were the long hours due to having to be present both at all home athletic events, and in the athletic office during the school day. Other than that one downside, I think that I would really enjoy being a high school athletic director. This job would allow me to fulfill my desires of changing the lives of young athletes and promoting the importance of education.

college level, the hiring of coaches is a key responsibility for athletic directors that can be subject

The NCAA recognizes one of its core values as “the pursuit of excellence in both academics and athletics” (NCAA Core Values). This shows that the NCAA is looking to benefit the students at all costs. They want to include the coaching staff of universities in this core value, but much confusion has been found between the NCAA and university athletic staff. This confusion has resulted in a tension and conflict leading to a discussion on the steps of resolution that can be taken to put this core value back into sights for both coaching staff and the NCAA.

I learned that in order to discuss anything with the NCAA, athletic programs must first go through the UAA. Although I did not get to interview an athletic director, Alesha performs similar tasks that an athletic director would. It is similar in the sense that Alesha directs a volleyball program, rather than multiple programs. One of the first questions I asked Alesha was, “What was the most surprising part of this job?” She then responded with, “the most surprising thing is the fact that I am in connection with a bunch of different people.” She then further went on stating, “when they say I am the coordinator, I really am.” Alesha said that she meets monthly with compliance, the university business office, and equipment companies to discuss different factors throughout the program. The hard work that Alesha does is what makes Florida Gator volleyball possible. Alesha’s job really intrigues me because my ultimate goal in life is to help other people, especially those in

You are the athletic director of a budding high school. Currently there is a six and a half foot junior with incredible athletic ability, earning national recognition. Weekly you are receiving phone calls from newspaper and television reporters, as well as fielding questions from college coaches and community sponsors. You see the potential in this student, and it leads to recognition, acclaim, and possibly future financial gain. There is, however, one small problem; the student-athlete is currently failing three of six classes for the semester. As it stands, if the school year finishes without change in the grades, your future of fame and fortune will be ineligible for the senior season.

I have been helping coach high school athletics for a few years. These leadership positions have enabled me to develop communication skills, gain responsibility, improve on my management skills and build relationships with other leaders in the field of sports. My future career goals include obtaining a job as a head coach or athletic director in some field of sports. I know I will need good communication and negotiating skills and I need to understand that gender sometimes plays a role in leadership positions. Leadership is defined as a person who guides or directs a group. Successful leaders are confident and responsible. They are able to problem-solve and discover new talents in those they lead.

Implementing cost saving strategies is essential to saving money or even figuring out smarter ways to maneuverer the budgets or increase revenues. There is many ways in which the NJCAA tries to save costs using specific tactics such as cutting athletic programs, monitoring travel expenses, limiting athletic scholarships, and adjusting salaries/budgets of the staff members. Cutting athletic programs or a specific team is seen as a tool to that “improves the academic programs and services” (Mullin, 2011). This is seen as one of the last resorts by an institution that is not producing revenue. Along with cutting the programs, checking travel expenses is equally important because of the revenue increase from the ethical decision of the scheduling within an organization. In addition to using scheduling or conference realigning as an advantage, the “smart reductions in travel length and duration can significantly reduce operational costs” (Mullin, 2011). Despite taking a look into realigning of conferences, this can be seen as a benefit when lessoning the travel distance which serves as a tool for cost reduction. The reduction of scholarships has been seen as a way to save more money for institutions which is equally important to the travel expenses. The actual process of limiting scholarships is provided by the “national governing boards such as NJCAA, which dictates whether scholarships can be provided and provide scholarship limits for each sport” (Mullin, 2011). However, this strategy helps save thousands of dollars annually by limiting scholarships being given. Lastly, cutting or adjusting the budgets of the coaches is not something that is recommended as a main option in involving revenues. At the “community college level, unlike many large four-year institutions, coaches/staff members serve various roles, including but not limited to serving as an administrator or

Jeff Swenson is the current Athletic Director for Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He sat down with for an interview with myself and two others on Friday October 7th at his Augsburg office. Our interview group was interesting in gaining insight from a college or high school athletic director. Additionally, we wanted to compare our interview subject with University of Minnesota Athletic Director Mark Coyle, who spoke to our class. We sent out email requests to several local athletic directors and received a welcoming reply from Jeff Swenson. We then proceeded to schedule an interview with him and the byproduct of that interview is exhibited in this paper. I personally wanted to learn about becoming an athletic director,

I agree with you that athletic directors must be organized and proactive. First, they must be organized and communicate effectively so volunteers understand their job descriptions (Cramartie, 2013). They must also make security plans well in advance of major sporting events to ensure proper coverage. One way athletic directors can proactively enhance security and safety is promoting sportsmanship within their program. According to Hoch, athletic directors must “set the expectations and then communicate these parameters to everyone involved in your program – athletes, coaches, parents and fans” (“National”, n.d., p. 2). Athletic directors must develop expectations and then enforce the policy (“National”, n.d., p. 2). Athletic directors and coaches

“To this day, after being in this business … the best day on a college campus is graduation, When I see kids I had a relationship with … graduating, you feel like you had a part in that.” David Williams, Athletic Director of Vanderbilt Athletics. Being around sports my whole life and now currently coaching a basketball team, I have encountered a few athletic directors and their supporting cast, which in a high school, it’s the principal and the administration staff. In some circumstance, especially from most coaches’ point of view, it is always about the result of the team and how good the players are. For some athletic directors, it is the same, but at the school I coach, it is also about

of those rare people who really knows how to "make things happen." I have gone

I found out that I wanted to pursue a degree in sport management. HPS helped me look into possible career pathways within my major. This class helped me to learn more about future options I may have in sport management that I had never heard of. When I wrote my HPS 101 papers I ended up narrowing the list of possible career options for myself.