Friday, February 03, 2012
St. Louis Would Spend $60M More to Keep the Rams
The city of St. Louis’ proposal to meet its lease requirements — to ensure the Edward Jones Dome remains a "first-tier" stadium, the standard that city officials agreed to 17 years ago — would require the city to pay $59.5 million for stadium improvements, assuming voters approved it in a referendum. That’s 48 percent of the total cost of $124 million, which would include:
• A new 96-by-24-foot scoreboard overhanging the field, a la Cowboys Stadium (although only one-fifth the size)
• A new three-story structure, connected to the Dome via a bridge over Broadway, that would house a 20,000-square-foot lobby, a rooftop beer garden and an entrance to the stadium’s club seats and luxury suites
• New large windows that would allow more natural light inside the Dome
• Fifteen-hundred new club seats, which would displace 1,800 existing seats and four suites
• Updates to locker rooms for cheerleaders and officials
• Various aesthetic improvements to entrances, stairwells and corridors
• Installation of retractable bollards on Broadway that would allow the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission to shut down the street to vehicular traffic
The requirement that the Rams would fund 52 percent of the improvements matches the average contribution by NFL teams in recent stadium construction and renovation projects. According to the St. Louis Post Dispatch, the plan presented to the Rams (who said they are reviewing it and will respond “accordingly”) does not identify the source of the $59.5 million, but CVC President Kathleen indicated that her agency would likely turn to the Dome's owner (the St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority) or the three so-called government "sponsors" that paid to build the Dome — meaning, the city, St. Louis County and the state of Missouri.
Originally financed with $256 million in revenue bonds that will cost those entities $720 million over 30 years, the Dome costs Missouri $12 million annually, and St. Louis and St. Louis County $6 million each annually, to retire the debt.
The Rams have until March 1 to accept or reject the CVC proposal, and until May 1 to make a counteroffer. The two sides would go into arbitration if a deal isn't struck by June 15. Without an agreement, the Rams would be free to relocate after March 1, 2015.
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Are Academic Support Centers Worth the Investment?
Details emerged this week on the University of Wisconsin’s “Athletic Village,” a three-story, $77 million annex to the north end of Camp Randall Stadium to be completed in three phases by 2014. The 38,000-square-foot academic and strength training center will house (among other things) offices, study rooms, an auditorium, a library and a computer lab. It’s a place, as the Wisconsin State Journal put it, “where student-athletes can study and train together.”
That’s a notion that gives Kutztown University professor Jason Lanter pause. As president of The Drake Group, a faculty-led watchdog group focused on fostering academic integrity within college athletics, Lanter points to NCAA Bylaw 1.3.1, which states, “A basic purpose of the NCAA is to maintain intercollegiate athletics as an integral part of the educational program and the athlete as an integral part of the student body.” Says Lanter, “I have to wonder how athletes are maintained in an educational program and as an integral part of the student body when many of their specific services — residence halls, workout centers, academic support centers — are provided for their use only. Many times, these academic support centers are not a part of the traditional academic corridor but separated in the athletic wing. So, how can athletes be an integral part of the educational opportunities and the student body when they are geographically isolated from the rest of campus?”
Construction of academic support centers for student-athletes has become standard procedure on campuses nationwide, and several projects have been introduced in recent weeks. On Jan. 24, the University of Nebraska at Omaha athletic department announced a lead gift toward an on-campus Academic Excellence Center. That same day, Lindenwood University in Missouri announced a $280,000 gift to help fund completion of a 43,000-square-foot student-athlete center, including an academic support center. Both schools cited their respective transitions to higher levels of NCAA competition for the upgrades.
“Why are these centers needed for transition to a new level of NCAA competition?” Lanter asks. “Was there something wrong with the academic services provided to the athletes at these colleges prior to this transition period? If not, then why is the change needed? It would seem to make more sense to pump the funding into these campus-wide academic support services if nothing was wrong.”
Lanter recognizes the role of such facilities as recruiting tools, a means to “show concern for the academic welfare of athletes.” But, he adds, “we have to wonder how much these athletic departments are truly vested in the educational opportunities for college athletes or simply focused on maintaining eligibility. Do these centers foster an atmosphere where academically underprepared college athletes struggle to maintain a proper balance between education and athletics?”
This issue is personal for Lanter, who first began to question the education student-athletes were receiving during his grad school days as a student advisor. “I do not know of any evidence of improved academic performance after the construction of such academic centers,” he says. “With that said, the annual APR [NCAA Academic Progress Rate] report typically highlights programs and universities that suffer from lack of funding for services like this, and these under-funded school have argued that the construction of such centers, together with the APR, have further widened the gap between the haves and have-nots in intercollegiate athletics.”
“Is there specific evidence that a new recreation center or new university center improves student performance?” asks Joseph Luckey, director of athletic academic services at the University of Memphis and president of the National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletics. “We understand the recruiting nature of the athletic world, but that exists on campuses in general as new facilities are being built. Like facilities on campus, we can point to student recruiting, retention and engagement as direct evidence of the positives of the construction. To start, coaches may be able to recruit a better student and athlete due to the newer facility, which allows the overall academic performance of the student-athletes to increase. I see the construction of the new facilities as a statement that our profession has made a positive impact on campuses — we are providing quality services to our students and we need facilities created or improved in order to accommodate the increased programming. We have improved university retention and graduation rates.”
As one of the established “haves” in Lanter’s landscape, the University of Connecticut announced in January that it had received an anonymous donation toward a 70,000-square-foot UConn Basketball Student-Athlete Development Center. The facility, which will include areas for academic support among its practice gyms, locker rooms and coaches offices, is expected to cost $30 million, funded entirely through donations.
“Many times, funding comes from private donations or boosters that earmark the money specifically for athletics or a project of this nature,” Lanter says. “This occurs at times when many academic buildings on many campuses need upgrades and maintenance to remain fully functional for the entire campus, and not just an elite subpopulation of the campus."
Wisconsin undergraduates will no doubt be impressed one way or another when they pass the so-called Athletic Villiage on their way to Camp Randall's north end-zone student sections in coming years. Says Lanter, “It would be great if campus administrators would accept funding like this but include a clause that a majority of the funding would be earmarked for general academic renovations, so that the entire campus can benefit from the generosity of the donor.”
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Blog: Get Hearts Pumping on Valentine’s Day
Red and green? That's so six weeks ago. These days, the in colors are pink and white and red. Generally in the shape of a heart and wrapped around something chocolate.
With less than two weeks to go until Valentine's Day, the stores are pushing boxes of candy, coffee mugs filled with Red Hots and all kinds of sugary (and frankly saccharine) stuff. And of course, somewhere, there's bound to be a feature on Yahoo! News or some other online outlet about the best and worst things you can get a loved one for Valentine's Day.
Invariably, on the "worst gifts" list, along with the usual suspects (cleaning products, household appliances, sex toys), will be the words "anything fitness-related."
I'll admit to being eccentric in many respects, but a gift like a good pair of hiking shoes is going to make my heart beat a lot faster than it's going to if I'm unwrapping a pink stuffed I-Wuv-U bear holding a silk rose. And, being part of a community where that sort of thing (the hiking shoes, not the pink bear) is not just tolerated but actively encouraged, I am pretty sure Valentine's Day translates into an opportunity to get fit and have fun, as well as a good way to pump up some interest in fitness.
That's why I was particularly glad to go by a gym that was advertising a special Valentine's class featuring yoga you could do with a partner. The sign noted "Last year's class sold out! Reserve now!" Inspired, I started trolling the Internet and looking for other Valentine's Day tie-ins and promotions. In Minneapolis, I found a site for a Valentine's Day 5K that invites participants to "run with your sweetie or search for your soulmate." It further notes that the race is a good way "to get your heart pumping."
But it's nothing compared to what many tennis clubs are promoting. Let's just say the words "Love" and "Match" come into play a lot. Cardio Tennis is a biggie.
Two-fers are also a big deal. A bunch of ski resorts offer an evening of skiing on Valentine's Day (which falls on an unromantic Tuesday this year) with two-for-one lift tickets as well as other tie-ins (two-for-one concessions, lessons, rentals and so on).
Of course, you can also go the edgy route. In Illinois, there's a racquetball tournament known as the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, just guaranteed to provoke warm smooshy feelings. Anything heart-related is obviously a good tie-in. Look around a little and you can find Valentine's Day promotions for cardio kickboxing, hydro cardio and Valentine's Day cardio boot camp. And if you want to put some lust in the air, you can always Google up something my friend called me about while laughing hysterically: a Valentine's Day class in Cardio Striptease and Pole Dancing.
"Seriously," she told me. "It's being offered at the club right next to the building where I take my kids for day care. And they're advertising it as this full-body workout."
Perhaps there are some fitness-related gifts that can still get you in trouble, even when your Valentine is a fitness devotee.
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Thursday, February 02, 2012
The NBA’s All-Star Security Measures Provoke Outrage
Professional sports leagues have long argued that the economic activity that accrues from their franchises’ presence in communities justifies millions of dollars in public money to support teams with new stadiums, practice facilities and infrastructure improvements. Cities line up to host events such as the Super Bowl for the same reason, even though forecasts of economic bonanzas have repeatedly proved to be optimistic at best.
That will certainly be the case at the NBA’s All-Star Game, given that (as the Orlando Sentinel has reported) the city has given the league permission to erect an eight-foot, opaque fence in front of businesses along Church Street across from Amway Center for the entire week leading up to the Feb. 26 game. The gated barrier, which the league says is necessary for security purposes, will permit entry only to people holding tickets to the game and other events taking place over the three-day weekend All-Star gala.
This leaves the area’s businesses, most of which are owned by African-Americans, out of the economic-impact zone. (The sidewalk across the street will stay open, but that stretch of road will be closed to traffic for the week.) And as the paper noted, most shop owners had already endured slow business for more than two years during the arena construction and disappointing revenue figures since it opened in October 2010.
The merchants were initially offered two weeks of free rent, care of the city, but they say they want $3.5 million in compensation from the city and the league, and have begun lining up attorneys. After their initial complaints upon learning of the fence, they were given the option of being included within the cordoned-off section, but they turned it down because it would have meant that the general public would not have access to their shops.
While NBA spokesman Mike Bass called the security fence “one component of a large-scale safety and security plan” that includes ticketholders going through metal detectors as they arrive, Bass did not respond to reporter Sandra Pedicini’s inquiries regarding “what types of problems the fence is designed to prevent or why metal-detector screening couldn’t take place close to the arena.”
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Fans Step Up to Cover Medical Bills for Skiing Legend
In January, Canadian champion skier Sarah Burke died after a training accident in Park City, Utah. Since her death, fans have raised more than $300,000 to cover the medical expenses incurred as a result of the accident, a bill that otherwise would have been the sole burden of her family, bringing to light the gaps in insurance coverage that athletes can potentially face.
"She was to freeskiing what Wayne Gretzky was to hockey or Michael Jordan was to basketball — the iconic face of a sport,” wrote Sportsnet reporter Dan Robson after Burke's death. "She built her world by conquering limits, both on the hill and off it."
The 29-year-old skier was a defending champion in the Winter X Games and a pioneer in her sport, women’s half-pipe, which involves performing tricks midair and scoring based on difficulty of tricks and form. The potential for risk is apparent, but Burke was performing a simple maneuver when she crashed and ruptured a vertebral artery.
As a Canadian citizen, Burke’s surgery and subsequent hospital care would have been fully covered by the country’s public health insurance. Even while traveling abroad, she was still covered — but only for the value that the services would have cost in Canada, where medical services are much more inexpensive than in the US and elsewhere in the world.
As an Olympic competitor, Burke also had $5 million in medical coverage through the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association, but the policy only covered sanctioned events and training where coaches were present, not the privately sponsored event for which she was training.
"It’s a really good policy — one used by most athletic associations in Canada," Kelley Korbin, media relations manager for the Canadian Freestyle Association, told msnbc.com.
Costs of Burke’s medical care are estimated to be about $200,000, according to Burke's publicist. Through a fundraising page set up in Burke’s memory, fans have raised more than enough to cover the costs. The remainder will be used to set up a legacy fund in Burke’s name.
Burke’s death cast a shadow on this year’s Winter X Games, held a week after her death. A vigil was held in her honor, and her death was on the minds of all the competitors. To honor her memory, WinSport Canada announced The Sarah Burke Performance Award, which will be awarded to Canadian skiers who win an event at an international competition.
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Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Prep Basketball Team Sports Pink Sneakers for Player's Mom
Remember Coy Sheppard, the senior kicker from Mendenhall (Miss.) High School who claimed in 2010 that he was booted from the football team for wearing pink cleats in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month?
Contrast that with the response received by Grant Kajiwara Bantilan — a 17-year-old point guard on East San Jose, Calif.'s Independence High School basketball team — when he started wearing bright pink sneakers on the court to honor his mother, who is battling breast cancer. "Dude, that's awesome," head coach Greg Duarte told Bantilan, according to the San Jose Mercury News. Duarte then went out and bought a pair of his own.
The entire team has followed the lead of the 76ers' shortest player (Bantilan stands 5 feet, 6 inches tall); all but three players are wearing pink Nikes that bear Kobe Bryant's name — and that's only because they couldn't find the pink shoe in their size.
And, according to the paper, all but a few opposing players and fans have applauded Independence High's pink crusade. "I think it's cool," Khong Do, a basketball player from Evergreen Valley High, which lost to the 76ers last week, told reporter Joe Rodriguez. "It's for breast cancer, you know."
To see images of the 76ers' players and their coach in their bright-colored shoes, click here.
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Friday, January 27, 2012
Medical Group Opposes NCAA Sickle Cell Test
The American Society of Hematology issued a policy statement Thursday opposing mandatory screening of athletes for sickle cell trait as a prerequisite to athletic participation. Instead ASH, the world’s largest organization devoted to the study of blood disorders, is urging athletics programs to adopt universal preventive interventions in their training programs to protect athletes from exertion-related illness and death.
As stated in an ASH press release, the group’s position is in direct contrast to a policy enacted in 2010 by the NCAA requiring Division I institutions to perform sickle cell testing for all incoming student-athletes.
“Screening alone is an extremely limited approach intended to protect the liability of the NCAA and the athlete's university, not the student-athlete,” states ASH president-elect Janis Abkowitz of University of Washington School of Medicine in the release. “Furthermore, sickle cell trait is not the only condition that can lead to death from athletic over-exertion, underscoring the need for the NCAA to require universal preventive interventions in its training programs that will better protect everyone.”
Sickle cell trait is an inherited blood disorder that affects approximately 8 percent of African-Americans and a much smaller percentage of Caucasians. Extreme conditions such as severe dehydration and high-intensity physical activity can lead to serious health issues, including sudden death, in these individuals.
Though complications resulting from the condition remain rare, the NCAA created its mandate as part of a lawsuit settlement stemming from a 2006 fatality at Rice University. Since then, Ole Miss, North Carolina A&T and the University of Central Florida have dealt with cases involving sickle cell trait, and the condition entered the discussion of the potentially fatal condition rhabdomyolysis following the hospitalization of University of Iowa football players in January 2011. Moreover, sports nutritionist Dave Ellis warned AB readers last August of the dangers of stimulant use for athletes with “undiagnosed sickle cell trait.”
In December, 65 sports and health organizations met at the third annual Youth Sports Safety Summit in Washington, D.C., to review a National Athletic Trainers' Association position statement to be published next month in the Journal of Athletic Training. Titled "Preventing Sudden Death in Sports, the statement outlines 10 major health conditions and causes of sudden death among athletes, including exertional sickling. The statement endorses education and precaution, but makes no mention of screening for sickle cell trait.
The ASH policy statement on screening for sickle cell trait and athletic participation, derived from the recommendations of experts in sickle cell biology and care, concludes that current scientific evidence does not justify the screening of all athletes for sickle cell trait as a prerequisite to participation. It recommends that schools follow the lead of the U.S. Army, which in 1996 began implementing universal preventive interventions for all recruits undergoing training, including monitoring heat acclimatization and work-rest cycles adjusted for the environment, implementing guidelines for hydration, and maintaining staff preparedness for early and rapid detection and treatment of heat illness. According to the ASH, the Army has discontinued mandatory screening of all incoming recruits for sickle cell trait.
“The U.S. Army protects recruits from exertion-related injury and death, and the NCAA should follow their lead to protect its athletes,” Abkowitz says. “Until the NCAA moves to universal preventive interventions in its conditioning programs, all student-athletes remain at risk for suffering significant exertion-related injury or death.”
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Police Investigating Coach's Handling of Concussions
The football program at Peters Township (Pa.) High School is under investigation after the Washington County Children and Youth Services Department received a complaint Wednesday alleging that a "perpetrator is permitting children to play sports with concussions or concussion-like symptoms."
"I don't know if this will rise to our level or not," police chief Harry Fruecht told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, referring to possible criminal charges. "But we at least have to take a look at it."
Taking a look at it has included requesting documents from superintendent Nina Zetty related to a recent district investigation into accusations from parents and staff that first-year high school head football coach Rich Piccinini was interfering with the job of athletic trainers as they treated injured players, including those with brain injuries.
Physical therapist Mark Mortland, who oversees the football team's training staff, has had a contract with the school district since 2003 and has worked with the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins for 16 years — helping treat superstar Sidney Crosby, who was sidelined for nearly a year because of concussion symptoms. Mortland sent e-mails to Zetty beginning Nov. 30, stating that he "personally witnessed ... the most deplorable, disrespectful and disgraceful behavior from a head coach in any sport I have ever seen."
"I have been providing athletic training services to high schools, college and professional sporting teams for 25 years and have never seen anything like this year's head football coach," he continued in the e-mail, which circulated to football parents and was obtained by local media outlets.
In November, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett signed legislation establishing standards for managing concussions and traumatic brain injuries in student-athletes that requires them to be evaluated and cleared for play in writing by an appropriate health care provider trained in the evaluation and management of concussions and other brain injuries. A physical therapist designated by a physician also is included as part of the health care team that makes this determination. Any coach found in violation of the removal-from-play and return-to-play policies will be suspended from coaching for the rest of the season, according to the new law. If any coach is caught violating the policy three times, he or she will be banned from coaching any youth sporting activity permanently.
Additionally, last month, members of 65 sports and health organizations met at the third annual Youth Sports Safety Summit to review a new position statement issued by the National Athletic Trainers' Association titled "Preventing Sudden Death in Sports." To be published in the February issue of the Journal of Athletic Training, the statement outlines 10 major health conditions and causes of sudden death among athletes, while also providing updated recommendations to ensure better prevention and treatment of sports injuries. Among those recommendations is a five-step return-to-play progression following a concussion, allowing the clinician to determine any signs of deterioration that would prevent a premature return to activity.
Piccinini has denied any wrongdoing, stating to local media outlets that "I just coach football." But some parents aren't convinced. Michele Bittel, the mother of one of Piccinini's players, says she doesn't think Mortland would make negative claims about the coach without proof. "I have a lot of respect for Mark and feel he is a professional in his community," Bittel told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "If they trust him with Sidney Crosby, I trust him with my son."
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Thursday, January 26, 2012
ASTM Crafting Pole Vault Box Collar Specification
The American Society of Testing and Materials today announced plans to address pole vault safety through a box collar specification. ASTM WK35729, Specification for Pole Vault Box Collar, is currently being developed by Subcommittee F08.67 on Pole Vault, part of ASTM International Committee F08 on Sports Equipment and Facilities.
The collar would provide padding in the landing area along the hard edges and walls of the pole vault box — the trough, typically made of steel and set in concrete, that stops the end of the pole as the vaulter jumps off the ground. The upper rim of the box can pose a hazard to vaulters who fall on it as a result of a poorly executed vault.
“The exposed hard surfaces between the pole vault box and the pole vault landing pad may be padded with a pole vault box collar, however, no standard exists that specifies the performance requirements of the box collar,” Peter McGinnis, Ph.D., professor of kinesiology, State University of New York College at Cortland, and chairman, F08.67, stated in an ASTM press release. “ASTM WK35729 is being developed to provide guidance to rule makers regarding the minimum impact attenuation that a box collar should provide.”
Once approved, the proposed new standard will potentially be referenced in the rule books of the National Federation of State High School Associations and the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
The box collar has been a talking point among pole vault safety experts for years, even as changes were being made to landing pit dimensions and perimeter padding. The issue picked up considerable momentum following the fatal headfirst fall into the box by Penn State vaulter Kevin Dare at the 2002 Big Ten Conference Indoor Championships. “This is the last area that really needs to be addressed,” vault coach Jan Johnson, a 1972 Olympic medalist, told AB in October 2009. “Is it going to be perfect? No. But it’s going to be a hell of a lot better than what we have now.”
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IHSA Calls Bill to Amend Football Practice Rule 'Dangerous'
The Illinois High School Association is urging its member schools and their communities to oppose a recently filed state Senate bill that would allow a student-athlete to play in a football game without having participated in the 12 practices mandated by the association — if that player missed those practices because of military training. Football is the only IHSA sport that has a minimum number of practices required before game participation.
“This is very dangerous and counterproductive legislation,” IHSA executive director Marty Hickman says about Senate Bill 2550, which was filed by Sen. Shane Cultra (R) on Jan. 11. “First and foremost, this is an issue of student health and safety, not an issue of patriotism. We all applaud and support young people who choose to serve our country. ... While students who receive military training will have some level of conditioning, they are not in football-playing condition as defined by medical professionals. Our Sports Medicine Advisory Committee has consistently maintained that all students need to have 12 days of football practice prior to participating in an interscholastic football game.”
The Illinois Athletic Trainers Association, the Illinois Athletic Directors Association and the IHSA Sports Medicine Advisory Committee have also joined the IHSA in opposing the bill. According to the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research, 38 high school football players in the United States have died from heat-related illnesses since 2000, including five in 2011. There were 29 total deaths from 1980-1999.
In June 2009, the Journal of Athletic Training published a report entitled "Preseason Heat-Acclimatization Guidelines for Secondary School Athletics," which defines the heat-acclimatization period and explains that other activities that occur prior to preseason football practice should not be counted toward student-athlete acclimatization. Here is an excerpt:
The heat-acclimatization period is defined as the initial 14 consecutive days of preseason practice for all student-athletes. The goal of the acclimatization period is to enhance exercise heat tolerance and the ability to exercise safely and effectively in warm to hot conditions. This period should begin on the first day of practice or conditioning before the regular season. Any practices or conditioning conducted before this time should not be considered a part of the heat-acclimatization period. Regardless of the conditioning program and conditioning status leading up to the first formal practice, all student-athletes (including those who arrive at preseason practice after the first day of practice) should follow the 14-day heat-acclimatization plan. During the preseason heat-acclimatization period, if practice occurs on 6 consecutive days, student-athletes should have 1 day of complete rest (no conditioning, walk-throughs, practices, etc).
Cultura's proposal comes in the wake of an IHSA ruling in August that prevented Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School senior Eddie Nuss from playing in his team's season opener because he was unable to attend the mandated preseason practices. Nuss had been in military training in Fort Benning, Ga., since June and was expected to return home shortly before PBL's season opener. The senator says his bill would give local school boards the opportunity to award military sport waivers and also provide coaches, athletic directors, schools, school boards and school districts immunity from any liability after granting the waiver.
"Last fall, we had a case of an overactive bureaucracy at the IHSA," Cultra said in a statement provided to ESPNChicago.com. "Essentially, they penalized a three-letter sport athlete for enlisting in the military. Quite frankly, this is absurd; this individual successfully completed basic training, is fit enough to defend our nation, but somehow is unfit for football? The IHSA took an approach that, in my opinion, discriminated against a young man who decided to serve his nation. One would hope that the IHSA takes a serious look at this policy, before they taint yet another football season or volleyball season for a young person who chose to enlist."
“You could make the case that the practice requirements to compete in a football game should be more stringent,” counters Hickman. “And I believe the sentiment nationally is trending toward creating more restrictions in this area. Allowing a school board to completely disregard the advice of trained medical professionals who are immersed in this field really just defies logic. Our committee [primarily physicians and certified athletic trainers] has the training and background to make that judgment. Their decision is supported by research and not fueled by emotion. More importantly, research tells us that heat illnesses are preventable. When you take into account all the positive steps forward that sports organizations around the world have made for athlete safety over the past decade, this bill would be a significant step backward for high school students in Illinois.”
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Panel: UW Should Consider Off-Campus Alcohol Policy
A report this week stating that a University of Wisconsin athletics official had resigned after allegedly trying to grope a student employee during a Rose Bowl party in his hotel room exposed a lingering problem for the school and its athletic department: the lack of a clear policy regarding alcohol use at off-campus functions.
An independent panel issued a report Tuesday following an investigation into allegations that John Chadima, who served as senior associate athletic director until his resignation Jan. 6, had hosted a late-December party in his Los Angeles hotel suite and served alcohol purchased with gift money to student employees, some of whom were under the legal drinking age. According to the Wisconsin State Journal, a university website for alcohol policy states that events held on campus need a school-issued alcohol permit. University events held off campus do not need a university permit if held at a hotel, restaurant or other venue with a state-issued liquor license. A university spokesperson told the State Journal that some off-campus university events with alcohol are regulated through tickets, wristbands or hired bartenders.
UW athletic director Barry Alvarez said in a letter to interim chancellor David Ward dated Tuesday that he was unaware of the party in question and that Chadima was supposed to join Alvarez for dinner that evening. Alvarez did concede knowledge of such parties in the past.
Alvarez had told the four-person investigative panel that there were no specific athletic department guidelines about the use of alcohol, but he “did not recommend” that professional staff drink with students or student employees, according to the report. “That is unacceptable, and our staff will be educated about the inappropriateness of such behavior,” Alvarez said.
The panel has recommended that the university review its alcohol policy at off-campus university events and consider whether rules or guidelines should be developed, as well as simplify sexual assault reporting instructions.
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Report: Wisconsin Athletic Official Grabbed Student's Crotch
John Chadima, who resigned as associate athletic director at the University of Wisconsin earlier this month, allegedly made sexual advances toward a male UW student employee at an alcohol-fueled party that began on Dec. 30. According to a report compiled by a panel appointed by interim chancellor David Ward and released by university officials late Tuesday, the incident — which occurred in Chadima's suite at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Los Angeles during the Badgers' trip to the Rose Bowl — also reveals disturbing details about the easy access to alcohol at athletic department-sponsored events.
The panel interviewed 23 people, and details of the report were summarized by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
From 25 to 30 people were in Chadima's suite for the party throughout the night, but between 1:30 a.m. and 2 a.m. Chadima and six or seven student employees were left in the suite.
At some point all but one of the student employees left the suite.
Chadima and the remaining student employee, referred to in the report as John Doe, consumed several rum drinks while alone.
Chadima eventually said he thought Doe was gay and that several other student employees suspected the same.
Doe told UW officials he was uncomfortable with the remark but did not leave. Doe added Chadima undid Doe's pants belt and touched him indecently.
Doe responded by slapping Chadima's hand and swearing.
Chadima allegedly said: ". . . What are you going to do about it? I could have you fired."
Doe left the room and about 3:15 a.m. told his immediate supervisor what happened.
The report stated staff and other employees concluded Doe's story was credible.
An investigation was conducted after the team returned to Wisconsin. That led to Chadima being placed on administrative leave Jan. 6. Chadima resigned later that day.
Journal Sentinel reporter Jeff Potrykus dug deeper into the 34-page report to discover what he calls "the troubling issue of a university official providing alcohol to underage UW students." The alcohol was provided by the athletic department and purchased with donor money, the report states. Chadima "offered alcohol freely to anyone who came to the party," and more than half of those attendees were students — some of them underage.
According to Potrykus, UW athletic director Barry Alvarez and other senior members of the athletic department told the panel they were aware of bowl parties Chadima hosted for university employees, but they did not normally attend the events. “And it is not clear to us if they knew about the extensive service and availability of alcohol at the parties,” the report states. “Alvarez told us while there were no specific guidelines about the use of alcohol, he ‘did not recommend’ that professional staff drink with students or student employees.
"We believe there is reason to question the appropriateness of the sort of unregulated service of alcohol to students, as well as the practice of a professional staff member drinking with students at university events,” the report continues. “With the alcohol purchased by the athletic department and served in a university official’s hotel suite, we believe that Chadima’s parties were, in effect, university events. University staff with whom we talked were unaware of any university regulations that would provide guidelines for such events at off-campus facilities. We recommend that the university review these issues and consider whether or not rules or guidelines should be developed.”
This is not the first time Chadima has been reprimanded for an alcohol-related incident. In March 1998, when he was in his second year as UW's director of facilities and events, Chadima went out drinking with 23-year-old senior quarterback Mike Samuel. Too intoxicated to drive himself home, Chadima got a ride from Samuel in the administrator's truck. Samuel was subsequently stopped by police for driving under the influence. According to Potrykus, Chadima received a letter of reprimand from then-athletic director Pat Richter; at the time, Alvarez was preparing for his ninth season as head coach of the football Badgers.
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11:28 AM
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Link Between Chlorine and Asthma Debunked (For Now)
A team of Belgian researchers, led by renowned toxicologist Alfred Bernard, made international headlines in 2009 with a report linking children who swim in chlorinated pools to a significantly increased likelihood of suffering from asthma and respiratory allergies. But now the Belgian Superior Health Council has issued its own scientific opinion developed by reviewing multiple similar studies. Its conclusion: "At this moment, there is insufficient evidence to link exposure to chlorinated compounds with the development of asthma to advise children against swimming."
The official report is available in Dutch and French languages through the council's website, but Euro Chlor WG (a Brussels-based association representing European chlor-alkali producers) translated the "Recommendations" section into English for wider use. Here is an excerpt from that translation:
The studies of Bernard and colleagues are valuable because they investigated the (scientifically plausible) toxic and pro-allergenic potential of chlorinated swimming pool environments. On the basis of their results, however, no final coherent conclusion can be drawn. In addition, the Bernard et al. findings were not confirmed by other researchers.
Employees working in swimming pools and elite swimmers (children and adults) may be at risk to develop a respiratory pathology, whatever the underlying mechanism may be.
A relationship between swimming pool attendance and childhood asthma has not been confirmed, but cannot yet be excluded. More information needs to be collected to reach a consensus.
The council claims that "longitudinal studies are required to better define the relationship between recreational swimming and asthma in children," and that "an equilibrium needs to be found between the potential risk for the development of asthma by the currently used disinfection methods on the one hand, and the proven negative consequences of infectious diseases by insufficient disinfection on the other hand."
For a the complete English translation, click here.
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9:44 AM
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Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Rival High School Basketball Fans Stand Against Bullying
A heated boys' basketball rivalry played out on the floor of the Taconic High School gymnasium in Pittsfield, Mass., on Monday night. But off the court, a group of four Taconic students diligently encouraged fans of both teams to sign a pledge against bullying via the national "Stand Together" campaign, which has ties to the state.
According to iBerkshires.com, Makenzie Astore, Alex Carusotto, Quinton Cookis and Kirsten McNeice — all members of Taconic High's Business Professionals of America chapter — took on the project as a service-learning initiative and at one point during the game asked all participants to stand with their downloadable pledge numbers in hand.
The Stand Together effort was created in memory of 11-year-old Carl Walker, a severely bullied boy from Springfield, Mass., who committed suicide in 2009. The story caught the attention of Ty Pennington, host of the recently canceled ABC-TV series "Extreme Home Makeover," which together with the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network developed the "Stand Together" online campaign to register commitments from individuals pledging to discourage bullying. Pennington and his co-stars made their pitch in an episode that aired Dec. 2 and featured the Walker family. (Carl took his own life on the third floor of the Walker home, which prompted his single mother and other family members to request the assistance of the show in building them a new home free of macabre memories.)
With a goal of registering one million people, the web site keeps a running tab on the number of pledges and provides people the opportunity to upload a photo of themselves showing their support for the cause. As of Tuesday afternoon, almost 165,000 individuals have stood up against bullying, including celebrities and professional athletes.
The simple pledge reads:
I pledge to…
1. Refrain from bullying of any kind, for any reason.
2. Treat others with respect.
3. Intervene, if I safely can. Or tell someone who can.
4. Encourage others to Stand Together against bullying.
Every registrant is given a number that can be downloaded, printed and posed with when submitting photos of pledgers to the Stand Together website. The event at Taconic, which can easily be duplicated at any high school or youth sports event, was filmed. But footage has not yet been made public, nor has final word on how many fans made the pledge.
For what it's worth, Pittsfield won Monday's game, 64-55.
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3:25 PM
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New Jersey ADs Say Steroid Testing Works
High school athletic directors in New Jersey — one of the three states that test
student-athletes for steroid use — praise the process, even though more
than 2,500 tests at a cost of $200 each have yielded only about a dozen
positive results since testing began in 2006. "Unfortunately, there is a
problem out there," Mike McAller, athletic director at Pitman High
School and president of the Tri-County Conference, recently told the Asbury Park Press. "Anything you can do that makes a kid think twice about it is a positive. It's more than fair."
New Jersey randomly tests 500 student-athletes participating in state
championships every year for anabolic steroids, stimulants, diuretics,
and peptide hormones and analogues — a list patterned after the NCAA's
list of banned substances. The penalty for failing a test is immediate
loss of eligibility for one year from the date of the test.
While New Jersey was the first state to implement testing, Florida, Illinois and Texas followed suit; Florida discontinued
its efforts in 2009. The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic
Association receives $50,000 per year from the state to help cover the
testing's $100,000 annual cost, with the remaining $50,000 coming from
the organization's budget. Sixty percent of all tests are conducted on
athletes in football, wrestling, track and field, swimming, lacrosse and
baseball, according to the NJSIAA.
"For me, it's not about catching kids," Dave Ryden, supervisor of
extracurricular activities at Marlboro High School and president of the
Shore Conference, told Press reporter Kevin Minnick. "It's about
making the playing field level and keeping the kids safe. That's why we do
it. The reason the NJSIAA put these policies in was to protect the
kids. If you save one kid, great. If you have zero taking steroids,
that's even better."
In August, the Illinois High School Association's Board of Directors voted
to continue its testing program, which began with the 2008-09 school
year. During the 2010-11 school year, the IHSA tested 747
student-athletes, resulting in four positive tests. Two of the four were
cleared by a medical review officer; the two that were not cleared represented the first punishable offenses in the program's history. Over the course of its three-year
history, 1,758 tests have been conducted by the IHSA's
Performance-Enhancing Drug Testing Program.
Criticism of the testing program in Texas, meanwhile, mounted last year
after it was spared the budget ax in May. According to the Associated
Press at that time, more than 50,000 tests yielded fewer than 30
confirmed findings of steroid use since 2008. The state now focuses its
testing efforts on select sports, including football, baseball and
track. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, according to his spokesman Mike Walz,
"believes the program is important and that it saves lives."
Steve Timko, executive director of the NJSIAA, told the Press
that he would like to expand New Jersey's testing program to include
tests conducted at the beginning of sports seasons. "We should be
testing more than just 500," Timko said. "I don't know the magic number,
but it should be more than 500. There are some teams that know they
won't make the state playoffs, and there's the possibility of abuse
taking place. When you look at the fact that there are 256,000
student-athletes, and we only test 500, and there were four positive
tests … If you do the math, you can see the number is significant and
something needs to continue."
A state bill passed by the New Jersey Legislature earlier this month
codified many of the anti-steroid initiatives already being taken by
the NJSIAA, and also established the third week in September as “Steroid
Awareness Week” in New Jersey, according to the Press. The bill
also requires the NJSIAA to provide anti-steroid advertisements in any
program or handout produced for sale or distribution at state
tournaments, as well as include healthy alternatives for strength
building in coaches’ training programs.
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9:33 AM
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Monday, January 23, 2012
Blog: This March, Help America Get Moving
Whether you're in a red or blue state, whichever side of the party line you're on, you want the fitness industry to prosper. You wouldn't be reading Athletic Business if you didn't. And you've certainly read about the legislation being discussed in Washington that has the potential to impact the sports and fitness industry:
• PEP Grants — legislation that funds a competitive grant program to give school districts and community-based organizations resources to provide students with quality and innovative physical education funding.
• The Personal Health Investment Today (PHIT) Act — legislation that would change federal tax law to allow for the deduction or use of pretax dollars to cover expenses related to sports, fitness and other physical activities.
What you might not know is that the Sporting Goods Manufacturers of America is planning an industry-wide visit to Washington, D.C., in March to show support of these and other objectives. It's the 13th annual National Health Through Fitness Day, and it involves sports executives, fitness enthusiasts, sports celebrities, sponsoring companies and others meeting on Capitol Hill on March 6-7. And by the way, everyone is invited, including you.
The theme is "Get America Moving to Improve Health," and all segments of the fitness industry are getting involved with it — golf and tennis organizations, online athletic event registration companies, apparel and footwear companies, climbing wall manufacturers, baseball and boxing equipment manufacturers, you name it. Everyone has a stake in this industry, and everyone wants to see it grow and flourish. More to the point, everyone wants to see a healthier, more active America.
SGMA is trying to get as many individuals involved as possible. The event’s website can teach you how to sign up, suggest lodging and more. SGMA has organized an orientation session, a breakfast, meeting materials and transportation to and from Capitol Hill. (Last year's registration filled up quickly, according to the SGMA, so if you're planning to go, they suggest putting your name in now.)
Many people work in fitness facilities, and have seen firsthand what New Year's resolutions can do for their business. So here's a resolution to make for the business we all work in, and the industry as a whole: Get involved with National Health Through Fitness Day. If your schedule doesn't permit you to make the trip to D.C., take a moment to shoot your elected officials e-mails in support of the legislation that can keep our whole industry healthy.
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4:49 PM
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Women in Intercollegiate Sport Hitting New Heights
“Highest ever” is a phrase that appears repeatedly in the latest "Women in Intercollegiate Sport" update, released Monday by Brooklyn College professors emerita and study co-authors Vivian Acosta and Linda Carpenter.
Now in its 35th year, the study is nearly as old as its inspiration — the 1972 passage of Title IX, the 40-year-old law that many coaches have struggled (or chosen not) to understand and one that some feel may have indirectly inhibited the rise of women in athletics administration for a time.
For now, though, things are looking up. Consider the following:
• A total of 13,792 female professionals are employed within intercollegiate athletics in 2012 (including coaches, assistant coaches, athletics administrators, sports information directors, athletic trainers, and strength and training coaches).
• Women’s intercollegiate teams now number 9,274, for an average of 8.73 women’s teams per school.
• Women’s teams are currently led by 3,974 head coaches, and women’s teams now employ 12,301 paid assistant coaches, of which 7,024 are female.
Each number above represents a “highest ever” benchmark in the ongoing study, the entirety of which can be accessed here. Several explanations for the progress may exist, according to the study’s authors. They include society’s ability to embrace females as athletes and to realize the life-enriching benefits afforded both men and women through sports participation; increased media attention devoted to women’s sports and long-term women’s sports advocacy by such groups as the National Association for Girls and Women in Sport and the National Coalition for Girls and Women in Education; as well as societal pressure toward non-discriminatory practices resulting from successful Title IX lawsuits.
“Whatever the cause,” Acosta and Carpenter write, “female athletes are being afforded opportunities in greater numbers than ever before.”
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3:03 PM
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Thursday, January 19, 2012
'Battle of the Fans' Seeks Top High School Cheering Section
Who says school spirit is dead? Not students at the five Michigan high schools that have made it to the finals of that state's inaugural "Battle of the Fans." Developed by the Michigan High School Athletic Association, the contest seeks to recognize the top student cheering section in the state. Organized by MHSAA staff and its 16-member Student Advisory Council, it will reward the section that best exemplifies the positive and festive atmosphere created when students show enthusiasm, unity and sportsmanship while rooting for their school's basketball teams.
“The Student Advisory Council decided to put its primary focus this fall on a sportsmanship campaign that would engage and motivate student cheering sections throughout the state,” says Andy Frushour, council advisor and MHSAA's director of brand management. “We’re thrilled with the level of participation.”
In December, schools were invited to submit a short video of their basketball cheering sections in action, via YouTube and Facebook. Video submissions also included explanations of how each student section meets the following contest criteria: positive sportsmanship, sound volume, school spirit, originality of cheers, organization of the cheering section members and student section leadership. A total of 19 schools from every region in the state submitted videos by the deadline earlier this month. From those, student cheering sections from Frankenmuth, Grand Rapids Christian, Petoskey, Reese and Rockford high schools were selected based on a vote by the Student Advisory Council.
MHSAA staff and Student Advisory Council members will visit all five finalists for home games during the second half of this regular season and produce videos from each stop on their tour. Those videos will be posted to the MHSAA’s "Battle of the Fans" Facebook page, and an online vote scheduled for Feb. 20 to 23 will help determine the winner, which will be announced Feb. 24. Additionally, video featuring all five finalists will be played on the scoreboard during the boys' and girls' basketball finals at Michigan State's Breslin Center in March.
To view the submitted videos of the five finalists, click here.
"We're having a lot of fun with it," says Geoff Kimmerly, media and content coordinator for the MHSAA. "So far, we haven't heard of any other state association conducting a similar contest. But I imagine it's an idea that could catch on quickly. It seems every school — large, small and in between — has a student cheering section. ['Battle of the Fans' provides] an excellent opportunity to involve a number of students all over the state while promoting sportsmanship and a festive, positive cheering atmosphere."
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1:39 PM
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Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Sports' Role in Small-College Enrollment
In his first year as president of Alderson-Broaddus College, Rick Creehan is overseeing a transformation of the Philippi, W.Va., campus through the expansion of the school’s athletics program. Football, men’s and women’s lacrosse, women’s tennis and men’s volleyball will begin play in 2012, and the college intends to add a marching band, a color guard, and cheerleading and dance programs in 2013. Groundbreaking on a new outdoor multisport complex will take place in April, although Creehan says that, as of now, the college has only raised enough money to pay for the turf and lights.
It’s the same formula that Creehan followed at Adrian College as executive vice president, working under Jeffrey Docking, that school’s like-minded president. Adrian doubled its enrollment and operating budget in six years through the construction of sports and recreation facilities — the two men had similar successes earlier at Washington & Jefferson College — and now Docking is moving on to an expansion of the academic program at Adrian while his former colleague toils at the obscure and unheralded A-B.
“Starting from scratch is tough,” Creehan says. “You have no history, no heritage, no tradition. There’s just nothing in place. I think it’s probably easier to have an established program, even if it was a bad one.”
Adrian’s athletics program was a bad one, and Docking and Creehan faced a fair amount of skepticism that sports could be the school’s savior. Docking says, “I said to the faculty, ‘Look, we’re going to be putting a lot of money into sports and co-curriculars, and it’s going to appear to you that academics doesn’t matter. It does matter, but first you’ve got to let me grow enrollment.’ ”
Docking came to an Adrian College boasting — if that is the word — an enrollment of 840. Now, 60 percent of the student body of 1,670 is involved in the school’s resurgent athletics program.
“We don’t try to hide it; we don’t apologize for it,” Docking says. “We believe in sports, we believe sports is a great way to grow character. Their academic commitments come first, but we don’t apologize for wanting to win, either. We tell the kids, ‘Second place in the race for a job someday is not going to cut it.’ There are all these ancillary benefits to bringing in athletes, because when they do start competing for jobs, they’re competitive people, and they can get in the ring and throw punches, and they don’t crumble under pressure. And if you read what CEOs want right now, number one on the list year after year is they want their people to be able to work within teams. Who knows better about working as part of a team than kids who have been on teams in college?”
The benefits to Adrian College have been enormous. The operating budget has reached $55 million and fundraising has exploded, a trend capped in December by the single largest gift ($20 million) in the school’s history. U.S. News & World Report ranked Adrian as a Regional Top Baccalaureate College in the Midwest in its 2012 edition of America’s Best Colleges, the fourth consecutive edition to honor the school (in 2009 and again in 2010, Adrian was named the “#1 Up-and-Coming School in the Midwest”). And Adrian’s second major capital campaign, “Renaissance II,” is under way, targeting academic programs (plans for adding a symphony are being drawn up) and facilities, including renovations and expansions of buildings devoted to the science, business and visual arts departments, and construction and/or renovation of space devoted to the performing arts. A new music building opened in August 2010.
“None of that would have been possible without this leveraging of sports and co-curriculars,” Docking says.
For more about how Allegheny College, W&J and Adrian College leveraged sports and recreation to grow enrollment, and how Alderson-Broaddus plans to do the same, look for the cover story in the February issue of Athletic Business.
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12:42 PM
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University of Miami Tightens Booster Rules
As it braces for an NCAA investigation into benefits lavished on student-athletes by convicted Ponzi schemer Nevin Shapiro, the University of Miami on Monday released its biannual newsletter to boosters outlining new, stricter rules regarding contact with players.
NCAA rules permit student-athletes to receive “an occasional meal from a representative of athletics interests on infrequent and special occasions.” Miami boosters have been allowed this much latitude only if they cleared such contact with the university’s compliance office first. But no more.
In an e-mail titled “Change in Occasional Meal Policy,” the school informed recipients that “effective immediately, boosters are no longer permitted to entertain student-athletes with an occasional meal and boosters are prohibited from hosting current University of Miami student-athletes in their homes or other locations.” Moreover, boosters are not to provide student-athletes with any food, drink, transportation (car or ride) or other extra benefits, including cash, credit, discounts, tickets and clothing. The newsletter also reminded boosters not to communicate with prospective student-athletes via phone, text, e-mail or written letter.
Shapiro, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence, claims he provided extra benefits to more than 70 athletes, often hosting gatherings with Hurricane players at his Miami Beach waterfront mansion.
Extra benefits is an issue that has long plagued schools regardless of size and national standing. Harry Rothwell, a Hurricane Club member who owns a sporting goods store near the U of M campus, fears the stricter rules at Miami will have a chilling effect on student-athlete support.
“Most of us follow the rules and have had great experiences getting to know these student-athletes over the years, and I think it’s sad that by restricting our interaction so much now it will dehumanize the athletes, and they’ll just become helmets running across the field and basketball jerseys shooting jumpers,” Hurricane Club member Harry Rothwell, who admits to hosting athletes for occasional meals over the past 20 years, told the Miami Herald. “There will be less reason for boosters to pay money to come out if they don’t get to know the athletes personally and learn their stories.”
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10:27 AM
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