Perspectives: Behind the Curtain

I’m now one year -- plus very small change -- into my job here at the Horizon League.

What a year it has been.

When asked my favorite part, the answer is easy, and no, it wasn’t Butler’s trip to a second national championship game (though that was incredible).

It’s the student-athletes.

Time and again when I meet them, I go away impressed. They make me -- and all of us involved in our corner of the world of intercollegiate athletics -- proud of them, and proud of what we do. That’s why I’m looking forward to our Student-Athlete Advisory Committee gathering here later this month in Indy.

Whether it’s our Cecil Coleman Award winners, Butler’s Matt Howard and Green Bay’s Kayla Tetschlag, or the young men and women who show up for class and practice every day without hope of gaining national or conference recognition, virtually every one of them are taking advantage of the opportunities presented to them.

Maybe a few of our student-athletes feel this way (though I doubt it), but I don’t hear them talking about being “exploited” or “used” or unhappy that they can’t cash in on their talents at the car dealer or tattoo parlor.

They seem grateful for the opportunity to compete, to represent their schools and their families, and to receive a college education in return.

Most of them aren’t taking a pass on that opportunity. Nearly half, in fact, made our Horizon League academic honor roll with GPA’s of 3.2 or better.

They’re also active on their campuses and in their communities.

Three other reflections:

One, our coaches, administrators, sports information staffs, marketing folks et al, are top-shelf. Sure, they all want to win -- that’s why we play the games and stage the meets. But their motivations are driven by the overall development of the student-athletes. They want our young men and women to have success.

Second, I am so impressed with our presidents. For them, athletics is just a piece of a very large puzzle in higher education, but they understand its role, its mission and its values. It’s a bumpy world in Division I intercollegiate athletics right now. Thank goodness for their support.

And lastly, during my career as a sportswriter, I often opined about intercollegiate athletics and offered “suggestions” about how the enterprise could be improved.

I’d now like to take every sportswriter who thinks he or she has the answers and let them walk a mile in my shoes, or those of a student-athlete, coach or administrator.

They’d discover in a hurry -- as I did -- that nothing is as simple as it seems.

At any rate, here’s to another great year at the Horizon League.